Front Porch Coffee Talk

Are parking requirements holding up infill development?

2012-01-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

No, not city zoning requirements. In Madison, there are no (car) parking requirements in the downtown area. If someone wants to build an apartment building or offices with no parking, they are free to do so.

But I heard a strange story last week, and this article echoes the same problem. A woman wanted to open a store on the Capital Square, but couldn't get a business loan. Why not? Because she had no parking. She wasn't worried about it. There are parking ramps quite close, and thousands of people would pass by her store by bus, foot, or bike every day. But the bank wouldn't give her a loan. No parking, no loan.

But as soon as the city turned the outer lane of the Square into a parking lane, viola! she got her loan. Doesn't matter how the majority of her customers got the the store. Doesn't matter that people get on and off the bus yards away. Doesn't matter if 10,000 people walk by during the Farmers' Market, or bike by as they come and go during the week. No parking in front, no loan.

What this means is that walkable, bikeable, transit friendly areas of the city are being penalized for being accessible and not car-oriented. If one small store couldn't get a loan, think what the restrictions would be for a larger building! [For more on how urban, mixed-use development is being screwed by federal loan rules, see this recent Forbes article.]

Now, most developers of larger buildings will build parking anyway, regardless of how expensive it is, because they think they can't rent out their space - residential, retail, or commercial, without parking on site. But if a brave soul decided that downtown Madison already had enough parking, and more office (or retail, or residential) space was a better thing to build than parking, they would be shut out of loans.

How crazy is that?

Yes, you can ride the bus, even if you live way outside the city.

2012-01-23T14:05:00.000-06:00

Just because there isn't bus service to your home doesn't mean you can't arrive at work by bus.

This morning brought another conversation about driving, parking, costs, buses, and the possibility that transit and driving could be combined to save some money. It doesn't really matter what the details of the situation were today, because the conversation followed a familiar path. I've has variations on the same conversation dozens of times. This particular one occurred as a woman was trying to renew her parking permit on the UW campus.

Woman complaining about parking costs: It's so expensive. Parking should be free. Nobody else charges employees to park!

Me: [After pointing out that the UW Transportation Services gets no state funding, and has to somehow raise revenue to provide the parking she wishes were free. And that actually, many places charge for parking. Some employers in Madison don't provide any options other than parking in the public ramps, so that costs way more than the spots at UW.] Why don't you take the bus? Then you wouldn't have to pay for parking at all?

Woman: I live in [outlying community about 20 miles away], so I can't take the bus.

Me: Well, you could drive into an area in Madison with good bus service, and then take the bus from there. Just park on the street. Lot's of people do it. No cost for the parking, and then the UW provides the bus pass for you as well.

Woman: It takes too long.

Me: Actually, it's only about fifteen minutes from Hilldale. There are a bunch of buses that go from there right to the campus.

Woman: Well, what if my kids get sick? I have to have my car.

Me: The UW provides an emergency ride home. If your kids get sick, you can take get a ride to where you parked the car, and then drive from there.

Woman: I wish they told us that.

Me: They do. They send out an email every semester to all employees outlining the options other than driving alone and parking.

Woman: Well, I didn't see it.

Me: OK, well, now you know. It's just one option to save some money.

It doesn't matter what community this woman lives in, or whether she works at the UW or somewhere else, except that the UW has done an excellent job of providing information to all employees on how to get to and from work with driving. This woman gets all sorts of emails on this subject, and probably has seen posters at her office, received mailings, and even heard people talk about the bus pass program, but she rejected it for two reasons:
1. She knows there's no bus in her community, so she assumes that a bus is not an option for arriving at work, never considering the possibility that she could take the bus part way and avoid that pesky parking fee.
2. She's never taken a bus in her life, and it scares her to think about taking a bus.

OK, I'm speculating on that second point. But Madison is just small enough that there are a lot of people that still view buses as for poor people, brown people [oh, the horrors!], students, and crazy environmentalists. Buses are urban things, and she lives in a rural community. She wouldn't have the first idea how to find the correct bus, and she has no intention of finding out how to use the system.

So she'll continue to complain about the cost of parking. But maybe, just maybe, one day she will try riding the bus, just to prove that it won't work for her, and she'll find out it's actually pretty easy. Then she'll think about all the money she could save by giving up her parking spot, or getting flex parking, and maybe another multimodal commuter will be born.

And by the way, the City of Madison can also help you find ways to avoid driving (and parking) every day. So you don't have to be a UW employee to get that emergency ride home. But if you happen to be a UW employee, and don't already know about the services they provide, check out the Commuter Solutions page. It's great information for anyone in Madison.

Lack of action on federal transportation bill actually benefits bike-ped projects

2012-01-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

Not everywhere, of course, but Sheboygan County and Minneapolis, as well as Marin County, CA, and Columbia, MO, have gotten far more money than they could have every imagined. And the money just keeps coming.

Why?

Because those four communities: one rural county (Sheboygan), one suburban county (Marin), one small city (Columbia), and one large city (Minneapolis) each got $25 million in the last five-year transportation bill under the Non-Motorized Pilot Program. That's $5 million per year for the life of the SAFETEA-LU bill. The goal was to see if a massive influx of funding could change the mode share and significantly improve walking and biking.

But every time Congress fails to pass a new transportation bill, they pass a "continuing resolution", that keeps money flowing to the same programs, in the same amounts, for another chunk of time. We are now 835 days past due for a new transportation bill. Yes, over two years. That means that each of the communities listed above have had another $10 million handed to them to keep trying to change their local transportation system towards being more pedestrian and bicycle friendly!

To see how they have done, you can click around on the NMPP site, but much of the information is not up to date, and many of the changes in behavior and mode split may not be apparent for a few more years. After all, some of the trails, bridges, and other infrastructure aren't even finished yet. And educational and encouragement programs are just starting to have an effect.

For us here in Wisconsin, Sheboygan County was definitely starting the farthest back, as far as being pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. They had to start almost from zero on their planning efforts and educational programs. The other had already done some of the work, and just needed the money to make their bike-ped dreams a reality.

We often read about how great Minneapolis is for bicycling. It was rated # 1 by Bicycling Magazine, and is #2 among the top 50 largest cities in the percent of work trips by bike. [Note that Madison beats Minneapolis, and ties with Portland, OR, but is not among the top 50 largest cities.] They have worked really hard, and I don't want to take anything away from the advocates, planners, engineers, elected officials, and everyone else that is working on making Minneapolis bike-friendly. But having $35 million (and still coming) drop on you helps a lot as well!

The most dangerous consumer product in the US

2012-01-11T13:44:00.000-06:00

This AZ press release makes some very good points about driving and road safety. As I am fond of saying, "If any other consumer product had this sort of safety record, it would be pulled from the market within a week."

When I say things like that, people point out that the majority of Americans either drive or ride in a car every day, so it's not surprising that we have a few deaths. OK, let's look at this another way. What if 30,000+ people were killed every year using a computer, or a credit card? Those are some pretty mundane task that tens of millions - maybe more than a hundred million - of people use every day. Would we accept someone using a computer dying every 15 minutes? Would we accept 30,000+ people dying from turning on the lights in their homes or making coffee?

Why is it acceptable to lose this many people every year by motor vehicle? Especially when the majority of those deaths could be easily prevented by making sure that people take driving seriously. No, you can't talk on the phone. No, you can't drink alcohol. No, you can't go over the speed limit. Not OK. A motor vehicle is a large, complex, dangerous machine, which is why we require people to have a license to operate one.

In many countries of the world, getting a driver's license is hard and expensive. And losing one is easy. In some European countries, you can lose your license for a year if you get your first DUI, and if you get three, ever, you will never be issued a license again, for the rest of your life.

Yes, we make it easy to get a driver's license, and hard to lose it, in this country because most people have no other way to get around, if they can't drive. Children can't get to school, unless their parents drive them. People wouldn't be able to work, shop, visit friends and relatives, see the doctor, or otherwise do normal activities. Of course, 30% of the US population doesn't drive, but they are considered some sort of freaks, those too young, too old, too cheap, too frail, or too environmentally conscious to drive or own a car.

But we need to rethink this whole transportation thing. People shouldn't be trapped in their cars to live, work, and move about. It's too expensive - for both individuals and taxpayers, too unsustainable - in so many ways, and yes, too dangerous to have everyone doing it.

My mantra: "Driving should be a choice, not a requirement."

Transit funding crisis: Maybe we should treat city services the same way

2012-01-04T17:27:00.000-06:00

Transit services across the country are facing painful questions regarding service cuts vs. fare hikes, as shown by this interactive feature at Transportation for America. Which is worse?

Fare hikes often hit the poor and transit-dependent* very hard. A fare hike from $1.50 to $2.00 might as well be a change in gas prices from $3.00 to $4.00, plus a hike in registration, insurance, and parking. Each represents a 33% hike in transportation costs.

But service cuts also hit these groups as well. They may need to ride the bus at odd hours or access locations that are not on core routes+. Transit dependent people may not be able to get to work, the doctor, shopping, or to visit family and friends unless there is service when and where they need to go. If the bus isn't running, they often have no alternative.

So when faced with limited funds, do you put them into service that benefits the greatest number of riders? That would likely be the core routes during commuter hours: Buses that run into downtown in the morning and out of downtown in the evening. Or do you continue to provide what is known in the industry as "lifeline service?" That would be buses that run to areas of the city with no other transit service, but also may have low-income populations, jobs, and services that people need. If you cut that off, those areas are then off limits to anyone without a car, or a sturdy set of legs to bike or walk.

An article today outlined that debate going on in Boston, but the article could have been written about almost any city in the country.

So I started thinking about how we decide who gets transit service. In Madison, there are plenty of areas of the city that do not have transit service, usually on the edge of town where there aren't many people (yet.) Metro doesn't have the money to extend transit service to these areas, so everyone that lives, works, or shops there generally has to travel in and out of the neighborhood by car.

I believe that transit is a core city service, and maybe we shouldn't be building in areas where we can't provide transit service. We pick up trash and leaves, even though there are very few people there. I can assure you that people would scream bloody murder if their streets weren't plowed. It's expensive to provide services in areas where there isn't much density. you have to drive all those city vehicles up and down the street for only a handful of people, instead of serving hundreds of people that live along the same length of street in my neighborhood.

And then I head people complaining that they see buses with almost no one on them. Yeah? Well, I see lots of streets with almost no one on them as well. Those streets get plowed, fixed, serviced by the city.

Maybe we can save some money by just not providing services to those areas of the city with a population density of less than X units per acre. Pick a number. Or a traffic volume. "We don't really need to plow that street, there aren't that many people living there anyway, and money is tight." Or maybe, "I'm sorry folks, you will have to carry your trash, recycling, brush and leaves to a main street, because it's just not efficient to have the trick come down your street for so few people." After all, they all have cars anyway, they can put all that stuff in the back of the car for a few blocks to save all the taxpayers of the city some money.

* Transit dependent is a term for those without any other way to get around - the elderly, children, people with disabilities, and those who simply can't afford a car. The opposite group would be "choice riders," who can chose to use transit or some other option, such as driving.

+ Core routes are those that serve the downtown, major destinations, major corridors, etc. They often run evenings, weekends, holidays, and have frequent service.

An entrepreneurial idea: We need a coffee shop without the coffee

2011-12-29T16:44:00.000-06:00

No, not really. And I love all our local coffee shops, each with their own, slightly different feel, clientele, music, snacks, and vibe. But often I go to the coffee shop just to use the internet and the chairs, and buy the beverages or snacks to justify using the facilities. What I really want is a place to work besides my house.

So I'm going to again do something that people hate, and say, "Someone should...." It's true, I'm not going to do it myself, for a multitude of reasons, but I think it's a great business idea waiting to happen. And I'm not the only one.

Madison has tons of people that work from home, or more precisely work from the coffee shop, library, or anywhere else they can get an internet connection. Until recently, I was one of them. (I now have a real office, but that's another story.) Like many people, I have trouble getting work done at my house. I'm distracted by housework, cooking, bills, or something else in easy reach. Besides, I get a little squirrelly working at my house with no other humans around.

Other people can't work at home because there are too many people around: roommates, kids, spouses or neighbors.

Having a little separation between home and work - literal and figurative - is necessary for many people.

The problem with working in a coffee shop is that you have to carry your stuff around in a bag or backpack. You have to pack it all up if you need to use the bathroom, make a phone call, or run an errand. And maybe you aren't in the mood for anything to eat or drink. Maybe the music just doesn't suit you, a bunch of people just came in an started talking loudly just when you needed to concentrate, or all the good chairs are taken.

What many of us really need is a place to work that isn't home, and doesn't require a separate purchase each time you come in (or every hour or two, depending on the location.) And it would be nice to be able to leave a few things there, so you don't have to drag it around all day, every day. I could do just fine with one drawer, or even a little cube locker. But we don't really need, and can't afford, a full-on office. We just want a place to work.

My ideal would be a shared office with tables/desks, some comfortable chairs (I prefer to type sitting in a chair, with my laptop on my knees), and some locking file cabinets or small lockers. Maybe a small conference room and/or a separate room where you can take a phone call without bothering other people. Internet service would be provided, but no mail or phone service. The conference room would be available on a sign-up basis, and any other meetings would have to take place off-site. A fridge and microwave would be useful, if only to save a few bucks - now that we are paying rent, don't need to buy that sandwich at the coffee shop to justify sitting there, and in case we are hungry but want to keep working.

As to cost, maybe $100 or less per month. I have no idea what office space goes for, but there has to be some underutilized offices around. Hell, even a big loft/warehouse area could be fixed up to make it usable. Many people are probably spending $100/month at coffee shops as the price they pay for sitting there.

Somewhere in the downtown/campus area would seem the best location, because that seems to be where people are already working. Besides, a successful shared office would need to be close to other businesses, food, coffee shops, bars, etc.

There would need to be some sort of agreement among those using the office as to noise, acceptable uses of the internet - so no one hogs the bandwidth, food/beverage rules, and cleaning. Ideally, each renter would be given a key fob that would open a door to the office, so there would be no set hours. You could rent access monthly or yearly, and when your rental period or membership was over, the owner/manager would simply deactivate your access.

I just mentioned this idea to an acquaintance, who also works from home. This person is very well connected and successful, but said he would definitely utilize something like that. And he told me that another person had just expressed an interest in the same type of facility.

Apparently, these arrangements are pretty common in larger cities. Someone should open one in Madison. Not me, but "someone."

Don't make people pay for parking they don't need

2011-11-27T21:21:00.000-06:00

Below is an email I wrote a year ago regarding a development in our neighborhood. I happened to find a printed copy while cleaning out some files, and decided to post it. While this was written about one particular project, it summarizes a problem that is common to many residential developments: Parking is included in the cost of more expensive apartments, and if a resident doesn't need the parking, they have no way of recovering the cost of the parking they are paying for.

Despite what some people think, not everyone owns a car. Especially in urban areas, parking can be quite costly, and no one should be forced to pay for it if they don't want it.

So below is the letter I wrote to city commissions when our neighborhood association wanted to force the developer guarantee a parking spot as part of the rent for all residents. They wanted to avoid more people parking on the streets in the neighborhood, but I thought their concerns were misplaced.

I know I may be in the minority among the people you hear from, but I will reiterate what I said at the meeting Monday night. Requiring all tenants to pay for a parking spot, whether they own a car or not, is both unfair, and bad for the neighborhood. If [the project] includes a parking spot with every apartment, you are forcing people to pay for something they don't need, don't want, and won't use. And it's not a community asset, like a green roof, patio, or work out room, that tenants may or may not use. A parking spot adds significantly to the cost of an apartment, so makes the apartment less affordable.

It also makes the apartment only attractive to those who own cars. Is that what [the neighborhood] wants? Is that good for the neighborhood? Do we want to only have drivers and car owners moving into an already crowded area? I don't think so.

