Published by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance of Dane County.
Click here for the June, 1995 issue of Spoke-N Word.
by Mark Shahan & Lisa Goodman
The BTA ad-hoc reconnaissance team (Mark Shahan and Lisa Goodman) today [21 July] visited John Nolane to survey the site where Ameritech proposes to plant a cable adjacent to the paved bike path. According to Madison DOT official, Tom Walsh, Ameritech applied for a permit to place a fiber optic cable adjacent to the path. The cable is to be laid on the lake side of the path and would be buried 5 feet down in a concrete box. This permit application was apparently made in response to all the construction already under way. Evidently, Ameritech just applied for the permit last week and Tom Walsh has been trying to reach BTA people since Wednesday. In fact, the Madison DOT has been deliberately trying to get our input so they don't get accused of trying to hide something as happened with the Convention Center (this hasn't gone to the press yet). You might say we got their attention and that they would rather work with us so as to avoid any an adversarial relation. Basically, we won an important victory on this point: talked to us in the planning stages of a project, not after the DOT makes a decision.
Under the proposal, the bike path would be closed for approximately 6-8 weeks between North Shore and Lakeside. Under this plan, Ameritech would cover the cost of replacing this section of the 20 year old path and would widen the path from its current 7 feet to 10 feet. The city would also place signs designating the Monona Bay Loop as an official detour. As an alternative, they could leave the path open and require 10 weeks to complete the job with ongoing disruptions during the construction. However, the path is scheduled for a reconstruction inthe next 3-5 years which would require another disruption at a later date as well as expenditure of city funds. The last alternative is to reject the permit to bury a cable and have Ameritech bury it at a later date.
We are going to request more information before we present this to the steering committee but as long as the additional information doesn't contradict what we already know, we would be willing to support closing the bike path for reconstruction. We will also explore any possibility of keeping the path open during this project. Because the city wants to coordinate this project with the closing of the Broom St. intersection in August, time will be short for making a decision. Tim Wong, who chairs the Ped/bike Subcommittee, expects to support the project.' [Ed. note: Since this was written, the plan has been approved. The remainder of the bike lane will be closed as of Monday, August 7 and 8 weeks thereafter]
by Dieter Bingemann
Bicycle advocacy in Germany? In the 'Autobahn country' ? In a country where the president of Mercedes-Benz has more influence on politics than the Federal President, wouldn't bicycle advocacy be extremely frustrating? Well, sure it is - just like everywhere else, too. Nevertheless -just like everywhere else, too - with some friends you can move a lot even by taking only little steps.
I found these friends in Germany's bicycle club, a nationwide organization for bike advocacy with about 100,000 members and offices or local representatives all over the country. This club was founded 10 or 15 years ago, back in the age when a bicycle was generally considered a toy for kids but not a serious mode of transportation. Times changed, and as air pollution over the cities of Europe got as bad as L.A.'s, and car traffic degenerated ever more into traffic jams, society's awareness of the environmental benefits of bicycling grew.
Riding this wave of popularity five or six years ago, about thirty of us formed the offspring of this national bike club in G6ttingen, a town that is as typical for Germany as Madison is typical for the US. About 130,000 inhabitants - out of which 30,000 are students - live in an area less than one quarter the area of the City of Madison.
With a car-free downtown and an essentially flat topography (okay, so there is one hill, and unfortunately, I happened to work there . .) G6ttingen is nearly ideal for cycling. The 10% or 15% share of bicycles in total traffic is therefore above the(GerTnan average but is still considered low compared with similar Dutch towns which "score" more than 30%. However, this high acceptance makes bike advocacy much, much easier.
