8/4/2019 Email 0830 - Traffic Eng Reply
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Daniel Bush
FW: Ruskin Street bike boulevard proposal
Dryer, David Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 8:46 AM
To: "[email protected]" Cc: "Rhodes-Conway,Satya" ,
"Soglin, Paul"
Hello Mr. Bush
In answer to your questions noted in your email below I can
provide you the following. The folks on the
North side of Madison have long been requesting improved
conditions for bicycling. In the past couple
of years we have had the opportunity to add bicycle lanes to
Fordem Avenue, Aberg Avenue,
Commercial Avenue, North Sherman Avenue between Trailsway and
Northport Drive, and on Northport
Drive itself. In conjunction with the Packers Avenue
reconstruction we have added a bike path
connection from the Vahlen Street cul-de-sac across the railroad
tracks to International Lane. Bike
lanes have also been added to International Lane and Anderson
Street. There is a gap between
Fordem Avenue at Sherman/N Sherman Avenues to North Sherman at
Trailsway. We have long term
plans for a bike path along the rail corridor from E Johnson
Street to Steensland, but that still leaves agap from approximately
Aberg Avenue to Trailsway. This path has not progressed because the
railroad
has not been interested in a path within the rail corridor on
its property. There has also been long a term
plan for a path through the Hartmeyer Estate property between
Commercial Avenue and Roth Street,
but again the property owner has thus far not been interested in
giving us permission to construct this
path. We still have hope that these paths will be constructed.
Even with these paths, there is still a gap
in the bike system that needs to be filled.
While there is strong demand throughout Madison, and especially
on the Northside, for paths, there is
not the ability to construct paths everywhere, especially in
already built up areas. Bicycle Boulevards are
a relatively new concept, at least for Madison. The intent of a
Bicycle Boulevard is to provide bicyclists
as similar an experience as on a path as is possible with an
on-street route. A Bicycle Boulevard on
Ruskin fills the gap noted above, at least on the East side of
north Sherman Avenue. In terms of the
overall bicycle facility network, it would connect the bike
lanes on Northport and on the Warner Park
section of North Sherman to the future Hartmeyer and Sherman
Flyer Paths, then south to the bike
lanes on Fordem and to the Yahara River Path, the Mifflin Street
Bicycle Boulevard and the Capital City
Path. It would also connect to the east-west bike lanes on Aberg
and Commercial, and via the Vahlen
Path connection to Packers Ave and across Packers to the bike
lanes on International and Anderson
and thus to the Starkweather Creek Path and to MATC.
Bicycle Boulevards typically also provide intra-neighborhood
connections to important neighborhood
destinations. In the case of Ruskin, it directly connects the
Northside Town Center, Warner Park,
Sherman Middle School and the Northgate Shopping Center and less
directly to Metros North Transfer
Point.
While we do not necessarily have lines on a map for bicycle
facilities in every neighborhood in
Madison, we do have general concepts that we try to follow
throughout the city to provide a variety ofbicycle facilities in
every neighborhood for both local access and through neighborhood
mobility for
bicyclists. I think the above lays out a lot of what is being
done and can be done on the Northside.
Should the Ruskin Bicycle Boulevard move forward, we would
likely at a later date look at an extension
of this across Northport to at least Lakeview Elementary School.
There could also be a separate Bicycle
Boulevard on the west side of North Sherman Avenue to provide an
on-street extension of the Sherman
Flyer, when that is built, to Warner Park. Bike lanes on Sherman
Avenue from Burrows Park to Tenney
Park (which then also connects to the Yahara River Path) are
also possible in the future if Maple Bluff
and the Town are interested.
In terms of the definition of a Bicycle Boulevard in the
Platinum Report, any changes to Ruskin, beyond
l - FW: Ruskin Street bike boulevard proposal
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=e47fce2d0d&view=pt&
8/30/2011
8/4/2019 Email 0830 - Traffic Eng Reply
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putting up signs and painting graphics on the street, would come
from the neighborhood, not the city. I
think this was made clear at the meeting. Traffic Engineerings
intent is to still follow the adopted
Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan policies and procedures
(see http://www.cityofmadison.com/
trafficEngineering/documents/NTMP/NTMP-Manual.pdf ) for any
other changes to Ruskin. These are
proposed by the neighborhood and proceed through the process in
the above document.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Arthur Ross, Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator
City of Madison Traffic Engineering Division
215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Suite 100
PO Box 2986
Madison, WI 53701-2986
608/266-6225
From: Daniel Bush [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 4:27 PM
To: Traffic
Cc: Rhodes-Conway,Satya; Mayor
Subject: Ruskin Street bike boulevard proposal
Mr. Dryer & Mr. Ross,
Last week I attended the public meeting about the Ruskin Street
proposal, about which I'm concerned
as a resident on Ruskin. Since then I've been doing some
research and talking to neighbors, and based
on this I have a few more questions about the proposal:
Why, specifically, was Ruskin Street chosen? Neither the
Northside Plan nor the Platinum
Bicycling Report mention Ruskin Street as a candidate for
designation as a bike boulevard. Your
PowerPoint slide titled "Why Ruskin Street?" discussed some
general reasons, but nothing that
distinguished Ruskin from any other bike routes posted on
residential streets. Were thereparticular individuals or
organizations requesting this project?
Is there an overall plan in place for north side bike
improvements? Mr. Ross mentioned
several times during the meeting that Ruskin Street will
integrate with other facilities being
developed, but I haven't been able to find in the Northside Plan
or anywhere else a description of
what they are and how they fit together. Could you point me to
one? If there isn't one, how are we
supposed to assess how Ruskin fits with other projects?
What are the City's future plans for bike boulevards? The
Platinum Bicycling Report, officially
adopted by the City Council, describes bike boulevards as "a
corridor where bicycles have
preferential status. No through motorized traffic is allowed.
Only local motorized traffic is allowed
(for instance, to residences). A combination of signs and
traffic calming devices are used to limit
automobile traffic. Typically, a bicycle boulevard would have
few traffic signals or signs causing
the bicyclists to have to stop. Bicycles are thus provided a
long linear stretch for quick and
efficient travel." There was no mention at the meeting of the
report or of a policy to grant bikes
"preferential status." Are there future policy changes in the
works that would result in further
changes to Ruskin, beyond putting up signs and painting graphics
on the street? How will the
actions of the Platinum Bicycling Committee affect Ruskin after
it's designated a bike boulevard?
Thank you for your attention to these questions.
DB
--
Daniel Bush MPA
daniel.p.bush -at- gmail.com
l - FW: Ruskin Street bike boulevard proposal
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=e47fce2d0d&view=pt&
8/30/2011