To make sure I had my facts straight, I checked with [a representative of the developer.] They do not want to allow tenants to reassign the spot - the one they are required to pay for - to a friend, work colleague, or other party. Tenants would not be able to resell or rent the spot to someone else. [The building owners] considers that too much of a security risk.

So the expensive parking spot included with the apartment will not only be unused by the tenant, but will not be able to be used to get one more car off the neighborhood streets during the day. Again, is this in the interest of the neighborhood?

So, my request to you is: Do not ask that a parking spot be included with each apartment. It is bad public policy and bad for the neighborhood. If you are determined to require a parking spot be paid for by each tenant, then ask that [the building owners] allow the spots to be reassigned to outside parties. This will be more fair to tenants that do not own cars, and it will also get cars off our neighborhood streets.

As to commercial and visitor parking - i.e. short term parking - as a neighbor that lives one block from the site, I can tell you that there IS parking available on our neighborhood streets, although one might have to walk a block or two. Despite what some think, we live in an urban area, and one cannot expect to park directly in front of one's destination. The streets are a public area, and anyone can use them, including for parking. We have two hour limits during the day, and that's appropriate. I have no problem with commercial customers parking on my block, nor do I think that a lack of commercial or visitor parking will doom the project.

When we visit the Monroe, Atwood, or Williamson St areas, whether to visit friends, shop, or enjoy dinner or a drink, we often have to park on the street, and possibly several blocks away. (OK, Monroe has a parking garage at Trader Joes, but the east side areas do not.) That does not keep us from visiting these areas, nor does it seem to impede the success of businesses. Just as with our neighborhood, these areas were built for and continue to be accessible by foot, bike, and transit. People who live and visit these area expect that parking may be less convenient, but they also enjoy a wonderful neighborhood experience, highlighted by easy, pleasant walking.

Please don't let a few loud voices push you to make suggestions to the city committees that are in opposition to the interests of the neighborhood and the best practices of urban design. Several people have contacted me since the meeting to tell me they agree with me, so I am not alone. We all know that those opposed are often the loudest and most strident, but maybe not the majority.

Black Friday recall efforts: Midnight at Hilldale Target

2011-11-25T21:54:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week, I tried to find any group organizing for the Hilldale Black Friday midnight sale. Although I couldn't find any official efforts, after a little emailing in the neighborhood, I found some other folks that were already planning on going down Thanksgiving night around 11 PM. I was glad to know I wouldn't be alone. It's more fun with others, and it's safer too. You never know what you are going to run into out there.

At first we were on the curb across from Target, just south of the University Ave entrance to Hilldale. When the line to go in the door grew to where it reached the University Ave sidewalk, decided to go over there to walk up and down the line. I knew that the sidewalk on University Ave was public, so it was OK to stand there.

Unfortunately, one of the Target employees was not so knowledgeable about the public right of way, and she came over to tell me that the sidewalk was private property, and I couldn't be there with the petitions.

Hmmm... I hate to act like a know-it-all, or pull out my past service on the City Council, but I was definitely not moving. I tried to be polite and point out that the sidewalk was legally part of the "street," and so was public. The employee kept saying, "This isn't the street, it's the sidewalk. We paid for this sidewalk." Yes, Target was required to pay to have the sidewalk installed as part of the development, but they do not own it. It's City property.

Ms Target Employee finally told me that if I didn't leave, she would call the police. I responded that she was free to do so, but I could guarantee that the police would agree with me about my right to be there. In order to not waste the time of the police, I did point out to her that I had been on the Council when the Target development was approved, and I was quite aware of the public right of way. She still thought I was on private property.

Of course, when the police arrived, they said I was completely within my rights to be on the sidewalk, and as long as I was not harassing the customers, I and the rest of the volunteers could stay. We had been very polite, and as a matter of fact, had mostly not even talked to people unless they approached us first.

I think the employee was completely shocked that, not only was I not intimidated by her, but I was willing to risk dealing with the police. Of course, since I knew I was within my rights, I wasn't bothered at all.

So not only did I collect a bunch of signatures, but I struck a blow for our civil liberties.

So to all you recall volunteers: Know where the public/private line is, and don't let anyone tell you you can't be on the public sidewalk. (We actually moved to the terrace so we wouldn't block people walking or standing in line, but that was being polite, not a matter of our rights.)

And if you go to Hilldale, Frey St, which runs on the other side of the Target parking lot from University Ave, and the bus stop across from Sundance Theater are also public right of way.

Recall rally and petition circulation - notes and pics - Nov 19, 201

2011-11-20T11:52:00.000-06:00

Just some random thoughts and photos from the rally yesterday.

Even though I am recovering from a cold, and being out in the cold and shouting in the street probably isn't the best thing for my health, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend the kick-off rally at the Capitol today. Besides, you can only stand so much "recovery" inside before you come down with another ailment: cabin fever.

So off I went, first to a pre-rally caffeination session at Barriques with some other lefties, and then up to the main rally. After walking around for a bit, I found a booth where you could grab supplies to circulate recall petitions. I had brought my own clipboard and pens, so all I needed was the paperwork: one recall petition for Walker, and a second one for Kleefish.

We can't forget the recall for Kleefish, because if we get rid of Walker without getting rid of her, she'd become Governor. Hard to believe there would be anyone worse than Walker, but I think she would fit that role.

The organizers told me to stand at the top of State Street, on the Capitol side, but there were already so many volunteers there that I went down State Street a bit. We also had stickers to give people once they signed so that other people wouldn't bug them. I think I gave out ten times as many stickers as the number of signatures I got, but that's OK. People were glad to get a sticker, partly in support of the cause, and partly so they wouldn't keep being asked to sign. I gave stickers to little kids, teens too young to vote, out of state supporters, and citizens of other countries. It was wonderful to see so many people wanting to do anything they could to support the recall.

I finally filled all the sheets I had for both candidates and gave out all the stickers I had. I was feeling like it was time to get out of the cold, but I walked around a bit to see some of the signs.It all had a bit of a deja vu feeling, since we were all out in the cold, rain, and snow just 8-9 months ago.

There were the creative signs; the Madison Fire Dept bagpipes and kilts; parades and signs from AFSCME, MTI, ATF, and other unions; even the Teamsters truck was back. Everyone was back in the street, shouting, chanting, marching, organizing, and being supportive of each other. There were smiles all around, but also that same frustration and anger, the feeling that our progressive state had been taken from us.

One thing I thought, as I walked around, was, "Well, it seems that Walker is good for a certain category of small business: Those in Madison selling food near the Square, and those printing and selling t-shirts, bumper stickers, and pins." The business was brisk at the food carts, bars, and coffee shops. You could hardly get in anywhere within two blocks of the Square. And there was a healthy selection of ways to express your feelings by wearing, pinning something on yourself, or sticking something on your car (or bike.)

I had a few errands to do, and as I entered one business, well away from downtown, one of the employees smiled and said, "I bet know where you were today." She offered to sign my petition (I had picked up some extra sheets) without me saying anything, and another employee quickly came over as well. They both implied that they could only sign because the boss wasn't around, but they were very eager. (I don't want to get them in trouble, so I won't say where I was.)

Everyone I know seems to be passing around petitions, volunteering to stand in the street, or knock on doors. I was worried that the energy would be gone by now, that people would be resigned to the regime, but it seems they were just waiting for the signal to rush back into action. I hope the action and momentum is as good in other parts of the state as it is here in Madison, because we are going to need it to get all the signatures in time.

Stop the bike vs car wars - we're all at fault

2011-11-18T14:45:00.001-06:00

No matter what mode of transportation you name: cars, bikes, feet, bus, trains, airplanes, or rollerblade, someone is going to gripe about people that use that form of transportation. With a background in bicycle advocacy, I have heard more than my share of gripes about the way bicyclists and motorists operate.

Instead of arguing who's right or wrong, or what road users break the law more often, I try to diffuse the tension and give people a little perspective with a couple of thoughts.

First, my personal opinion is that all road users should obey all traffic laws all the time. That includes signalling turns, not speeding, yielding to pedestrians, not going through an "orange" light, full stop at stop signs, etc. But we all know that everyone breaks at least some laws every time they take to the road. Yes, even you. Let's try to concentrate on stopping people from doing things that are going to endanger other people.

And before all my biking friends jump down my throat, and if anyone else is interested in a perspective on why bicyclists blow stop signs, here's a little article from Toronto to give the other side.

My second approach, to try to get people off the "who's worse" train, is that it's not the vehicle that causes bad behavior. It's the person using the vehicle. And most bicyclists are also drivers. They are probably scofflaws when they drive as well. You may see them, or only pay attention when they are on their bikes, but they probably get behind the wheel and break the law there too. If someone is in a hurry or is reckless when riding their bike, then they are likely in a hurry and reckless in a car as well.

And finally, people ask me what they can do to improve the driving (or biking) of others. As an elected official, people constantly asked me how to get people to stop speeding, or how to get people to yield to pedestrians. Well, it's not easy, and we all have a part. We have to speak up, and it may be speaking up to those we love.

How often do each of us ride in a car with someone else, and notice that person speeding, blowing a red, not coming to a full stop before making a turn, or not yielding to a pedestrians? And how many of us say something to our spouse, friend, co-worker, neighbor, parent or sibling? If we see our neighbor blow the stop sign at the end of the block every day, and don't say anything about it, how can we expect anyone else to get through to that person?

So yes, the police can run around ticketing people for every little thing, but that is going to cost you, the taxpayer a ton of money. Contrary to what some people think, it costs the city money to enforce those laws. The time required to stop someone, do a license check, write the ticket, file the paperwork, and then possibly go to court when the person contests the ticket, it far more in staff time and resources than the money coming in from that ticket. That's not to say that we shouldn't enforce traffic laws, but we are never going to get perfect compliance by using law enforcement only.

Why do people yield to pedestrians in California and many other parts of the US? Because that's just the way things are done, and you learn that from the time you start to walk. It's cultural, like being stoic about cold weather in Wisconsin. (Or a more negative cultural tradition, drunk driving.)

We all have to start being responsible for our own behavior and also speaking up when we get the chance. Don't sit silent if you see someone speeding, and you are sitting in the car next to him. Say something. And let's all watch our own behavior as well. none of us is perfect, regardless of whether we walk, bike, drive, roll, or run.

We can make the streets safer for everyone, but we all have to be part of that change.

Survey on interest in downtown bike center

2011-09-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

I'm using this blog as a way to have a link I can post elsewhere, so excuse the fact that this looks like an email. It was an email.

There has been much discussion over the last few years about building a "bike station" in either the downtown or on campus. Because Bike Station is a company, the generic term "bike center" is used below and in the survey. Now there is a real possibility of having a bike center built downtown, just blocks from the Capitol, the GEF buildings, Farmers' Market, Capital Square activities, city/county government, and thousands of other downtown workers.

Consultants are interested in seeing what the interest is in a bike center and what amenities people would like to see. Please pass on this link, distribute it in emails, or post it in whatever method you can to get responses to the survey.

This is NOT just for current bicycle commuters! We want to hear from others at your workplace, friends, clubs, Facebook, listservs, etc. The city is trying to get as much input from the public as possible, from many different groups and areas of the city.

The city would like your input on interest in a bike center (aka "bike station") for a the redevelopment of the area that is currently occupied by the parking ramp next to the Great Dane downtown.

More information is in the email copied below from the consultant.

If you don't want to read the whole thing, the survey link is:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/8LXYMM8

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

[start forwarded message from consultant]

The City of Madison has recently initiated a planning process for the future redevelopment of the Government East Parking Ramp, which is located on Pinckney Street. The site is part of the recently named Judge Doyle Square, which is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, East Doty Street, East Wilson Street, and the parcel containing the parking ramp (i.e., Block 88 and Block 105). The planning for Judge Doyle Square is part of a larger effort to form a bold vision for the South-East area of the Central Business District, which will place an emphasis on transit-oriented development. The master planning process for Block 105, which is being coordinated by a consultant team that includes Kimley-Horn, Potter Lawson, and Urban Assets, will be completed over the course of the next four months.

The redevelopment of Block 105 will include the construction of an underground parking ramp as well as public improvements to Pinckney Street. One of the proposed uses for the redevelopment is a bicycle Center. Mobis Transportation Alternatives (www.mobisinc.com) has been engaged to analyze the feasibility of including a bicycle center in the redevelopment and to develop a concept plan for its size, amenities, and operations.

We need your input in order to determine the potential demand for a bicycle center in Downtown Madison, what amenities it should include, and how it might be used by the greater Madison community. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey. It can be accessed by clicking the link below. If you are not taken directly to the survey, please copy the address and paste it into your browser.

www.surveymonkey.com/s/8LXYMM8

For more information on the Judge Doyle Square Master Plan process, please go to:

www.cityofmadison.com/planning/judgeDoyleSquare

Thank you for your participation! Your input is very important.

[end forwarded message]

Is the gas tax the next Tea Party target?

2011-08-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

That's the question asked by this article from yesterday. There's something for everyone to hate hate in some of the comments from Grover Norquist and other anti-tax people.

Gas taxes shouldn't be used for transit or bicycle/pedestrian projects. (Despite the fact that these projects actually take pressure off many roads, and are a far cheaper way of moving people than single occupancy vehicles.)

Federal regulations require union labor, which of course is a waste of money. We can have unskilled labor with no negotiating power build our roads, bridges, and tunnels.

The states can do things much more efficiently, and can decide if they want to raise their own taxes to pay for transportation. Where to start on that one? I'm sure the Wisconsin governor and legislators will be glad to raise taxes and fees.... And of course, the interstate system is a federal highway system. There is a reason it is fairly predictable; you pretty much know what it's going to look and feel like regardless of what state you are in. That's because it has federal standards.

Note also that there is actually a teaser headline/link in the middle of the article that says the GM CEO wants to RAISE the gas tax $1.00 per gallon. I didn't click on that link, but it's sort of an interesting juxtaposition. That position is reiterated at the end of the article, where it notes that the US Chamber of Commerce also supports a hike in the gas tax.

This is all coming to a head, because the multi-year federal transportation bill - which is somewhere between $200 - $500 billion (yes, that's a B), is on what is known as a continuing resolution. It was supposed to be written, debated, argued over, and somehow passed in a year and a half ago. (You can go here to see the clock on how long overdue it is.) Since we can't just stop building, maintaining, and operating our roads, bridges, tunnels, transit systems, non-motorized trails, and every other surface transportation system, Congress keeps extending the current bill, with all it's current policies and programs by six months at a time to keep the money flowing and the system working. The most recent continuing resolution will run out at the end of September.

Cue the scary music.

Downtown Bicycle Parking: Issues and Solutions

2011-08-05T12:15:00.000-05:00

Below is a document that I wrote in 2005, and recently edited as part of a discussion at several city committees on downtown bicycle parking. It was presented at the Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission in July, and has been sent to the State Street Design Oversight Committee as well. (It's long, but I wanted to get all my thoughts on the subject out in one place.)

At the July PBMVC, we also saw a draft proposal from Rebecca Cnare of the City Planning Department, which outlines some ways to increase bicycle parking in the downtown.

This topic is an ongoing discussion at city committees as well as among downtown business groups. I will point out that several of the suggestions in my report have already been or are about to be implemented, such as bike corrals - adding racks in the street where a car parking spot is currently located - and valet bike parking at Concerts on the Square, organized by Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

In a few days - or whenever I finish it - I will post another document I wrote about bike stations. As part of the rebuilding/redevelopment of the Government East Parking Ramp, a bike station has been proposed, and the UW has also discussed adding one to Union South.

BICYCLE PARKING ON STATE STREET

(and parts of the Capital Square.)

Issues and Solutions

Written by Robbie Webber

originally in approx. 2005, later revised and expanded summer 2011

The problem – inadequate bicycle parking

It is clear there is a lack of adequate bicycle parking on State Street. One only needs to walk up and down the street to see that there are many more bicycles than there are spots to park them. Even existing racks contain many more bikes than they were designed to accommodate.