However, during a historic meeting we quickly realized, that there are different flavors of bicycle addiction. Some of us were focused on touring, some on the technical segment of bicycles, some were interested in planning for bicycles with the city council and others simply wanted to promote biking by telling everybody what a great experience it is to use the best vehicle in the history of human mankind while saving the earth in the very same moment. Well, when we left that night we had successfully established four workgroups with the focus of these four topics. Within no time the touring- branch attracted more than fifty people every Sunday morning for leisure rides. Our bike-shop opened its doors for everybody who was willing to repair his or her bike himself or herself - of course with professional instructions and free of charge (donations welcome), The members of the planning group were soon more knowledgeable about bike traffic than the city employees in the department of transportation (which is usually not very difficult.... ). Last but not least an information booth could be found downtown every other Saturday. Occasionally we organized bigger events, like a "bike-week" with lots of presentations, information and fun, or political mass rides with several hundred participants. Once we posted an eye-catching presentation protesting a bicycle-deadly intersection reconstruction proposal by the city planners and successfully stirred a lot of trouble.... A short while ago we were able to move into our own office, next door to our bike shop and several other environmental groups in G6ttingen.
Meanwhile, on the national level, the exec-board members of this bicycle advocacy club were working in the same direction. To name some examples, they established guidelines for urban planners all over the country for safe and convenient bicycle accommodation on the road, convinced the national railway company to make it easier to transport bikes on trains, promoted safe biking, and encouraged bicycle manufacturers to accomplish and maintain high technical standards on their products.
This seems like a pleasant success story. However, ups are usually followed by downs, the times kept changing. Once exciting events become routine and most of the fun disappears. With an ever increasing unemployment rate in the early 1990s, environmental awareness became a luxury, and promoting biking as an alternative to driving was suddenly considered ajob killer in the country of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen. More and more bike advocates (mostly students) moved out of town after finishing school (like me), but new volunteers were harder and harder to find.
Will this once promising group die? Of course not! Eventually there will be more ups than downs, more steps forward than steps backwards. In contrast to cars, which are almost dead (although mostly unnoticed these days), the bicycle, the vehicle for our small planet, will live forever. So will its advocacy.
by Mike Wyatt, New Transportation Alliance
[Ed. note: BTA sprang forth from NTA, and many cyclists use the bus system and are in league with the NTA in attempting to break the auto-monopoly, hence this article.]
To avoid cuts in Metro and MetroPlus service, we must mobilize service users and the public in opposition to these cuts, and for a wheel tax and/or parking fee now. The City's Transportation Commission, ADA Paratransit Oversight Subcommittee, and Citizens Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities have all recommended that the Mayor and the Board of Estimates include options for a wheel tax and/or parking fee in their upcoming budget. Now we must mobilize to let the Board of Estimates members know how we feel about this vital issue affecting us. Call or write the Mayor, your alder and each member of the Board of Estimates, urging them to support wheel tax and parking fee options in the budget they are putting together.
Let your alders and Mayor know that you strongly support expansion of transit infrastructure, including the decentralized transfer point system and funds for a light rail feasibility study. Expansion of the system is needed to attract new ridership and forestall future fiscal crises.
by Steve Meiers, Safety Educator, City of Madison
Do you like to tinker with bikes? Do you like working with kids? Well, a great opportunity is waiting for you. The Madison Transportation Department is working with northside community centers in Vera Ct. and Packers Ave. To set up workshops on basic bike repair and maintenance. This is an opportunity to give some middle and high school-aged kids some basic skills. The centers will be able to buy tools and parts so kids can continue to maintain their bikes thanks to donations from the Gear-Up Madison ride. If you are interested in getting involved with this effort please call Steve Meiers at 267-1102.
The Bicycle Federation of America is organizing five regional action weekends to help state and local advocates effectively implement to long range bicycle ad pedestrian plans developed under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The action weekends, co-sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy as part of a joint program to develop effective bicycle, pedestrian and trail advocacy groups, are scheduled for: Boulder, CO, Sept. 9- 1 0; Madison, WI, Sept. 16-17; Pittsburgh, PA, Sept. 23- 24; Atlanta, GA, Sept. 30-Oct. 1; and Davis, CA, Oct. 14-15, 1995.