Why it matters

If anyone thinks that this is just an inconvenience to bicyclists, I must point out that it is not. With nowhere appropriate to park bicycles, they are locked to benches, sign poles, parking meters, trees, fences, or other objects. They lean against buildings or other vertical surfaces. They then become pedestrian hazards or damage street furniture.

Appropriately accommodating bicycle parking makes business sense – and cents. A few years back we were proposing to build a band new car parking ramp for $11 million (the Mid-State St Ramp.) The yet-to-be-designed ramp to replace the Government East Ramp has an unknown, but likely very high price tag. We added 27 auto spots on the Square. We hear constantly about the need for auto parking in downtown. Many, many bikes can be parked in the space needed for just one car, and the cost is pennies compared to even one underground auto spot. Yet we have no plan to accommodate the thousands of visitors to State Street that arrive by bicycle.

Just as with car parking, businesses with convenient bike parking gain customers. Those without spots lose the impulse buyers or convenience diners. One reason people bike to downtown is because they can ride up to their destination. But if there is nowhere to park in front of the building, they may bypass that location for another.

The barriers to more bicycle parking

Whenever I have asked about increased bicycle parking, city staff points out all the locations on the sidewalk where a standard 3-4 space racks cannot be placed. There is only a limited amount of sidewalk, and many uses compete for the space. Besides a place to walk, the sidewalk on State Street is a place to serve food and beverages, sell merchandise, or sit on a bench. There are also street trees, delivery zones, bus stops, trash containers, street lights, and other street amenities. These are all fine uses, but each use competes with the others.

In addition to lack of space on the sidewalk, some merchants and property owners do not wish to have a bike rack placed in front of their building. I have heard comments that bike racks are “unsightly.” This is sad, because each bike means a potential customer for that business or an employee that does not need a car parking spot. I am also struggling with the resistance to placing bike racks on the south side of the 200 block (the Overture side.) According to our 1988 zoning code amendment, all new developments need to include bicycle parking in their plans. Yet the Planning Department has indicated none were included in the plans for Overture. This is direct violation of our zoning code. Further, the Overture Board has indicated they do not wish any racks placed on their side of the 200 block of State St. Since this side of the street is considerably wider than the north side, with fewer vendors and cafes, and Overture is far and away the largest draw on that block, I find it strange that they hold this position.

(The above paragraph was written a couple off years after the Overture Center was opened. Since then, as part of the redesign and rebuilding of the 200 block, I managed to get some racks installed on Fairchild St, at least within view of the main entrance to Overture. However, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art still resists allowing any racks on the corner of State St and Henry, either on the State St side or the Henry side. There is quite a bit of space in both these locations, and a desperate need in that part of State St, especially for large events downtown.)

Finally, I believe a barrier to adequately accommodating bicycle parking needs is the assumption that the only way bicycles can be stored is on the sidewalk in standard 3-4 space racks. True, there are racks in the parking garages, but as we will see, there is no signage to direct people to these locations. I believe there is also an implicit “this is the best we can do” attitude among city staff. There does not appear to be the will among the various departments to solve the problem.

At some point in our civic past, Madison city staff, elected officials, and citizens made the decision that the city had the responsibility to appropriately store cars. We made accommodations so that there were places for people to leave their cars safely and efficiently while they worked, shopped, dined, attended events, or even went home to sleep. Madison has one of the highest bicycle transportation mode splits in the entire US, and the downtown is the highest use in Madison. It is time for the city to make this same commitment to bicycle parking.

Below are some ideas to relieve the bicycle parking crisis in downtown. No one idea will be sufficient, and all are just that, ideas. This is simply a starting point for further brainstorming and discussion. I hope you find it helpful.

Concepts to consider

Begin to think of bicycle parking in the same way we think of car parking. On June 9, (2005?) DMI hosted a presentation on Best Practices in Parking Management. Although I found most of the information too obvious for a city such as Madison, we can use some of the same concepts the consultant covered to plan appropriate bicycle parking. Look over your notes, and simply substitute “bicycle” everywhere that you would normal think “cars.” Proximity to destinations, inviting parking facilities, signage, customer service, new technologies, Private-public partnerships, etc. are but a few concepts that we need to consider.

Think of bicycles in the same way we think of cars. They are vehicles that need to be stored for short or long periods of time. We have short, medium, and long term car parking. We remove cars that appear to be abandoned. We have a limit on how long a car can be parked in a certain location. We devote staff to making sure cars are efficiently parked, and we enforce rules. We have people who use their cars every day, and people who use them occasionally. We have people that do not know their way around downtown, and we help them find a place to park their cars. People use their cars for commuting, for work, for shopping trips, or simply to visit the downtown. All of the above could also be said for bicycles. In some cases, using the same rules and requirements may not make sense, but we can start to think of bikes as vehicles that need a framework for parking.

Possible solutions

Make sure that bikes that are abandoned are removed. Bikes abandoned in racks are occupying spaces that others could be using. The city has let this task lapse, but it was never adequately staffed. Bicycles could be tagged on Monday each week and removed on Friday if the tag still exists. This means no bike is removed before 3 days has elapsed, and would clear spots a minimum of once a week. It seems that bikes only get removed before Maxwell Street Days and before Halloween. Even when people call to request removal of an abandoned bike, it is not done. We already have an ordinance that bicycles cannot be parked on the public right of way for more than 48 hours. It is the same ordinance that requires cars be moved every 48 hours (a requirement that many of my neighbors hate because they do not use their cars frequently.)

Consider lockers for daily commuters or local residents without bike storage on site. Many spots that could be occupied by shoppers or diners are taken by long term parkers. Lockers could be rented monthly. This allows a bicyclist with extensive commuting gear (lights, panniers, odometer, helmet, etc.) to leave much of the gear on the bike and know that it will be secure. People riding more expensive bikes will also feel their bike is safe from theft of vandalism.

Consider coin-operated lockers for people who wish to leave expensive bikes or purchases in the locker for medium or long term parking. An example would be similar to lockers one sees in train terminals or airports. Occasional shoppers may not want to rent a monthly locker, but they will be glad to have a place to store purchases while they eat diner or attend events. It would allow use similar to taking ones purchases back to the car until one is ready to go home.

Signage is very important. Many racks exist in locations that are not obvious or even visible from the main destinations on State St. This is one of the problems with the racks in the parking ramps or farther away from State St on Henry Street. If one is going to a show at the Orpheum or Overture Center, how is one supposed to know that racks exist on Henry St or the State Street Capital ramp? Even staring directly at the entrance to the city ramp gives no indication that racks are available inside.

Put smaller racks on the street. Parking meters or sign poles are used as de facto bike racks, yet take up little space. “Hitching post” type racks can accommodate two bikes, and occupy very little space. There are many locations that cannot accommodate a 3-4 space rack, but could easily take a hitching post.

Convert parking meters, poles, or other street accessories into real racks. This has been started with the conversion of the parking meters to “pay by space” parking systems. The poles remain and have been retrofitted with rings to allow proper bicycle parking. Tree protection fences, benches, or other street furniture can include bike parking spaces. This is done in many cities where people have used trees as bicycle parking. (This is illegal in Madison and damages young trees, which is why it is illegal in most cities.) decorative fences around trees can also have elements to allow proper bicycle parking.

The city may need to acquire property to adequately accommodate bicycle parking. We use real estate that could be privately held to park cars. Is it time to build a city bike parking lot or ramp? One caveat with this concept is that bicycle parking needs to be even more convenient than car parking in order to be used. One reason that bicycles are an attractive transportation alternative is because there is an expectation that parking will be extremely close to the destination. The previously proposed “Bike Station” at or near the site of the Government East Ramp/Public Market/High Speed Rail Station/current municipal lot would serve employees in the GEF complexes and the south side of the Square, but would not serve most of State St. However, a similar facility might help relieve the need for secure long-term parking in the State St area.

More space in city ramps can be devoted to bicycle parking. However, there must be adequate signage so that bicyclists know the spots exist. Bicycle parking inside ramps should also be attractive and feel safe. Better lighting, better visibility from the street or locations near parking personnel will mean nighttime use is less intimidating. The bicyclist should also feel safe from car traffic within the ramp.

Bicycle racks could be placed on the street instead of the sidewalk. A wall or other barrier would be required to protect bicycles and users from motorized traffic in the street. On-street parking is the solution for many short-term car parking spots, and it may be one solution for short term bicycle parking as well. One advantage of this approach is that the spots are highly visible and possibly closer to destinations than other locations. Many bicycles can be parked in the space required for one car, so many spots could be added with minimal loss of car spaces. Cities around the US are starting to convert car spots to bike spots. If plowing in the winter is a problem (as I have heard), these spots could be seasonal, as bicycle parking demand obviously goes down (but not away!) in the winter.

A private-public partnership or a for-profit enterprise may be viable avenues for development of facilities. Especially with regard to long-term bicycle parking, it is possible to make bike parking profitable. A business with underutilized space may wish to offer guarded bicycle parking for daily commuters. This would not even require racks, but simply a secure place to leave one’s bike. State Street is not the ideal location for this because of a lack of large employers. This concept would work very well near the GEF buildings. (See comments above about proposed Bike Station.)

Large event sponsors or destinations may want to consider “valet” bicycle parking. In the past, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin provided this service for the Great Taste of the Midwest and the Madison Blues Festival, both in Olin Park. A non-profit group or even a for-profit enterprise could park bikes for events such as Maxwell Street Days, Taste of Madison, Farmers’ Market, Overture Center events, Orpheum concerts, etc. The sponsor or group would need to find a location to store the bikes while patrons attend the event, but the location would not need to be as close as optimal racks.

Consider vertical storage. Lockers exist which allow bicycles to be parked on two levels. I have tested some of the devices at conferences, and even a short woman with little upper body strength (me) can place a bicycle in the upper berth. Some racks are made that hang bikes by the front wheel. This allows bicycle parking in less horizontal space than a standard rack.

Next steps

The above ideas are just off the top of my head. I am not an urban designer, planner, parking expert, or engineer. I have also not studied the problem except as a user of the facilities (or lack thereof.) As with any change in city policy, investment, or public need, I would suggest we do a study of the issues and problems and come up with a set of formal recommendations. Below are some steps that should be included to reach a solutions to the problem of inadequate bicycle parking downtown.

Several different city departments will need to be consulted, but I would suggest that the lead department should be Planning. They work with the downtown business community, neighborhood groups, economic development interests, City Engineering, Mall Concourse (housed in the Parks Dept), and Traffic Engineering (Parking Utility and the Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator) on a regular basis. Planning has the staff and expertise to work with all these interests.

Survey existing bicycle parking facilities. Traffic Engineering and Mall Concourse should have a list and count of all the bike racks in the State St/Capital Square area, but I wonder if they also include the racks in the parking ramps. If these counts and location maps need to be updated, that should be done.

Survey where bikes are parked, both legally and illegally. I have done occasional counts on State St, and often found 140% more bikes parked than there are legal and appropriate parking spots. We need to know what the demand is in order to meet said demand. Surveys should be done during the day midweek, during Farmers Market, when there is an evening event (for instance Overture), and on weekends, both daytime and evening. Art Fair on the Square, Concerts on the Square, Maxwell St Days, or other special events should be included in these surveys.

Talk to business owners. Some may have ideas, others concerns. I have heard from some business interests that they are very concerned about the lack of adequate parking for their customers. Others may not realize that their customers come by bike. Still others are actively opposed to additional bike parking in front of their business.

Talk to the Madison Police Department and Mall Concourse about how to solve the abandoned bike problem. Tagging and removing abandoned bikes does not seem to be a priority, or even a regular event, however I believe it is crucial to solving this problem.

Survey bicyclists parking downtown. These are the customers for the facilities. There are likely many categories and corresponding needs with the bicycling community: business customers, daytime commuters, event attendees, downtown residents (who probably have nowhere else to park, so use racks that should be available for short term parkers), downtown employees, etc.

Consider the needs of different users. Some of these bicyclists may be willing to park slightly farther away, in less convenient spots, if given better, more secure facilities. For instance, if someone will be parking for several hours every day (commuters), they may give up a spot in front of their place of business if their options are expanded to locked, covered, or otherwise upgraded facilities. Downtown residents may need a place to store their bikes overnight or for winter. Again, we may be able to make more street spots available if we move long term parking elsewhere. Also, some consideration of paid bicycle parking may be appropriate for optimum spots and facilities. (See suggestions of lockers, “bike stations,” and public-private partnerships.)

Survey space that could be converted to bicycle parking. Bicycle parking can be clumped together - like a parking ramp, or dispersed - like street spots for cars, but using post and ring or 2-bike spots.

Come up with a plan to meet the demand! Again, this might involve a list of recommendations, such as long term solutions, such as structured bicycle parking, as well as short term or policy changes using existing facilities.

Garlic scapes, fennel and tomatoes over pasta

2011-07-05T18:41:00.000-05:00

After I posted that I was eating garlic scapes for dinner, a friend asked me how I cooked them, so I wrote this up. It's not really a recipe, but more like my cooking methodology - if you can call it that.

This was very much a last minute, make-it-up-as-you-go dinner. That's what happens when you live alone and don't plan your meals in advance. It sounds horribly disorganized, but sometimes great things come from experiments like this. Many of my favorite dishes have resulted from me just throwing ingredients in with no plan.

I had garlic scapes* from the garden, and my fennel was getting bushy as well. I figured maybe I should cut the fronds on the fennel back a bit so that more energy would go into the bulb. (I love fennel, and have tried to grow it in the past, but never had any decent bulb, so I'm happy to report that it looks like it was a success this year.)

Several people had told me that garlic scapes can be eaten just like asparagus, so I thought I'd cut them up and saute them in butter, since butter always seems to improve garlic. The scapes looked a little lonely in the pan, and not much like a meal, so I decided maybe I should make a more varied veggie dish over pasta. I walked into the back yard and cut a big frond of fennel, chopped it up, and threw it in as well. Then, so pull it together and make it more sauce-like, I chopped up a few tomatoes and threw them in. Salt and pepper are often the only spices that are needed with veggies this flavorful, so that's all I added. OK, I actually also added a little bit of balsamic vinegar, which I find is like salt - it brings out the flavor in foods.

After the pasta was all cooked up, and I dumped the veggies in top, I decided that the parmesan cheese just wasn't rich enough, so first I added a bit of olive oil, and then a little cottage cheese to make it extra creamy.

Yup, that was just perfect.

The following day I made a similar dish, but this time just the veggies, salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar in foil on the grill. Very tasty and quick addition to the burger and brats.

*More on garlic scapes.

Seriously, How hard is 400 signatures?

2011-07-01T15:37:00.000-05:00

A judge recently ruled against a candidate that failed to get 400 signatures for a state senate seat. He was two signatures short after some of the signatures were ruled invalid.

I'm sure the Republican party will call foul, but really, 400 signatures to get on the ballot, and he failed? Volunteers got enough signatures to set up a recall election, but not enough to get their candidate on the ballot? How lame can the effort be?

Maybe it's because the people collecting signatures against Senator Dave Hansen were often paid, out of state people who didn't really care about the issues, but were just in it for the dough. I did data entry to challenge some of those recall petitions, and the work was very sloppy, and almost every petition from Green Bay were from someone from outside Wisconsin. (I personally think a person circulating a petition should have to be an eligible elector in Wisconsin, but that's just me.)

As a former elected officials, I have circulated many nomination papers. Four hundred signatures is a pretty low bar for an office that important, and everyone knows you always overshoot. When I had to collect 20 signatures to get on the ballot in Madison, I got 50. When the Democrats needed 15,000 signatures to recall a Republican Senator, they got 20,000, 25,000, even 30,000 signatures!

Rep. John Nygren is either extremely lazy or extremely politically incompetent. Either way, he didn't do the minimum to be on the ballot, and clearly doesn't deserve to be a State Senator. (Yes, it was probably his staff that is lazy and/or incompetent, but it is still the candidate's responsibility, and even the candidate alone should be able to get 400 signatures to get his name on the ballot.)

Todd Dr "bike lanes" are not

2011-06-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, I posted a blog entry/rant about crossing the Beltline by bike or foot. It all bubbled up because there was yet another bicycle-car crash on Whitney Way neat the Beltline. Why does it seem we obsess and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to be sure car drivers are safe, and yet we can't spend a fraction of that to make sure that people using non-motorized transportation also have safe and convenient facilities.

Instead of tacking on the post below to the earlier one, I thought I'd tell a story about a time when we did have money to do things right, and yet the money ended up elsewhere, and the results were not even safe when the project was done.

Back when I was an alder and Mike Rewey was just leaving the Wisconsin DOT, Mr Rewey got some funding to fix a safety problem: people were trying to get across the Beltline between Fish Hatchery Rd and Park St. They were cutting holes in the fence and running across the Beltline. some of them got hurt doing that.

Why were they taking such risks? Because they wanted to get to jobs in the area of Greenway Cross, and they lived in the Burr Oaks and Bram's Addition areas of the city, which is traditionally a lower income area, in other words, full of people who would like to work at the entry-level jobs in the area directly across the Beltline from them. The Fish Hatchery Rd crossing of the Beltline is not friendly to pedestrians, and for people on foot, it's pretty far out of the way to just get across the highway.

So Mr. Rewey got funding to build a pedestrian-bike bridge to connect the two pieces of Perry St on either side of the Beltline.

View Larger Map

However, some of the businesses in the area were concerned with making this connection, and the project was killed by the local alder. The money was diverted to another project farther west, rebuilding Todd Dr.

There was just one problem, and that was that Wisconsin generally doesn't allow targeted bicycle and pedestrian money to be used just to add sidewalks and bike lanes when a road is rebuilt. The Wisconsin DOT, and the various MPOs and municipalities that follow the WisDOT guidelines, figure that bike lanes and sidewalks are part of the roadway anyway, and since it's not really all that expensive to add them when the road is being rebuilt, you don't have to use a special, and very limited pot of money to out them in.

I argued that this was an inappropriate use of the funds that were supposed to alleviate a very specific safety problem, but I lost that battle and the money was used to add "bicycle and pedestrian accommodations" to the Todd Dr . project.

So imagine my chagrin when I went down to Johannsen's Greenhouse, next to the rebuilt intersection, and found that the "bike lanes" were to the right of a right-turn-only lane! Uh huh. So you are riding along in the "bike lanes" - note that they are not actually marked as such, because they are in the wrong place - and all those cars are going to be cutting you off to get on the Beltline. Great.

After a couple of years of noticing this, I finally remembered to mention it to a couple of people who should be able to fix it. I sure hope so, because what exists now is very dangerous. And really, this is what we get when we put in "bicycle and pedestrian accommodations" with money allocated to solve a bicycle-pedestrian safety problem? I sure as hell hope not!

Another bicyclist injured on Whitney Way

2011-06-17T12:52:00.001-05:00

Last time it was just north of the Beltline, and the driver tried to drive off, dragging the bicyclist under her car. Fortunately, the driver of a Roto-Rooter truck blocked her so the injured woman could be helped. But the driver then sped off again.

This time the hit-and-run was just south of the Beltline, but also on Whitney Way.

Sounds to me like there is a need for some safety improvements, or maybe another route option in this area. The Beltline crossings in this area are pretty far apart for a bicyclist or pedestrian. It is roughly a mile to the Grand Canyon underpass to the west, and about 3/4 mile to the Hammersley overpass to the east (and that is as the crow flies, not as the bicyclist is able to use on-ground connections.)

With two crashes within one month, is that enough to get hazard mitigation funding? There is a nice cul-de-sac at Forward Dr south of the Beltline, and another one on Schroeder Ct., just west of Whitney. Maybe we can get a crossing there? The Odana Golf Course makes it a bit tough to find a crossing between Whitney and Hammersley, but maybe we can find a way.

And just by coincidence, when I went in to Google Maps streetview just north of the Beltline on northbound Whitney Way, there is a bicyclist in the shot! [edit: On second glance, I actually think that is a scooter, but it's still a horrid place to be on a small vehicle that doesn't go as fast as the cars generally are moving.]

Crossing the Beltline by foot or by bike via the normal car routes - Fish Hatchery, Whitney, Rimrock, Mineral Point, Old Sauk Rd, etc. - is a scary experience, even for experienced cyclists. I've done it many times, and I don't like it. I do it because I have to get somewhere, and just like most people, want to get there by the fastest and most direct route.

If we want people to be able to go the same places by bike and by foot as they do when in a car - and I think that should be our goal - we need to spend as much time thinking about making the routes as safe for bicyclists and pedestrians as we do solving safety problems for motorists. After all, if two cars are in a sideswipe crash at 25-30 mph, or a car bumps another from behind, there will be damage, but likely not major injury to either driver or any passenger. But if a car sideswipes a bicyclist at 30 mph, or rear ends a bicyclist when the speed differential is 15 mph (bicyclist going 15 and car going 30), the bicyclist is likely to end up in the hospital.

We spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year in Wisconsin making sure that motorists are both not overly delayed and are as safe as possible. That doesn't stop all the deaths and injuries, but we have engineered the roads as close to fool-proof as possible. We cut down trees, make the roads wide and the curves gentle. We put up signs and lights as warnings. We paint every road with stripes and arrows, and take over huge swaths of valuable land - good farmland or pricey urban land - to accommodate safe and fast roads.

Fortunately, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations are nowhere near as expensive as roads. A fe years back, the Madison Transportation Planning Board (MPO) was asked to make up a list of what it would do with $50 million in federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Almost everything we have been planning for for 15 years could be built with that money.

That seems like a lot of money, until you consider that the "interim fixes" to Verona Rd - just to make it work for motorists until 2030 - will cost... what's it up to now? Maybe $140 million? And then the planned freeway conversion in 2030 will be another $200 million. (The DOT web site is nowhere close to up to date on this project. I just attended a meeting on Wednesday where they presented a new version of Stage 1.)

So OK, that's a really big road, and several state highways. How about the S&M intersection on the west side of Madison. That is two county roads, but the City of Madison is picking up most of the local share. Just that one intersection, not even an interchange with the Beltine, will cost about $20 million. And that doesn't count the rest of the "improvements" to County Hwy M to accommodate all the commuters between Verona and Madison (or Middleton.)

So why is it so hard to make it safe for bicyclists and pedestrians to get across the Beltline? Why do we have to have a separate, and very small pot of money for that, instead of just building these projects just like we build big highways?

PBIC image - Dan Burden

The City of Madison has been pretty good about building good, safe connections for bicyclists and pedestrians, but that's partly because we have also been able to tap into federal earmarks. What will happen when those dry up? Will we keep building bigger and bigger roads, even as [motorized] vehicle miles traveled decreases, and bicycle mileage grows? And will be keep putting off the projects that would allow people to safely, easily, and quickly get across the barriers that we have created with... wait for it... all the big road?!

Storm Damage closes several state trails, rangers occupied at Capitol

2011-06-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Brigit Brown, State Trails Coordinator at the DNR, sent out the following info about sections of some state trails being closed due to storm damage from Wednesday.

Our staff is working on getting all the debris from the storms cleared, but we've got a fair amount of storm damage around here and just a handful of staff to deal with a pretty large area. We're pulling in folks from all around, but we've got a number of our rangers who have to work security at the capitol, and damage at other properties that has to be dealt with. Anyway, we're working as hard as we can to get everything cleared, but as of yesterday, parts of the Badger, Sugar River, and Military Ridge are closed. We put the word out (press release) yesterday through our "official" channels, but that's not to say that the news has reached everyone (or even many).

There are two crews right now working to get Military Ridge open. They'll continue to work through the weekend (if needed) to get it done.

Please know that there are several wash outs on the Military Ridge that we won't be able to fix right away but as we're clearing debris, we're marking the washouts with cones (some are holes, some not so obvious soft areas).

-Brigit

Note that, although people are desperately needed to clean up after a major storm, some of the DNR folks are up at the Capitol, occupied as palace guards.

I can't blame the DNR for this. They are being called out to work where their bosses - the Governor and the Legislature, or maybe the DNR Secretary - tell them to go. It just illustrates that how screwed up the situation at the Capitol is, once again.

Thanks to City Engineering for being responsive

2011-05-27T17:23:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we need to thank people for doing the right thing. Public employees have gotten beat up a lot in Wisconsin over the last few months, and I'd like to be sure we thanks them when they respond to citizen input and concerns. OK, I may have a bit more pull, because I know who to email or call, due to my alder tenure, but I'm just an average, if well informed citizen.

Yesterday, I sent the email below to the Madison City Engineer, Rob Phillips along with the photo seen below.

Rob -

Not sure who on your staff is overseeing the N Lake St project. Please forward as needed.
Please see attached photo. It is facing the northbound traffic, i.e. the direction that is allowed during the project.

Why do bicyclists need to walk? Most bicyclists are going to be going the same speed or faster than the motorized traffic in this area, so I see no reason why they can't ride int he lane, just like everyone else.

Perhaps this sign is courtesy of the contractor, who simply does not recognize the legal status and abilities of bicyclists. If so, could you have a word with them to have them take it down?

Now, if they want to put that sign up facing southbound - where bicyclists will certainly be wanting to make the transition from Langdon to State St - that would make more sense. However, I am hoping that there will soon be a small counterflow lane on N Lake for bicyclists. The Lakeshore Path => Langdon => State St route is a pretty major bike route without a good alternative. (See below regarding this discussion at a City-UW committee.)

Moving on to the Langdon project that will be coming up later this summer, at the Joint West Campus Area Committee, we asked if it would be possible to keep a counterflow lane open for bicyclists during the project. I would guess that both the 800 block of Langdon and N Lake between State and Langdon get as much or more bicycle traffic than car traffic in summer. Since the State St Mall does not allow biking, and University is very far out of the way for those trying to get from State St to the Lakeshore Path - a very major bike route - I would hope this request from our meeting could be accommodated.

Thanks for your help in these matters.

I got an email back this morning, with various City Engineering staff cc'd, agreeing that the sign could be removed. I'm headed down that way now, but I assume that it is either gone or will be soon.

So, I just wanted to thank City Engineering for responding so quickly. I expected that they would recognize that bicyclists are both legal users of the road, so there is no reason they need to walk their bikes instead of riding them, because this is Madison, and staff are very supportive of bicycling, but taking care of the problem is what really counts.

How to pick a bike helmet, and when to replace it

2011-05-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

Another in a long list of topics that seems to come up frequently: What kind of bike helmet should I buy? And how long to they last?

(If you are an experienced bicyclist, you can skip this post. I'm just writing up the FAQs of bicycle education.)

Recently, Steve Meiers, City of Madison Pedestrian-Bicycle Safety Assistance, posted a link on a local email list to a report from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. It basically says that cheap helmets work just as well as expensive helmets, as long as they both are approved by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC.) Although you can spend $150 or $200 on a bike helmet, a $30-35 helmet will protect your head just as well.

The difference tends to be color, number and size of vents, and some aesthetic options. For me, one big issue is how easy it is to adjust the straps. Making sure that your helmet fits well, and can be adjusted if the straps stretch, you tuck your hair up, or you want to wear a hat is very important. Here are some tips on fitting helmets correctly:

As an almost-daily bike commuter, I tend to spend a bit more on my helmets for one reason: I am likely going to wearing it every day and frequently for long periods of time. I want a helmet that fits me, is easy to adjust, and feels comfortable. I've owned helmets that didn't quite feel right, or were hard to adjust, and it just drove me nuts.

For what it's worth, I now own two helmets. (OK, I still have any old helmets that just got too banged up and/or gross from daily use, which I use for guests or in emergencies, but I mean new/current helmets.) One is my commuting helmet. It has fewer vents and was considerably cheaper than the other one. I finally decided to get a helmet just for long rides that had better ventilation and was a tiny bit lighter. Since I blew more than my normal helmet budget on it, I'm hoping it will last longer than the commuting helmet.

And for those who wonder, helmets don't last forever. They need to be replaced. Manufacturers will say three to five years or one crash. Helmets are meant to be single use: If you crash, replace your helmet. There may be micro cracks in the foam that will compromise its ability to protect you in the future.

Because I use my helmet almost every day, constantly being carried around or locked to the bike, clipped and unclipped, bumped, pushed, pulled, adjusted, etc., my helmet gets sort of beat up and nasty after about two years. A new helmet is an inexpensive component of my transportation system. Like so many other things about a bike, I think how much a tank of gas is for the car, and then decide that I can afford to buy a new helmet when I need one.

The three things that most degrade the foam of the helmet - the part that is actually protecting your head - are: heat, sunlight, and salt. Hmmmm.... what things is my helmet likely exposed to as I go out riding in hot weather: my sweaty, hot head in bright, hot sunlight.

Seminole Hwy vs. Badger Trail: Why not use the path?

2011-05-17T13:56:00.002-05:00

Recently, the Wisconsin State Journal ran a letter asking why bicyclists aren't using the Badger State Trail, which in some areas runs next to Seminole Hwy, instead of the road. This seems to be a common question, "There's a path right there. How come the bicyclist isn't using it? Why are they on the road? Isn't it safer on the path?"

Here is my answer:

Many of the riders you see on Seminole Hwy are going too fast for the path. Paths are not just for bicyclists, but also walkers, joggers, kids on bikes, dog walkers, and slower recreational cyclists. So if you want to go fast, either because you are in a hurry - like so many motorists - or because you are trying to get your heart rate up, the road is the proper place to bike. In the same way motorists cannot drive 55 on many narrow roads with poor sight lines or other, slower users, bicyclists should not be going 20-25 mph on the path, even when there is no one on it.
The bicyclists on the road also may not be coming or going to a location that makes the path a logical choice. Leaving the Arboretum, you use Seminole Hwy to cross the Beltline and get to many places in Fitchburg. The path crosses in a different location. Much as a bicyclist might ask, "Why is the motorist not on Verona Rd?"
The road is only unsafe if the motorists do not wait until it is safe to pass the bicyclist. I have been riding on Seminole Hwy for 20 years, and the only problems I have are when drivers are in too much of a hurry, and cannot slow down until there is a gap to pass.
All these perceived conflicts could have been avoided if Fitchburg had added bike lanes all the way down to Whalen Rd a number of years ago. But they said, "There isn't that much traffic. Bicyclists and motorists can share the lane easily." So now we have bicyclists doing exactly what the planners suggested, and the motorists being upset by that action.

Be Bright helps Madison cyclists see and be seen

2011-05-17T13:54:00.001-05:00

Last night on the East Isthmus Path, bicyclists who didn't have lights after dark were stopped by Madison Police. The good news for these folks is that they weren't given a $76.20 ticket, as state law and Madison ordinance allows, but instead were given a front and rear light. Yes, they had to listen to a quick safety talk and wait around while we attached the lights to their bikes, but isn't free stuff better than a ticket?

One problem with giving out free lights (or helmets), is that these programs can discourage people from making the same purchases from local bike shops. But in this case, local bike shops are very supportive, and partnered with the project by having us hand out coupons for discounts on helmets and other bike accessories. The lights that we gave out were pretty basic, and most year round, all weather, all-day-and-night commuters choose a more powerful or rechargeable light.

Bike Walk Madison organized the volunteers, and the lights were purchased at cost from Planet Bike via a grant from the Dane County Bicycle Association. If sufficient donations are received, this program will continue. If you would like to donate to the program, you can send a check to Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, with a note that it is to support the Be Bright program. Right now, they are not set up to take on line donations for this program, so please, checks only. The address is: Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin [attn: Be Bright], PO Box 1224, Madison, WI 53701-1224.

Thanks to the volunteers who came out to help out:
Jay Ferm (Advocacy Director at Planet Bike), India Viola (co-owner of We Are All Mechanics), Amanda White (Assoc Exec Dir at Bike Fed), Craig Jackson, Alex DePillis, Mitch Nussbaum, and Liz Zelandais. Unfortunately, I didn't get the names of all the MPD officers who also helped out, but Chris Masterson - a bike commuter himself - was the organizer on that end.