"The program will show how to get results," according to Denise McCormick, project coordinator for the action weekends "Practical sessions led by local advocates will highlight 'how-to' techniques: how to work with bureaucrats and politicians; how to get funding for projects; how to use the media; and how to save critical federal transportation legislation that supports bicycling. Our goal is to ensure the new bike plans developed under ISTEA don't sit on shelves gathering dust. "Two of the action weekend sites were picked because they are close to the congressional districts of Rip. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Bud Shuster (R-PA)" says McCormick. (Shuster is the leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which will be re-writing ISTEA in the coming months). "We want to drive home the point that local and state advocacy is essential for the future of ISTEA and federal programs that have benefited bicycling, walking and trails." Early registration is $50 and will include a participant workbook and one lunch. A range of inexpensive accommodations will be available in each location [Ed. Note: Volunteers are needed to provide accommodations here in Madison]. Informal field trips will enable people to explore bike and pedestrian facility networks and trails. For more information contact: Denise McCormick at the BFA (202) 463- 6622; Noel Weyrich at LAB (215)232-5129; Bob Patten at RTC (202)797-5400; or locally, Marcia Miquelon at the Bike Fed. Of Wisconsin (608)25 1 - 4456.
(Reprinted with permission from Pro Bike News, Vol. 15/6, April 1995)
by Michael D. Barrett
The BTA's registry of drivers who threaten cyclists has generated quite a response. Several cyclists have come forward with their own horror stories. The Isthmus' coverage of the registry (Aug. 4, 1995, p. 38) has prompted two outraged motorists to vent on my phone line - I guess we got their attention! The registry initiated last June by Scott Rose, is being expanded to include Scary Streets, i.e., bad roadway design or conditions that have brought even the most experienced cyclists down:
One of the more interesting responses landed in my e-mail box from dnohle (e-mail username was all I received):
Scary drivers are one thing, but there are a lot of SCARY CYCLISTS in this city too. I'm an employee at Budget Bicycle, not a bike hater, but I'm ashamed to admit that I'm a cyclist at times in this city. Cyclists often ignore traffic laws on the streets of Madison. If cyclists expect the respect of motorists on the public roads of our community perhaps they should obey the traffic laws as well. If you are starting a scary drivers registry, perhaps you should also begin a scary cyclist registry. People in glass houses???
Ah, yes, the classic American pastime of victim blaming. Even a cursory glance at a few statistics will reveal that cyclists not only do not live in "glass houses," they do not throw stones either. A cyclist averages 150 pounds of flesh and blood; a cyclist's vehicle averages 30 pounds. That flesh and blood is completely exposed to the dangers presented by other road users as well as herlhis own foibles (no glass enclosure here); that 30 pounds of machinery presents no bodily threat of harm to automobilists (no stones thrown either). A cyclist presents a danger to her/himself alone vis-a-vis the automobilist.
More Americans have been killed by the automobile than have died in all of our wars combined. More Americans die by automobile every 14 months than died in the entire Vietnam War. Thanks to the automobile, on a population basis, more Americans die from transportation related deaths than ever in the history of humanity!
I am not ashamed to be a cyclist. My means of transportation does not terrorize other road users with threats of vehicular homicide (my vehicle is too small for that), it does not disturb other people's neighborhoods with roaring engines or tire to asphalt road noise, it does not spew filth into the air, it does not leak toxins into lakes and streams (all cars do, without exception), it does not cause me to go into debt for a depreciating asset such as a car (I save and spend my money locally rather than sending it off to corporate headquarters in Detroit or Tokyo). My means of transportation doesn't need massive subsidies to build highways and the rest of the automobile infrastructure, my means of transportation does not demand acres and acres of impervious parking surfaces, hence does not add to urban runoff problems and the resulting eutrophication of our lakes. Automobilists will not ever be happy until they have succeeded in their desires to imprison everyone in a car. The mere thought of a human being, free of constraints, strikes terror into their hearts (which is why they are all running out to the ex-urbs - i.e., to be away from the sight of humans who get around under their own power).
No, I am not ashamed to be a user of a bicycle - the most democratic, environmentally conservative and energetically efficient of all means of transportation.
The quoted comments above might have been better received in this quarter had they referred to cyclists in relation to pedestrians (for example, the weak-kneed sidewalk riders infuriate me), but I have no sympathy for the speed freaks and real estate hogs behind the wheel.