Auto-dependence forces financial and personal sacrifices

2011-05-04T13:22:00.001-05:00

Interesting article today on CNNMoney.com. It's all about the financial costs of high gas prices, which may also force personal sacrifices as well.

One single mom doesn't visit her extended family, because she can't afford to either fly or drive to 400 miles. Another parent has cut back on the number of days that her daughter attends pre-school, because the drive costs too much.

But the numbers in the article are also sobering. If gas averages $3.70/gallon for 2011 (and we all know it's already higher than that, so the average for the year may end up being higher as well), each American will average $4000 on gas alone. That's not counting car payments, maintenance, parking, oil changes, car washes, or any of the other costs of owning and operating a car.

$4000, that's a lot of money. Think what you or your family could do with $4000. That's a couple of mortage payments. Or a nice vacation. Or most of a new roof. Or a contribution to your retirement account. Or so many other things instead of gas for the car.

Here's another quote from the article: "Nationwide, drivers are estimated to spend 8.7% of their median income in 2011 on gas, according to the Oil Price Information Service." Again, I think about how else we cold be spending 8.7% of our income. Getting out of debt, paying for college, clothes for the kids, renovating the bathroom, etc.

Too bad most Americans have so few options for getting around, except to drive a car, which needs gas. The article points out that most people have little choice to keep buying gas and driving. They live in communities where walking, biking, or transit are not realistic transportation choices for most trips. We have a poor intercity bus system, and few places where trains are available, affordable, or efficient.

Here in Wisconsin our governor rejected $810 million in federal funding to extend the Chicago to Milwaukee high speed rail service to Madison, just a step in having service all the way to the Twin Cities. The Joint Finance Committee yesterday passed a budget amendment to repeal the ability of local communities to form Regional Transit Authorities. They also voted to eliminate state assistance for intercity buses. And, they voted to eliminate the $2.5 million annual that went to help build bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

But there is still plenty of money for roads. Walker wants to turn US Highway 41 into an interstate, which would cost $15-20 million. Walker is also backing $1 billion to expand I-39/90 from Madison to the Illinois state line - just 45 miles of roadway.

Yes, no matter how high gas prices go, and no matter how much it hurts to be dependent on one's car, our elected officials will continue to support roads over any other option. And we keep building our communities so that driving is the only practical option. As the CNN Money article states,

"Gas prices are like Chinese water torture for consumers," said Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America. "The problem is, once you buy your car and once you buy your house your gasoline consumption is pretty much set," he said.

"If the price goes up, people have real difficultly cutting back, and that means they will have to find other areas to cut back which are more discretionary."

So, when will we demand more and better transportation options, and local planning and spending that frees us from our dependence on cars and gasoline?

Sidewalk closed. Use which side?

2011-05-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

I think this finally got fixed, but the situation depicted below has been in existence for about a week. This is the 2500 block of University Ave, just a lock from my house, which is the site of two different construction projects - one on private property and one in the city street.

I'm not sure who was responsible for the signs below, but I've seen this happen before. Both sides of the street have signs telling pedestrians to use the other side. Huh?

<= south side

north side =>

Fortunately, I can get through a construction zone, even missing parts of the sidewalk. But I always feel bad for people with limited mobility or anyone trying to push a stroller. We need to make sure that there is always a pedestrian route through construction areas.

Sidewalks are the basis of a good transportation system, and everyone is a pedestrian. Even if you drive, take the bus, or use a bike, the beginning and end of your trip are made by foot. If we can't walk easily through our neighborhoods, we have a serious problem.

Tell the Joint Finance Committee you don't want the RTA legislation repealed!

2011-05-02T17:31:00.001-05:00

I stole the message at the end of this post from an anti-RTA email that arrived in my mailbox. Sorry about the poor formatting, but I don't have time to clean it up. All the phone numbers and names are there, but the links don't work.
For email, the format for assembly addresses is: Rep.[last name]@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senators are: Sen[last name]@legis.wisconsin.gov

Example: Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov or Rep.Voss@legis.wisconsin.gov

Although the die is cast - the Republicans have the votes to repeal the RTA-enabling legislation - we don't want to make it easy for them! Speak up now, and then write a letter to the editor to support transit and RTAs.

Please call or email members of the Joint Finance Committee to tell them transit is important to you and to Wisconsin.

Here are just some reasons why we need transit, and local communities need the flexibility to form RTAs:

Gas prices reaching skyward. Transit gives people an alternative to filling the tank so frequently.
Aging population - Transit allows people who can't or shouldn't drive to access all their daily needs.
Economic support for individuals or families struggling. Transit allows people to get to jobs, school, shopping, etc. Cars are very expensive to own and operate, and transit frees up funds for other necessities.
Young people can't drive and people with disabilities can't drive. They need a way to move around without relying on a car.
Transit is a way to give people an alternative to crowded highways and streets.
Transit is more energy efficient than driving and creates less pollution.

RTAs allow communities to organize their transit on a metropolitan or regional level. Wisconsin is the only state in the upper Midwest that does not allow RTAs. Our local communities need transportation options, and RTAs are one way to plan and pay for those options.

Wis. Legislature Joint Committee on Finance Senate Members	Assembly Members
Senator Alberta Darling,(R) Co-Chair PH: 266 5830	Representative Robin Vos,( R)Co-Chair 266 9171
Senator Luther Olsen ( R) 266 0751	Representative Dan Meyer ( R) 266 7141
Senator Sheila Harsdorf ( R) 266 7745	Representative Dan LeMahieu ( R) 266 9175
Senator Joe Leibham ( R) 266 2056	Representative John Nygren (R) 266 2343
Senator Glenn Grothman (R) 266 7513	Representative Pat Strachota (R) 264-8486
Senator Randy Hopper (R) 266 5300	Representative Joel Kleefisch (R) 266 8551
Senator Lena Taylor ( D)	Representative Tamara Grigsby (D)
Senator Robert Jauch ( D)	Representative Jennifer Shilling (D)

The Joint committee on Finance ( Budget) Committee meets tomorrow (5/3/11) 11 am on Rm 412 East State Cap Exec. session, . One of the items under “Transportation” will be Repeal the RTA statewide.

And there is also a letter from the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce in support of the RTA. When the business community and the environmentalists all agree, how can the Republicans be so dense?

Questions about the Tea Party rally and participants

2011-04-16T15:59:00.000-05:00

1. Why are their signs so lame? The left unquestionably has better signs. Is the right unable to be creative? Can they not think for themselves? I'm trying to not be snarky, but part of the fun and energy of all the rallies at the Capitol has been the great, creative, and often very funny signs. I see few of those at the rallies put on by the right.

2. How come they all get shuttled around in buses? Maybe I should be happy that they are not contributing to downtown traffic congestion, and I understand that Madison can be a confusing place to drive and park, but it just all seems so staged.

I was coming back from the Isthmus Green Day event, and stopped to talk to a group of people waiting to get on the yellow school buses staging in front of the Municipal Bldg. I asked where the buses were going, and how come the rally participants didn't stick around and spend some money/support our local small businesses. I think some of the people thought I was spying on them, and they didn't want to answer. But one guy said that, "Last year, the businesses wouldn't serve us." Which leads me to another question:

3. What kind of BS stuff is right wing radio and Fox News telling these people? When the guy said that they had been refused service, I asked him where. He said, he heard it on the radio. So I asked the crowd, "Who here has been refused service at a local business?" Of course no one raised their hand. I told the crowd that I was certain that any local business would be glad to take their money, and we always welcome people supporting our local businesses.

One guy suggested that I then support Johnsonville Brats. (Referring, I'm sure to the suggested boycott of Johnsonville and Brat Fest for supporting Walker.) Well, for one things, they aren't a Madison business. For another, that is a bit different than eating at a restaurant or shopping on State St.

4. Why do all the conversation I have with the right wing rally goers end up degenerating into talking points from talk radio and Fox TV on their side? And I'm not even trying to talk about politics. Besides asking them where the buses were going, and urging them to stick around and spend money locally, I stopped to thank a pair of women who were picking up trash at the Capitol. Honestly, I saw they were wearing buttons, and I assumed they were typical Madison anti-Walker protesters picking up after the Tea Party rally. But they had on Sarah Palin and other Tea Party buttons, so I thanked them for cleaning up.

They said, "Of course, there shouldn't be any trash." I replied that yes, that was one of the great things about all the rallies throughout this ordeal: that people have been very clean and neat, always cleaning up. They replied skeptically, "Oh, yes we've seen how clean it is." (I think they were being skeptical and snarky, and not honest, but maybe they were being truthful.) When I said, "Oh, have you been up here for other rallies?" they replied, "No, we've seen it on TV." Uh huh. What makes me think that they mean Fox News has been feeding them a bunch of lies about how trashed the Capitol and grounds were? I told them, no, really, it's been wonderful. Much less trash than any of the events, like Art Fair on the Square.

Another guy who did engage me, calmly at first, but then more stridently when I wouldn't bite, asked me, "If working is a right, how come the right to life sin't a right?" He wanted to talk about abortion, and somehow got sidetracked onto asking if I supported women aborting their fetuses that were the wrong gender - in India and China. The conversation had started on the topic of the buses and supporting local businesses, so I'm not sure how we ended up within 90 seconds on abortion, but it seemed that it was another case of using the right wing radio/TV talking points.

5. Why did Vicki McKenna immediately give me a shooting headache? OK, this might have been pure coincidence, but I was buying some cheese at the Farmers' Market when she came on stage. The moment her voice came through the loud speakers, I got one of those headaches that is a shooting pain in your temple, the ones that make me think I'm having a stroke. (Am I the only one that gets those? Should I be worried? It's been happening most of my adult life, and I'm still alive and healthy, so I've mostly been ignoring them, but I always worry that maybe my body is trying to tell me something.)

Raise the federal gas tax!

2011-04-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

If you already understand federal funding for surface transportation, please excuse some simplification in the explanation below. But if you understand transportation funding, you also understand that is too complex for a simple blog post.

Each year I attend the National Bike Summit, a conference/lobbying trip in Washington, DC to talk about bicycling with our legislators. I'm not going to bore you to death with the minutiae of transportation funding or the federal process, if you want an overview of the current legislation, you can go here. But there are a few critical points to understanding what is going on.

1. The federal government generally passes a multi-year transportation bill so that states and local governments can plan for the big projects that are funded with this pot of money. If you are going to spend $1 billion on upgrading the SE Wisconsin freeway system - including the $810 million Marquette Interchange - you don't want to be guessing what the feds are going to do year to year.

2. The current 5-6 year bill expired a year ago, and to keep the money flowing the feds have passed a series of what are known as a continuing resolutions. These basically continue the same funding programs, at the same levels, for as long as these short-term pieces of legislation last, typically 3-6 months. When the bill expired last March, no one wanted to touch the bill before the mid-term elections, so they just kicked the can down the road. (Pun intended.)

Why didn't anyone want to deal with the transportation bill before the mid-term elections?

3. The not-so-secret secret is that there's just not enough money under the current system, and no one wants to change the system. For most surface transportation (not air) the funding comes from the Highway Trust Fund, i.e. the federal gas tax. And there just isn't enough money coming in to pay for all the programs - mostly roads - that the American public wants.

(And please spare me any talk that getting rid of "frills" like Safe Routes to School, bike and pedestrian programs, or CMAQ will solve this problem. Those programs are such a tiny sliver of all the federal funding that they can't even be seen on the pie chart. It's like trying to solve the federal budget deficit by getting rid of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.)

No elected official, right, left, center, or anywhere in between, wants to raise the gas tax. But the federal gas tax hasn't been changed for almost 20 years - since 1993. To make matters worse, the gas tax is based on volume, not a percentage of sales, that is, you are paying the same tax in April 2011, when gas is averaging $3.80/gal as you were in 1993, when gas was averaging $1.10/gal.

Cars are getting more fuel efficient, but people are driving way more than they were in 1993, and they are demanding bigger, smoother, faster roads, and those cost buckets, nay barges full of money. The gas tax at 18.4 cents/gal just isn't going to cut it. All those roads that we have been building for the last 55 years - since we started building the Interstate Highway System in 1956 and launched the car-based society - are falling apart. They need to be fixed, but at the same time we are all demanding that new roads be built, or current roads expanded.

There is simply no way that we can continue with this system unless the gas tax is raised. Many people, myself included, will argue that continuing to plan for a car-based system for personal travel is an insane idea for all sorts of reasons. But it has taken us decades to get into this mess, and it is not going to be solved overnight. We need a transition plan until we can build a transportation system that allows people to live their daily lives without getting in a car every day. Individuals, families, businesses, and communities are also going to have to make some changes to move away from a car-based transportation and planning mindset.

And it is going to cost money to build that system. So we need to raise the federal gas tax but also start looking at other sources of funding for mass transit, intercity rail, upgrades to freight rail, and multi-modal facilities.

Although no elected official wants to "raise taxes," because they are afraid it will stall the economy (or they won't get re-elected), we could raise the gas tax by a nickel a year for the next 10 years, and no one would notice it in the price they pay at the pump! Sure, the media would make sure everyone knows the tax is going up, but with the volatility in gas prices, the federal tax is a drop in the oil drum. Besides, gas taxes are user fees, and aren't conservatives usually all for making people pay for what they use?

So, raise the federal gas tax. Two cents a year for the next 10 years would keep things going the way they are. Five cents a year for the ten years might actually allow us to start building a transportation system with some choices for those that don't want to drive everywhere, and in addition provide a tiny disincentive to drive so much. Gas prices have jumped 20 cents in the last week, and 75 cents since January 1. Does anyone think people are going to notice a nickel a gallon?

Dane Co. PARC grants will improve bicycle access

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

There is an article in the paper with all the grants from the Partners for Recreation and Conservation program, and the headline emphasizes the Verona soccer facility, but there are several bicycle-related grants as well, and I thought I'd emphasize them here.

There are three bicycle-related items on the list. Quoting pieces of the article:

The village of Oregon was the third $250,000 grant winner, for a new bicycling trail from Oregon to the Badger State Trail, about four miles to the west.
$100,000 for the Dawley Park bicycle hub and $3,300 for bike lane signage and marking on County D and PD to the city of Fitchburg.
$32,050 to the Friends of the Arboretum for restoration of the Grady tract and green prairie, bike access and trail improvements.

Also note that the recipient communities or organizations must match the grant amount, so they definitely have some skin in the game.

The Arboretum project is the only one that I am really familiar with. The director of the Arb called me last month to talk about this, and I told him how great this would be. It looks like the plan is to have a few accommodations off the new Cannonball Path where it passes the south side of the Arb. Water, bike racks (no bikes on the Arb trails!), a shelter, picnic table, information, etc. would allow path users a pleasant and convenient place to stop and enjoy the area.

In addition, this would add another entrance to the Grady Tract - the portion of the Arb south of the Beltline. Right now, the only official entrance is off Seminole Hwy, in the far NW corner. There are a number of places along the eastern side, near the apartments, where people enter the Arb, but these are often no more than places where the fence has been cut, and the Arb staff and scientists are not happy with the situation.

As to Dawley Park and the other Fitchburg improvements, I had to look up Dawley Park to find the location of this "bicycle hub."

Dawley Park is the area bounded by Seminole Hwy on the east, the Badger Trail on the West, the Cap City Trail on the north, and some development on the south. It is on the south side of the Cap City Trail from Dunn's Marsh. I'm not sure what they are planning, but there is no question this area is a hub for bike routes. The new Cannonball Trail will run north of Dunn's Marsh, so there will be a point where the Badger, Cap City, SW, and Cannonball will all be within a few hundred yards of each other.

Maybe someone from Oregon can chime in on where this new path will be from Oregon to the Badger Trail, because I don't see an old rail line that is ready to be converted. It's certainly possible that they are starting from scratch, but that generally means acquiring easements. On the other hand, maybe they don't really mean "trail," and instead mean "route," as in a signed on-road route with bike lanes.

Either way, It will be a nice addition.

What would be even better would be if they could figure a way to get the Badger Trail connected to Sun Valley Parkway (it currently runs under the road, and there is a pretty major elevation change.) This would allow families and less experienced bicyclists to get to Paoli without going over Sayles Trail. For those who haven't ventured past the paved portion of the Badger Trail - which ends at Purcell Rd - the next place you cross a road at grade going south is a little road called Henry Rd in Basco, almost 3 miles to the south. From this point, you are dumped onto Hwy 69, not what most trail users would chose.

A ramp from the trail up to Sun Valley Pkwy, and maybe bike lanes/a paved shoulder on the road, would provide good. safe access for less experienced cyclists all the way to Paoli. What a boon to businesses in Paoli!

Maybe someone from the village will work on that.

Walker is lying to transit advocates. What a surprise

2011-04-08T14:05:00.001-05:00

This may not be news to many people, but for those that haven't been paying attention to all the nasty little turd bomb in the budget bill(s), here's an update on impacts on our transit systems.

From the Huffington Post (although this same article was posted in many other locations as well):

Under an obscure provision of federal labor law, states risk losing federal funds should they eliminate "collective bargaining rights" that existed at the time when federal assistance was first granted. The provision, known as "protective arrangements" or "Section 13C arrangements," is meant as a means of cushioning union (and even some non-union) members who, while working on local projects, are affected by federal grants. It also could potentially hamstring governors like Walker who want dramatic changes to labor laws in their states.

Wisconsin received over $70 million in federal transit aids in the last fiscal year. Of that, over $46 million is endangered by eliminating collective bargaining for public workers in Wisconsin. Milwaukee County will not have its federal funds cut, because they actually contract with a private company to run their bus system. Small communities around the state also have this arrangement, or could switch to that system fairly easily. However, medium sized systems, such as Madison, the Fox Valley system, La Crosse, Green Bay, etc. are going to be severely hurt. Some of these transit systems communities receive 1/3 of their operating funding from the federal government.

But Walker is lying to local officials and transit advocates by telling them that he is going to get an exemption to this federal law. I am sitting in a transit meeting right now, and earlier this morning, several transit managers told me that Walker has said some version of, "Don't worry about your transit system. I'll write a letter to the feds to allow the money to continue to flow."

It's not true. He's not going to get an exemption. Think about it. Why would the USDOT do any favors for Scott Walker? This is the guy that sent back $810 million in high speed rail money, and then asked for $150 million back for just the Hiawatha line. He's a GOP governor that many think is angling for a run for Vice-President in 2012. He's stuck his finger in the eye of unions, Democrats, teachers, public workers, the poor, the elderly, local governments, and even other elected officials. And even if the person asking for an exemption wasn't such an ass, why would the feds let any governor to ignore federal labor laws?

I haven't been able to find any on-line citations where Walker makes this claim in public, except for a February 22 TV news piece from Appleton, with this quote:

The Governor's office says the bill meets all of the federal requirements to continue receiving the aid.

Don't let Walker pull the wool over your eyes. He knows he can't get an exemption, just like he knew that the high speed rail money couldn't be converted to highways. He kept telling the lie to keep people from seeing the impacts of his policies. When his bluff is called, the message is always that the federal government and the Democrats in charge are being unfair and inflexible.

Walker knows the rules. He just ignores them and lies to the people of Wisconsin.

Shame.

Darling and Vos of JFC really don't want to hear your opinion

2011-04-08T11:47:00.003-05:00

The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee – Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep Robin Vos – are really doing everything they can to skew the testimony in favor of their view. And on the flip side, they are doing everything they can to suppress the views of those who disagree with them.

First, they scheduled most of the hearings as far away from population centers as possible. They did schedule one for the State Fairgrounds in West Allis (Milwaukee) There was no hearing scheduled for Madison. The other hearings originally were scheduled for Stevens Point, Arcadia, Minong. (Do you know where Arcadia and Minong are without Googling them? Neither did I, and even after looking up Minong on the maps, I had to zoom out quite a bit to figure out it is about 20 miles WNW of Hayward, and 20 miles north of Spooner. The only reason I recognized the area around Arcadia is that I have spent many wonderful days driving the area along the Upper Mississippi. Arcadia is 26 miles NE of Fountain City, if that helps.)

When the small communities expressed concerns about the number of people that might show up at these hearings - maybe they sensed that people are sort of upset? - the JFC moved the Arcadia and Minong hearings to other locations. But they moved the Minong meeting to Superior, about as far from the rest of the state as physically possible. At least that is still in the general area of the state where the original hearing was scheduled. The Arcadia hearing got moved all the way to the other side of the state, to Neenah, and coincidentally to a more politically friendly area for the Republicans.

Senator Kathleen Vinehout, who represents the area just north of La Crosse, also objected to the fact that the only hearing in the western part of the state has been cancelled. Is it just coincidence that the western part of the state demonstrated their displeasure to the Walker/Fitzgerald agenda by voting for Joanne Kloppenburg on Tuesday?

Sen. Vinehout decided to schedule her own hearings in Eau Claire and La Crosse, just as Mayor Dave Cieslewicz held a hearing on the state budget for Madisonians.

But the funny business isn't over yet. The spinmeisters are trying to say that people don't care about the budget. Today's news outlets had consistent headlines that very few people showed up at the first hearing, in Stevens Point. Really? Over 200 people went to the hearing to testify. How many people normally show up at a hearing on the state budget, when it is far from large population centers, and held in the middle of the day? Of those people, just under 200 people were in opposition to the budget as written. Less than 20 people were in favor of the budget.

Those number aren't good enough for Darling and Vos. Normally, people that want to testify before the JFC have to physically be present at the hearing, wait their turn, and then they have 2 minutes to speak. If you want your voice heard, you have to sit and wait your turn in the middle of the day.

However, since there were many more people who didn't like the budget, Darling and Vos have decided to officially leave the hearing open, and allow people to submit testimony via email. But those emails may not be available for the public to examine. There is a rumor that a firm has been hired to generate emails in favor of the budget. If we can't examine the emails and determine they are from actually people, how are we to know they are real?

The tactic appears to be, if you can't get the testimony you want from the people, then manufacture the testimony you want.

Finally, Darling simply dismissed the testimony of the people that showed up. This blog put it very well:

Darling again referenced that old “silent majority” and apparently doesn’t believe “regular taxpayers” show up to such events because they are working. Alberta, please define what the hell a “regular taxpayer” is and how it differs from the taxpayers that were there today. Further, making such a statement is beyond asinine when you scheduled the damn hearings! According to Patrick Marley’s blog for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Darling said the committee thought about having a hearing during evening or weekend hours but decided against it. Makes sense. Wouldn't want to be inconvenienced by working those odd hours many Wisconsinites do to make ends meet.

At first I was pissed that so few hearings were scheduled. Now I realize they might as well not have any. At least not until these clowns are replaced by representatives who won’t treat every part of the legislative process like an inconvenience.

Tales from the recall effort - WIAA Boys B-Ball Tournament

2011-03-20T16:16:00.000-05:00

Inspired by the Daily Kos post on the recall efforts in Alberta Darling's district, I thought I'd share my own experiences from circulating recall petitions for three days at the WIAA tournament this week. There were a number of people out helping, so some of the stories are from others, or exchanges that I witnessed.

All three days were lovely spring days, and the Kohl Center isn't far from my house, so standing around outside in downtown Madison was no hardship. I wanted to feel like I could do something concrete about the situation i Wisconsin. After all the days spent at the Capitol, or supporting others up there, I didn't just want to give up after the bill had been passed.

So Thursday I headed down to Dayton St after getting an email asking for help. My first shift there were only one or two other people circulating petitions, but we got into a rhythm of announcing why we were out there, holding up our signs, and encouraging people to approach us to sign. Not only did I get a lesson in the spectrum of feelings about our efforts, but I also learned how the WIAA tournament was structured and saw people from all over the state pass by on their way to cheer on their teams.

One of the first issues we encountered had nothing to do with politics. The two hours that I had been assigned, the two teams were not from districts that we were targeting for recall. And the game tickets are sold for a set of two games, and we had arrived in the middle of the two-game set, so not many people were coming in and out.

When people finally started streaming out, we got what would come to be a typical mix of reactions. About 80% of the people walked by with absolutely no reaction whatsoever. They looked through us like we were the cement bollards nearby. This sort of confused me. Did their team lose, and they were in the mood for interaction? Were they so disinterested in the recall efforts? Or completely unaware of why we were there? Or maybe, being from smaller communities, they just weren't used to the sort of political actions that we in Madison see every day. On the other hand, maybe they just don't like talking to strangers.

Of the 20% that acknowledged that there were human beings standing on the sidewalk with some sort of purpose, there was a mix of reactions. Some people shook their heads, obviously not in sympathy with our efforts. Other people at least nodded or smiled, not stopping, but perhaps amused or in too much of a hurry to stop. Other people stared or paused to read our signs, then went on their way. We also got some thumbs up.

Of the small number of people that interacted with any of us, a few mumbled, "Get a job!" to the one young man sitting on one of the bollards. He actually has a job - he works for a Dem. Senator. Why do people think we don't have jobs? We also got plenty of "Hell, no!" or "Walker for President!" shoots.

Some people wanted to know where the petitions were for "Those Dems that ran away and didn't do their jobs." By the third day I wondered the same thing. There are actually recall efforts for a couple of Democratic senators - although I'm certainly not going to give those efforts any support. With all the people in from all over the state, the recall efforts against the Dems was nowhere to be found, even when teams in those districts were playing.

On Saturday, we had enough volunteers that another woman and I walked up and down State St, trying to catch the throngs there. A number of people asked, "What does this have to do with high school sports?" I found this strange in two ways. First, I wasn't necessarily claiming it had to do with the WIAA. We were just trying to catch people as they visited. For the same reason, the people that suggested that I should be at the Capitol seemed to miss the point that the people we were looking for were at the Kohl Center. The question about the connection with high school sports also struck me as fairly naive. When state funding to schools is drastically cut, and local communities are legally prohibited from raising property taxes to make up the difference, sports will be endangered as well as art, music, and advanced placement programs.

And finally we had a fair number of people stop and talk, and most of those wanted to sign our petitions. But then the political details got in the way. Even though these people were supportive, many were unsure of the process. We had maps of the senate districts, because most people didn't know who their senator was. We had a lot of people want to sign, but they lived in districts held by Dems. "So I have to live there to sign to get rid of them?" Yes, that's the way it works, but we thanked them for their support.

A surprising number of people came by and said they had already signed a recall petition. These were mostly teachers, spouses of teachers, or family members of other union workers, but not all. We had lots of people thank us for being out there, and others saying, "I wish I could sign, but we have one of the good ones!" By their team colors, I could tell they lived in Dem districts.

A few other random observations:

Without a doubt, the crowds that hailed from districts represented by Democratic senators were friendlier than those from districts represented by Republican senators, even when the voting for those areas was fairly evenly split. The people from Merrill were far and away the nicest and overall most supportive. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this is the first time in 46 years that Merrill has made it to the tournament.

After three days, people seemed to have figured out why we were there. There were fewer blank stares, and more interaction, other positive and negative. These people had probably walked by us a few times coming and going to games, and we had more people and bigger signs. Most people still just walked by, but there were more people likely to show some reaction, such as frowns, smiles, waves, thumbs up or down, a few words, etc.

Saturday's finals for Divisions 1 and 2 - the larger schools - were definitely the most productive times for us. We knew that there was at least one school playing in each of the finals that was in a district we were targeting, so we had plenty of people out. Although we knew these people had walked by before, now they were willing to stop and sign. Maybe the pressure of the semi-finals was over, or they knew this was their last chance to sign with us. The lead organizer also posited that many people from larger communities felt more at ease talking to us.

There were a couple of notable positive and negative interactions. On Saturday, a guy walked by a middle-aged male volunteer and pointed at him with these words, "You people should be shot!" Even though we had experienced people swearing at us - at times in front of their kid! - this really shocked me. Physical threats jut seem like such an overreaction, and really disturbing in light of the shootings in Tuscon.

Another man stood in front on me, towering over my 5'3" head and yelled at me, expecting me, I am sure to physically back away. All I could think was, "This guy really doesn't know me." I never felt physically threatened, and I stood my ground until he was done. I can't even remember what either of us said, but I know I didn't really try to argue with him, but also didn't let him believe he had intimidated me in any way.

Several volunteers were asked at some point for ID, not by police or anyone official, but by people who seemed to think that all this recall dust-up is cooked up and staffed by hired agitators from out of state. All the volunteers I spoke to were from Madison, although there might have been a Middleton or Verona person thrown in.

Sometimes you couldn't tell what a person was going to say when they approached. One older gentleman appeared to be ready to confront us, and then whispered, "Yeah, get rid of those bastards!" He told us he was a union worker for 40 years, and went on to impress on us all the things the unions had fought for that now benefits all workers. We had been bracing for a negative interaction, and the only problem we had was ending the conversation without being rude.

My favorite interaction of the three days occurred with a woman from Merrill. I was holding up a sign on my clipboard that read, "RECALL REPUBLICAN 8 SENATORS!" She apparently only saw the word REPUBLICAN, and frowned as she went by. "We're Democrats." she stated. When I pointed out that we were trying to get rid of the Republicans, that we felt were hurting our state, she turned around and apologized profusely. She hugged me and explained that she was very upset about the Governor's bill, that she was a teacher, and her husband a union man (forgot what field.) She thanked us profusely for being out there, and even agreed to be interviewed by a local TV station. When the interview was over, she came over and hugged me again.

I also want to thank the UW Police for their professionalism. One day we had a bullhorn, and an officer came over to very calmly tell us that we were welcome to be there, could collect signatures and do our thing, but we couldn't use the bullhorn. No amplification. We said, no problem and put it away. Another day, as we were getting volunteers organized, another officer approached us and just gave us an FYI that we were welcome to organize and such, he just asked us to not block people's movement as they came and went. Since we were mostly standing in front of or behind the flat-topped cement bollards - they are the perfect height to use as writing surfaces - we left the openings clear for the throngs.

So, overall, an interesting few days. It's good to be reminded that there are a variety of opinions out there, that some people fully support the Governor's tactics and budget, and others are completely apathetic or unaware of the issues. But it also feels good to be outdoors talking to people, fighting the fight for what we we feel is right. Each signature we collected is one more to add to the thousands we need in each district. We were told by many people that we'd never get enough, but as I responded, "You can at least try."

Fish Hatchery Rd rebuild in 2012: Will bike and pedestrian conditions improve?

2011-03-18T13:18:00.001-05:00

A quick post about a projects that could improve bicycling south of downtown and the campus significantly, or could just lay new pavement over a crumbling section of roadway.

Below is an email conversation about this project. In the initial email to the Bikies list, I had cc'd a few people who I thought could either provide answers, or should be aware of problems in this corridor. The second email is from Tony Fernandez, of City of Madison Engineering. I'm not sure if he is directly involved in the project, but he at least has knowledge of it, and was trying to provide some info. Much appreciated.

The third email was my response to Tony, which also got cc'd to the same group, plus Christy Bachman, who Tony had identified as the person taking the lead for the City. This is a Dane County project, so the City of Madison neither planned the project nor has direct authority, although I'm assuming they had significant input because the majority of the roadway is in the City.

I haven't heard anything from the County yet, so maybe things are better than I think.

Email #1 - from me.

There was an article in today's Cap Times about the 2012 planned rebuilding of Fish Hatchery Rd from Wingra Dr south to West Badger Rd.

Most people on this list recognize that this stretch, although equipped with bike lanes, is an unpleasant ride, and often downright scary. Much of the problem stems from potholes and cracked pavement on the far right (the bike lane), but also the amount of trash, debris, sand, and general junk that lands in the bike lane.

I also think that, given the amount and speed of traffic - normally far over the speed limit - the current width of the bike lanes is too narrow.