Places Where the Roadway/Bikeway Design has Caused Problems for Me...
by Mitch Nussbaum
The worst cycling spot I can think of at the moment has been obliterated (at least temporarily) by the John Nolen project. The triangular traffic island at the junction of North Shore and John Nolen had a narrow curb-cut, right between two light poles, on the John Nolen side. Bikers coming from the Brittingham Park bike path had to ride across the traffic island and then make a rather sharp turn before crossing John Nolen. This turn was not a problem for most bikers (including me, most of the time), but I found that when I pulled a trailer, it was much too easy to turn a little too sharply and roll the trailer onto its side. I did this once while my older daughter in the trailer, and I made the turn very carefully for a long time afterwards. But last year I made the same mistake with my younger daughter (they're eight years apart, so I had plenty of time to forget the trauma of the first incident). Neither of my children was hurt by the rollovers, but they did not enjoy the experience, and I didn't either. And it could have been a lot worse -- especially if the kid involved had figured out how to undo the seatbelt in the trailer.
If someone (e.g. the Transportation Dept.) said that I was at fault for these rollovers, I'd have to agree. And I have learned my lesson (at my kids' expense, unfortunately). But I do hope that when this crossing is rebuilt this fall, that it is more forgiving of minor errors. In particular, I'd like to see a nice wide ramp, with no sharp gradients, allowing a gradual turn by a bike pulling a trailer. Until a few months ago, the two light poles constrained the position of the ramp, but these poles (along with everything else) are gone now, so it should be possible to put the ramp wherever we want it.
While I'm on the subject of bike trailers and kids, it would be nice to see a safer and easier way to cross Park Street from the Vilas neighborhood into Brittingharn and Bayview. When I ride to work in the morning, I cross Park Street at Vilas Avenue, but I don't feel safe going that way when I'm pulling a trailer or riding with my eleven-year-oid. When we first moved into the neighborhood, about seven years ago, it was possible to bike from Brooks Street, through the gap between Meriter Hospital and its parking ramp, and onto the bike/ped overpass across Park Street. Now, however, Meriter has filled in the gap, so access to the overpass requires a detour of a few blocks around the hospital, and up a steep ramp with sharp turns. It is possible to walk bikes "through" the hospital-- not the main lobby, but the corridor between the main lobby and the parking ramp-- but it's not easy to get the trailer through the exit doors. I'm not sure what can be done about this obstacle right now, but it would be nice to have bicycle access taken into account next time the area is redeveloped (and plans are, in fact, in progress).
June and July new members include: Michele Goolsbey, Samantha Kaplan, Tom Simmons, Phillip Heasley, Jim Sears, Edwin R. Gilbert, Jacqueline and Carl Houtman, David, Allison, Jake, and Becky Fitzwater, and Theodora Lightfoot. Welcome again renewing members Mark Shahan (BTA head-honcho) and Laura Brown! Lost Sheep: Laura Lentz, Gessipan, and Alex DePillis - where are you??!! We want to get this newsletter to you!!!
BTA general membership meetings are the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm, check the Memorial Union TITU for location. Steering Committee meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month, location to be announced. All members are welcome to SC meetings as well. Joe King, BTA program coordinator has announced that the next general membership meeting - Thurs., Sept. 7, 7:30 pm - will focus on "the bicycle commuters' secret routes around town." Mark Shahan will present the view from the West-side commuter, Marcia Miquelon the South-side, and Michael Barrett the East-side. Then we navigate our way to the Terrace.
BTA
PO Box 641
Madison, WI 53701-0641
Phone: 251-IBTA
Email: bikies-request@gcg.com
World Wide Web:
The Spoke'n Word-- the newsletter of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance of Dane County-- is published whenever we feel like it. The editor is Michael D. Barrett who can be reached at (608) 251-9679. All submissions from members will be printed within certain length parameters (1 to +/-1000 words). If the editor does not like it, it will be printed anyway, but expect a rebuttal if it is too off-the-wall. Similarly, if an article by the editor is too off-the-wall, rebuttals are expected. Submissions from non-members will be considered but will be given low priority and extreme scrutiny (so join if you really want to be published here). The editor insists on electronic submissions (either by e-mail to mikeb1@execpc.com or disk to P.O. Box 641, Madison, WI 53701-0641)-- unless the author is certifiably stuck in the calligraphic or typwriter age. Next newsletter copy deadline: September 15,1995.
Click here for the June, 1995 issue of Spoke-N Word.