Did anyone attend the meeting mentioned in the article? Will the current conditions be improved when the project is done? Obviously, new pavement will be a huge improvement, but are there any other changes planned?

And while the project is ongoing, will there be some accommodations for those bicyclists that still need to use Fish Hatchery to get around? Due to the Arb on the west and the lack of north-south routes to the east between Fish Hatch and Park, Fish Hatchery Rd is often the only option in this area.

I have cc'd a cross section of City of Madison, Dane County, and Bike Fed folks. The road is in the City (mostly, although there are sections in Town of Madison), but Dane County is doing the project, since it is a county highway.

Thanks for any info. I'm sure many people on the list would be interested in any insights.

Response from Tony Fernandez

This is a federally funded pavement replacement project. Dane County is the lead agency and Matt Rice is doing the plans. My supervisor Christy Bachmann is the main liaison for the City of Madison. My understanding is that the type of funding pretty much restricts the project to replacing the existing pavement, and the current plans call for bike lanes for the full length of the project, but no significant widening anywhere. To get the latest information about the current design and any planned public involvement activities or other opportunities for input you should probably contact Matt or Pam Dunphy at Dane County Highways.

Email #3 - from me

I didn't expect widening, but perhaps a change in the location or width of paint? Don't know the width of the curb-to-curb, but since traffic is consistently well above the speed limit, I would imagine the MV lane widths are pretty generous. Might a little narrowing of the other lanes - by even 6 inches - allow a slightly wider bike lane and also slow the average speed? As Mike Rewey has repeatedly pointed out, just making sure that the 6 inch bike lane marking starts in the MV lane, and does not cut off 6 inches of the bike lane makes a big difference.

I also posted the questions to nudge the folks in charge of maintenance (sweeping on a road next to the Arb, anyone?) to perhaps be more diligent when the project is done. The Fish Hatchery corridor suffers from a multitude of issues that make it a crappy bike route, but there is really no alternative. Fast traffic (law enforcement and engineering); higher traffic volumes; ugly, car-based land use (planning); and a multi-jurisdictional roadway leads to poor maintenance. Because Fish Hatchery is so huge south of the Beltline, and also a major exit off the Beltline, it feels like a fast highway, but it is actually an urban roadway - one that passes through several neighborhoods with a high percentage of low-income resident. There is also a middle school, the Arb, and a large health care facility in this stretch.

Because it feels like a highway, drivers are less sympathetic to bicyclists and pedestrians in the area (and public right of way), because they wonder why anyone would be on foot or bike on this big, fast road. Well, there really isn't much choice.

So, I think with a rebuilding project, even without changing the curbs, there are a few things that could be changed to make this road more bike and pedestrian friendly. Hey, how about painting the few crosswalks with wider markings too? I hear from lots of kids and parents trying to cross that street to get to Wright Middle School.

Sorry, this really isn't a rant against anyone in particular, but more a plea that maybe something can still be done to improve the situation. I was really hoping to hear, "Yes! We are doing those things. We know it sucks, and we took all that into consideration, and here's how it will be different when the work is done."

Still hoping.

This is not what I would consider an "open" Capitol

2011-03-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

For those not following closely, the Wisconsin state Capitol was been closed since Sunday night, Feb 27. People had been sleeping in the building to protest the Governor's "budget repair bill," and the Capitol Police decided that they wanted those people out - likely to spiff up the place for the Governor's formal budget address on Tuesday. Don't want to have any pesky opposition in there, with their protest signs, when the ~~newly purchased puppet~~ governor speaks to ~~his masters and wealthy followers~~ the public.

When people left peacefully on Sunday night, they were promised that the building would be reopened on Monday at 8 am, for "normal business hours." Well, come Monday morning, the building has remained shut. People lined up outside, but they couldn't get in. Because the state Capitol is required to be open any time state business is being conducted, and because it is a public building, a judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to force the Capitol Police and Department of Administration (DOA) - who oversees all state buildings - to allow people in.

In a show of chutzpah that took my breath away, the DOA claimed that they were complying with the TRO, and the building was open. Well, if you want to stand in line for hours on end, tell the cops exactly which office you will be visiting, be escorted by armed officers to and from the office, and even be followed when you use the bathroom, I guess you might say it is "open." But most people would not say that.

Every year for over a decade I have gone to Washington, DC to meet with our Senators and Representatives during the National Bike Summit. We can enter the Senate and House office buildings freely, after a security check. You can walk up to and into the offices of any member of congress, even those that may not represent your state. I cannot imagine busy people - such as those that often want to meet with their elected officials - waiting outside for an armed escort and then going back outside to wait for another escort in and out for each meeting.

I have lived most of my adult life in Madison, and have been in and out of the Capitol so many times that I can't even think if it is hundreds or thousands of times. I have visited friends that work there, taken a tour, used the bathrooms on every floor, attended hearings, made official visits to legislators, taken pictures of this beautiful building, and just walked through the first floor as a shortcut. I know what it means to be "open," and the building is not open.

Yesterday, former Congressman Dave Obey, who represented northern Wisconsin for over 40 years, and previously served in the Wisconsin legislature for 6 years, tried to enter the Capitol, and was told to stand in line. Reps Peter Barca and Donna Seidel came out to talk to him. The video shot of the encounter makes me want to cry for my state. Obey took a very principled stand and insisted that he wasn't going to go in if the rest of the public couldn't also go in, but he had harsh words for Walker.

"I think the governor is a political bully and a political thug," Obey said, adding that Walker "should quit flexing his muscle" and work out differences with Democratic legislators, including the 14 senators who left the state to prevent a vote on the bill.

"I think the governor has needlessly divided the state," Obey said. "I can't think of a bill that will do more to weaken the future of Wisconsin. This is an anti-education, anti-union budget, and people ought to understand that."

That video tells a huge story. I wish the local and national media had given it more play.

Even staff cannot move about freely. Today Vicky Selkowe, a Capitol staffer for Rep. Cory Mason, posted this memo on her Facebook page:

To: WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE

From: CAPITOL POLICE

RE: UPDATE: CAPITOL ACCESS

Date: March 2, 2011

Constituent Escorts & Badges

We have been attempting to improve constituent access to legislative offices, as best we can, while maintaining adequate security in the Capitol building. The procedure to allocate eight badges to each legislator’s office has worked fairly well, but there have been problems with escorted visitors discarding their badges while en route to or from legislative offices so they can join visitors in the rotunda. This defeats the purpose of the procedure and we are asking your assistance.

On Monday and Tuesday we utilized staff to assist with escorting visitors, however we received feedback that some representatives felt their staff members were overwhelmed with escort requests. So on Wednesday we attempted to use police instead to facilitate escorts. However, we received feedback that this method also had limitations. Therefore, beginning tomorrow, Thursday, March 3, we are requesting a legislative staff member to meet your constituent visitors at the King Street entrance and escort them to your office along with a law enforcement officer.

Any of your office’s eight badges that are not used for the purpose for which they were issued will be taken from your office’s allotment of badges for the day. Continued loss of badges or abuse of the badges’ intended purpose may further limit the availability of badges for your constituents, and after three incidents your office may forfeit its badge allocation altogether until conditions at the Capitol change.

Thank you for your cooperation with procedures that will allow constituents to continue visits to your office and for us to provide a safe and secure environment in the Capitol.

Key Card Access

As you know, key card access for Capitol staff was disabled on Monday.

We realize that Capitol staff members have been inconvenienced by the disabling of key card access, however this step was made necessary because a small number of staff members were seen to be abusing the key card access system by allowing some visitors to bypass building entry procedures.

If Capitol staff members can demonstrate they are willing to follow the procedures for building access that are currently in effect, we will consider temporarily restoring key card access and will monitor compliance to determine whether key card access can be permanently restored.

Arrangements for Lobby Days and Similar Events

The following plans for lobby days and similar events have been established to be in keeping with the existing queuing and badging procedures. Lobby groups that wish to meet with legislators should reserve a hearing room via a legislator. Lobby group members will queue and be badged at the King Street entrance as are all other visitors, and will be escorted to their reserved hearing room. Because non-staff are not currently permitted free rein of the building, legislators will need to visit lobby groups in the hearing room (rather than the typical practice of lobby group members traveling from one legislator’s office to another). Lobby groups may choose instead to visit individual legislators via the Constituency Visit procedures listed above, but must return their original badges to the King Street doors and obtain new badges prior to visiting a subsequent office. Groups may also wish to consider hosting lobby days and similar events at a location other than the capitol if these access procedures are expected to result in undue inconvenience to attendees.

This is completely ridiculous. My emotions about this situation have fluctuated between anger, outrage, depression, sadness, and pain. The protesters have been peaceful and well-behaved. The excuse that the DOA has given for not allowing people inside is that some people have not come out. Well, if they won't come out, arrest them, and then let others come in. But the Walker administration won't do that, because they know that having peaceful protesters carried out of the Capitol will look bad.

The building is not open, and the DOA Secretary and Governor are in contempt of a court order. They are the ones that should be arrested.

WI state Capitol access tighter than airports

2011-03-02T13:35:00.000-06:00

I reported on (OK, passed on from person reporting from the scene) a comment the Asst AG made regarding the Temporary Restraining Order to open the Capitol - i.e. the State has been arguing that the Capitol IS open, but access restricted to keep things under control. The Asst AG said that the Capitol restrictions are similar to an airport. “You can't get into an airport without an ID."

My Facebook comment was, "Of course you can. You just can't get to the GATES without an ID, boarding pass and TSA screening." Everyone has experienced going to airports - pretty much anywhere in the US to pick someone up or to catch a flight. You walk into the airport from the outside world - whether you walk, bike, take a taxi, arrive by bus, or drive your own car and park - and there are no restrictions to entering the airport. It's only when you want to get to the gates that the restrictions begin.

Here's a response from Drew Hanson, who entered the Capitol today:

I got into the Cap this morning because I had the printout in hand for a public hearing on some DNR rules. But that doesn't mean it was easy. I was questioned by armed police no less than six times, searched and then escorted to and from the hearing by armed police. When I needed to leave the hearing to use the restroom, two armed police stood outside the door. When I asked if I could stretch my legs after sitting through an hour of hearing testimony, I was directed to walk back and forth between two armed police who could keep an eye on me. It was far more intrusive and far more threatening than anything I have ever encountered in any airport. I cannot believe this is happening in the United States of America. This is not the way law abiding citizens should be treated in this country.

Huffington Post article on unbreakable Wisconsin spirit

2011-03-01T22:46:00.001-06:00

I wrote a comment to this article in the Huffington Post, and thought I'd post it here as well. The article talks about how well organized, well-behaved, and steadfast the protests have been, especially inside the Capitol. It made me very proud to see our state and the people fighting to preserve our social justice traditions recognized in this way.

My comment:

I have been at or in the Capitol every day for two weeks now, although I have not spent the night. What you describe is what I have seen every day, and you are right, it is what our Governor should fear. These are Wisconsinites of all ages, jobs, areas of the state, and income levels. Most of the people are not even unionized employees. They are simply people that know right from wrong, and they know that Walker's plans are wrong.

Wisconsin has a strong tradition of caring for others, and this tradition is on display, both inside the Capitol and in the opposition to the budget as a whole.

As several friends have said, "Walker severely underestimated us."

On February 13, when this all started, Bill Lueders of the Isthmus wrote, "The governor also knows exactly what kind of reaction -- sustained, militant, disciplined -- might put the kibosh on his power grab." In that same article he said,

Teachers and other public employees, on the other hand, are perfect victims. They aren't used to conflict, and they aren't very good at it. They will hoist their signs and chant their chants and lose their benefits and then their unions.

Could they fight back and win? Absolutely. But it would take a lot more resolve than Scott Walker and the Republicans give them credit for. It would take all-out campaigns of nonviolent civil disobedience, including a willingness to risk physical abuse and mass arrest, again and again.

So, I think that not only did Scott Walker underestimate us, and specifically underestimated the people that live in Madison - did he forget where the Capitol and his office is located? - but I think that some pundits also underestimated us.

The Huffington Post caught the spirit of what is happening. Wisconsinites are a tough bunch, and they are willing to stand up and fight when they feel backed against the wall. If we can make it through the winters, and put our names on a waiting list for Packer tickets that is over 20 years long, we can keep showing up at the Capitol.

Now we really look like a third world country

2011-02-28T12:09:00.003-06:00

The People have taken over the legislative building.
Until today.

The events of the past two weeks in Madison [photos] have been amazing, inspiring, every-changing, and exhausting. To see people rising up, marching, yelling, putting their lives on hold to voice their outrage over Scott Walker's trumped up budget crisis, which is apparently going to be paid for - both figuratively and literally - by the people least able to afford cuts in government services, has been all-consuming for many of us.

But as the events started, and as the protests progressed, from crowds rallying on the steps of the Capitol to full-scale occupation of the building by people willing to risk not just a bad sleeping environment, but also arrest, I have thought about how wonderful it is that we still live in a place where people can come into the seat of political power voice their opinions so loudly. At times it has been almost unbearable to stand in the center of the rotunda of the Capitol because of the crowds and noise. From 7 am to 1 am (I'm guessing) every day for almost two weeks, there has been drumming, chanting, singing, talking, yelling, and huge crowds inside the Capitol.

Signs were taped up (with carpenters' tape, so not to damage the walls) all over the Capitol: signs of protest, signs with directions on where to find help, humorous signs, emails from all over the state urging the Governor to reconsider his budget, and signs requesting supplies or compliance with rules. I marveled as this whole community developed inside this public building.

The People have taken over the legislative building.

Where else would that be allowed? I have traveled in Latin America for 40 years, and I have never been inside the building where laws are made in any country. Maybe I could have gotten in on a tour, but I have never been able to just walk in to the building. In many cities, even entry to the local municipal building requires an appointment and an escort from a staff person.

In most of the world, a huge group of people protesting loudly outside a government building would risk beatings, tear gas, intimidation, or even death. But in Madison, WI, we have been able to bring tens of thousands of people to the steps of the statehouse every day, and thousands of people have set up protests indoors. Many of the people have even slept inside the Capitol. This is a true sign of democracy and the difference between a truly oppressive government - those in unstable third world countries - and the US. Despite the comparisons to Egypt that flew around, we are still allowed access to our seats of government and our representatives.

Until today.

The Capitol Police have announced that no further protesters will be allowed in the building. Why? "To prepare for the upcoming governor's budget address to the Legislature Tuesday."
First, does that mean that people not protesting are allowed in? How do they know whether someone is s protester or just wants to use the bathroom? Or maybe wants to see our beautiful Capitol, or wants to say hello to their representative. Are those people allowed in?

Sure, if you have an appointment, a staff person can come out and escort you in, but is that the way we want to restrict access to our elected officials? Even in Washington, DC, you can just pop in to the office of your Senator or Representative with no appointment. You may not get to see him/her, but you can come in to the office. You can actually stop in to any congressional office, even those not from your home state.

And this business of preparing for the Governor's address reeks of, "We don't want to see or hear from those that disagree with us, and we don't want the news media to be able to show them in the background as they come in for the address."

Very suspicious, in my view. Possibly illegal. Definitely a slap at democracy and free assembly. And I have seen real repression up close.

Current Wisconsin budget bill endangers $43 million in federal transit funding for Wisconsin communities

2011-02-21T21:30:00.001-06:00

One of the little known aspects of the current budget repair bill - SB11 - is that medium-sized cities in Wisconsin could lose all federal transit aid.

From a press release by Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton):

According to the Federal Transit Act, continued receipt of federal transit aid “requires the continuation of any collective bargaining rights that were in place when the employer started receiving federal funds.” Special Session Assembly/Senate Bill 11 strips away these employee rights, which will result in a loss of $46.6 million for transit systems throughout Wisconsin, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

See this memo from the non-partisan Legilative Fiscal Bureau for ore detailed informaiton.

Grisby and Schaber have offered an amendment to the bill that would save transit aids. Some communities rely on federal transit aid for 50% of their funding.

Wednesday, Feb 23 is Wisconsin Transit Lobbying Day, and we are asking that people call, email, fax, or visit their legislators to tell them how important transit is to their families, friends, workers, and communities. For more information, you can visit the Transit Now page on this issue.

Snowshoe walk to Arboretum springs

2011-02-09T17:33:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite places to go on a short walk in winter is down to the springs along Lake Wingra. Although you can ski to the springs, it is more direct to go by snowshoe, or just hike with sturdy boots. If you start in the parking lot on the north side of Arboretum Drive, just east of the Visitors Center, you can walk down the hill through the woods. If you want to ski, you have to go around the long way, because the Arb doesn't want people skiing down the slope. Besides, it's pretty steep and twisty for XC skis!

I am always amazed how well-worn the paths are in the middle of winter. Even though we got over 18 inches of snow just a few days ago, the path can easily be walked in boots. It is cut about 9 inches into the surrounding area, with the base well packed down.

The Big Spring is a large area of open water all winter that is filled with water birds in even the harshest conditions. If there are still berries on the trees, or during late fall and early spring migrations, you can also see and hear small birds flitting through the brush along the Big Spring.

Father down the path, you come to a stream flowing out of the hillside and towards the lake. Amid the white, black, grey, and spots of brown that are the winter palette, the springs show a bright green in the snow. Although it looks sort of like pond scum, this is actually watercress.

This is why I love this walk. The green in the middle of the winter reminds me that life continues, even in the deep snow. There is copious water coming from these springs, and no matter how harsh the weather, the streams flow and support the plants. Here are some notes from a walk by an Arboretum naturalist that had some similar thoughts in December.

In the summer, the walk to this area is along a boardwalk through a wetland. As explained in this set of notes from another naturalist led walk back in 2007, this is a fen, a wetland that has a more basic water and soil than many of the bogs of northern Wisconsin.

Not being a morning person, my walks often start in the afternoon, and by the time I am ready to head back home, the light is often low. I always think that my photos are going to be too dark, and Saturday I even forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone. But the cameras on cell phones have gotten much better, and I was actually quite pleased with how some photos of the spring came out in the low light.

The image to the right is a bit farther into the wetland. I don't think you wouldn't be able to access this area during the summer, although the boardwalk may continue this far. After this, I tried to follow a small trail worn into the snow, but I think it might have been made by some of the UW researchers that work in the Arb, because it got very tangled up in the brush after a few hundred yards. I turned back, realizing that I'd probably end up out on Nakoma or Monroe St, if I kept going - if I got that far.

In the fresh snow, red blood stains where an animal ate a squirrel stood out. At first I thought it would have been an owl, but after seeing a couple locations, all deep in the underbrush, I decided it was more likely another mammal that finished off these squirrels. Maybe a fox? The pictures didn't really come out well, so I didn't include them.

As I climbed back up the hill, away from the lake and into the woods, the patterns created by the drifting snow caught my eye. There were circular depressions where the snow had drifted around the trees, and little mounds, like goosebumps, where bits of brush and twigs had accumulated more snow.

Even though the deeply worn trails multiple tracks show that many others have come before me, I always feel that this walk is a little secret of mine. While the prairie woods near the visitors center are popular place to ski or hike, you sort of have to know that the springs are down the steep hill. Most people don't go looking for open water and green plants in the depths of winter, especially after the amount of snow that came our way last week. But the Arboretum always shows its gems to those that are willing to explore.

Scales in the Walleye Sandwich

2011-02-08T21:44:00.001-06:00

In case anyone is wondering why I posted the following question to Facebook, the full story is below.

Question: "OK, midwesterners... are there usually SCALES on a "skin on" walleye snadwich? Our waitress thinks so. I am skeptical."

All the answers came back, "NO. There shouldn't be scales."

I think many people thought I was nuts, so here's what happened:

I was having happy hour, followed by dinner, at the Orpheum lobby. One of our group ordered a walleye sandwich. When he began to eat it, he started spitting out scales. He said there were quite a few, not just random scales. We urged him to say something to the waitress, which he eventually did.

When she came back, she seemed sort of irritated, and told us that the walleye was "skin on," so scales were normal. We were all doubtful, but decided to not argue the point, and my friend switched out his sandwich for a ruben.

After the waitress left, we debated this point for a bit, and I said, "I'll post it on Facebook, and see what the collective knowledge base thinks."

Indeed, no one thinks a walleye sandwich should have copious scales, skin on or not.

Word to the Orpheum: You need to clean the fish better, or get another supplier, if it is supposed to be ready to serve.

SnowM-G: Notes from the Great Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

Random thoughts from Snowmaggedon 2011:

Tues, Feb 1, 2:00 PM
Snow was supposed to start coming down about now, but it's clear outside, and the radar shows nothing. Oops, what's that sneaking up from the south?
I was downtown for a couple of meetings this morning and at lunch. Everyone assumed I was going to rush home before the snow started, but I'm in no hurry. I'm supposed to meet a small group downtown for drinks and conversation. They keep emailing asking if it's still on. I took the bus, have my big boots and good outerwear, so why not?

4:00 PM
OK, now it's snowing. People are starting to panic, but I'm in the coffee shop getting work done, and I still see people on bikes outside. No big deal. I'll keep checking the web to make sure the buses are still running, and I'll be good.

5:30 PM
Supposed to meet the group at the Orpheum lobby for drinks, but the lobby is closed because of the Snoop concert. Plan B - Zanders, which has half priced taps and appetizers until 7 PM. Sure, why not, I'm hungry and I'm not planning on going anywhere.

The two people that show up are both from Fitchburg and both drove. One was downtown, and the other came in just for conversation. I wouldn't have shown up if I had to drive home! Another person didn't get the message of the venue change, so she went home.

I think I'll have another beer, I'm not going anywhere for awhile.

9:00 PM
I guess it's time to head home. The two Fitchburg people had their back to the door, so they haven't been watching the weather, but I can see it's getting bad out there. But I still see the buses going by, so I know I can get home. There are several core lines that all stop within a coupe blocks of my house, so I'll just take whichever one comes first. I assume they will be late, and try to check the real time tracking on line.

Kathryn sees me checking the bus schedule, and insists on driving me home. She thinks it's terrible for me to be standing outside in this weather waiting for a bus. She doesn't know that I'm pretty well prepared, with long underwear, good coat, snow pants in my backpack, and the warmest, most comfortable boots I own. I tell her that I really don't mind, we have great bus service to my house, but she won't hear it. Since she has 4WD and will be going within two blocks of my house anyway, I accept.

9:30 PM
Instead of having her drive onto my street, I have her drop me off on the arterial, and I walk the last two blocks. I can't even see the sidewalk as I approach my house. The wind is whipping the snow around, and I can't tell if it's falling from the sky, or just plowing around.

Normally, I would shovel before going to bed, so I won't feel guilty staying inside late in the morning. I hate being the last person on my block to shovel the walk, but I get up later than most of my neighbors, and like to have coffee and read the news before going out the door. But tonight, I realize that shoveling would be just stupid. It's clear that the wind will just blow it back onto the walk, so I head inside.

After getting inside my nice warm house, I listen to the wind howling and rattling the windows. It really is nasty out there. My old house creaks and groans, but I'm warm and safe. As long as the roof doesn't collapse, I'll deal with everything else in the morning.

Wednesday, February 2, 10:00 AM

When I went out to start shoveling at 10 AM, I discovered the snow had managed to drift onto my (enclosed) porch. The windows and storm door are not airtight, and the wind drove the snow hard against my house and through those cracks.

Quickly found that the dent in the drifts was NOT the sidewalk, it was just a low spot in the drifts.

The plows did my side of the street last night, and I must say, I was impressed by two things human, and one thing mechanical:

My street was actually pretty well plowed. Maybe it's because my street is one that plows use to get back on University Ave/Campus Dr after getting to the end of Old University, but really, I was impressed by the fact that it was pretty clear.
Everyone on my block wisely moved their cars off the odd side of the street, so the plow could get all the way to the curb. Not one person was stuck under a drift on my side, and at 10 AM everyone had managed to get their cars off the even side. (They are supposed to be moved by 8 AM, but with the weather, I expected to have a few still there.)
On the mechanical side, or maybe the force-of-nature side, the plows managed to throw the snow/road gunk chunks almost all the way to the sidewalk. I don't know if they had some sort of special plow to throw the snow up over the existing drifts, but there was dirty chunks within a couple feet of where the sidewalk ended up revealing itself.

When I finally to shovel my front sidewalk, joined up with the shoveled sidewalk next door to me, and could therefore access the neighbor's shoveled driveway - i.e. when I could get out into the street - I walked to the other side of the street to chat with my neighbor. I was very envious that the north side of the street had far less snow. Most of the snow seems to have blown over to our side, the south side.

The drifted snow formed beautiful arcs and swirls. I almost hated to throw snow onto that perfect representation of the wind patterns from last night. I guess I'll have to be content to take photos in the back yard instead.

The chickadees are all out, of course. These chirping, whistling, social birds are welcome companions of winter. I saw one come to my bird feeder, poke its beak in, and then fly away. He didn't seem to have gotten anything, and when I checked, the feeding portals were blocked by snow. So I stopped my shoveling, lifted the feeder off its hanger, and knocked out the snow. Since it was down already, I refilled the feeder before putting it back. The chickadees were back within a few minutes, and seemed grateful for clear access to their yummy sunflower seeds. The chickadees are always the first birds to find feed when it is put out, but the sparrows and house finches soon follow.

The small lots and close together driveways make clearing sidewalks and driveways a real challenge. There's nowhere to put the snow, and the mounds next to the areas to be cleared are now over my head. I started creating ramps, to try to slide the shovelfuls up and over the top of the mounds, but even that has been a challenge. I feel like I'm not really shoveling snow, I'm just rearranging it.

Noon

Came inside for awhile. I had a conference call, and needed a break anyway. I've shoveled for two solid hours, and only got about 1/3 of the driveway done. There's just nowhere to put the snow, and the windrow at the end of the driveway is probably 2 1/2 feet high and much heavier than the rest of the snow.

I am really glad that I don't have to use my car. Shoveling the driveway is optional, although generally a good idea. When I have left the driveway for more than a day, the chunks of stuff at the end of the driveway seem to solidify into an almost unmovable mass. However, I can leave digging out the car for awhile.

The US Postal Service upheld their motto, and delivered my mail promptly. Yea! That means new Netflix envelopes. Just what I need on this snowy day.

I'd like to go XC skiing or snowshoeing, but unless I plan to walk to the start, I'm not going to do that today. Maybe I'll walk over to Picnic Point.

OK, it's 1:30 PM, and I'm on my way out the door to take another whack at moving the snow around. I think I'm going to need a hot bath, Advil, and some scotch later on today, because my back is going to be hurting. At least I don't have to worry about skipping the gym.

2:00 PM
Time to go back out and do some more work. How am I going to get that snow out of my driveway? I stop picking it up and throwing it, and start pushing it up the driveway and down the sidewalk to a place with a lower mound of snow. All along the sidewalk the mounds of snow are about four feet high, and I'm barely over 5 feet tall myself. I try creating ramps to push the snow up, but the shovel just isn't long enough. I haven't even started clearing the snow around my car.

3:00 PM

Well, it's done. The driveway is cleared, the sidewalk is cleared. Even the car is cleared. If I need to drive, I can, but I think I'll leave it where it is. And every bit of snow moved by hand. I was tempted to post something on my neighborhood listserv, to offer an industrious teen (or adult) a bit of money to clear that tower of snow from my driveway, but I just kept plugging away, and eventually it got done.

My back is going to hurt.

I take some more photos of the snow, but it's hard to get a perspective on how deep it is. I'm tempted to go for a walk around the neighborhood, but quite honestly, I'm really beat. Maybe later.

The sun is shining. It's really a beautiful day. But checking the forecast, it looks like it's going to get really cold. Glad I got all the work done, so I don't have to do it in the bitter cold.

Winter in Wisconsin. I love it. Really. I can't wait to get out on the snowshoes tomorrow.

B Cycle in Madison - Let's do it!

2011-02-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

So, Madison is finally getting a bike sharing program. That is, as long as the deal with Trek (primary partner in B Cycle) and the City can actually get their deal through the Council tonight. It's a great deal for Madison, and also a great program in general. I'm not thrilled with how fast it is moving through the city process, in part because it makes people suspicious and doesn't leave enough time to properly get questions answered. But it really would be a shame if the program failed or didn't get approved.

Short car trips, like those that can easily replaced by using a bike sharing program, are very dirty, polluting trips. Cars don't really operate efficiently until they warmed up, and this can take around five minutes or five miles of driving. But most trips in the US are less than five miles. As a matter of fact, 40% of trips are two miles or less, a distance easily covered by bike. And our downtown and campus area are already crowded and not efficiently negotiated by car. Yet not everyone has a bike, or has it with them all the time. If it was easier to make some of these short trips without using a car, it would be good for our air and our roads would be less congested. And maybe you'd be able to find a parking spot closer to your destination.

So making bikes available to people that already have them at hand would help solve some of these urban issues.

Of course, I've been reading lots of news and blog posts on this subject, and many people have questions, misconceptions, or outright incorrect information. Below I'm going to try to get some of these answered, corrected, or debunked.

As to how this all came about, whether it should be rushed through, and whether proper city process was followed, I'm not going to comment. I really don't want to support the way this project is moving through the city process. It was poorly handled, and that's all I'm going to say as my feelings on that subject. I'm just hoping to provide some information as a person that thinks bike sharing is good in general, and has done more research on various bike sharing programs than the average person.

You can read two of my past posts on bike sharing in Madison – both what I felt were the barriers and a history of a different kind of bike sharing, at the links above.

First, there are a couple of places to go to get more information about the program in general and the specifics about the Madison proposal. The Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission had a meeting last week where a representative from B Cycle, as well as a couple of city staff people came to present the program. You can watch the whole meeting at the link above. Most of the meeting was devoted to the B Cycle proposal, so you shouldn't have to search much to find that topic. Unfortunately, some incorrect or incomplete information came out via this meeting, and as chair, I was not able to answer the questions. (We also got kicked out of the room because the County had failed to put one of their meetings on the room schedule, and they own the room, so the discussion was cut short.)

You can also read the B Cycle FAQ sheet prepared for the Feb 1 Council meeting. It has answers from Trek/B Cycle. Some of the same questions are answered below, but I wanted to add more information or put the answers in my own words. If you want to see all the documents that the Council will see, you can access that item via Legistar, the city's legislative software. Just click the various links under “attachments.”

Why does the city provide space for a private business to use our public space? Why isn't Trek paying for use of the sidewalks, streets, parks, or other public space?

A bike sharing program is part of the transportation system of the city, just like private cars, delivery trucks, van pools, parking lots, buses, sidewalks, roads, paths, intercity buses, taxis, (in other cities) trains/light rail, and various other elements. Each of elements gets some subsidy from the city. Local roads are paid for almost entirely by local property taxes, and buses receive lots of property tax support as well, so those are obvious. But even the Parking Utility, which received all its revenues from user fees (parking fees), gets to use valuable land in our downtown without paying real value of that land. Can you imagine how much property taxes the city could generate if a 6-8 story condo or office building was built on any of the lots that now house our parking ramps?

Even taxi stands and intercity buses – both private, for-profit businesses – get special spots on the street for them to use. Bus loading zones and taxi stands could instead be revenue-generating parking spots, but we see it as in the interest of the city as a whole to provide spots for these businesses to operate on our public streets. Loading zones for delivery vehicles are the same model. These are private businesses, servicing other private businesses, and yet we reserve precious space on our streets to allow them to operate.

Why is the city giving any money to Trek/B Cycle to put this system in place? Why does it require a subsidy for a for-profit business?

The city provides many services that benefit private businesses. Besides the examples above, look at the subsidy that it provides to the Convention and Visitors' Bureau. We pay for them to market the city, because we figure the money will, come back to us in the form of more jobs, greater room tax, and increased property taxes. (Since the city doesn't collect income tax or sales tax, I've always wondered exactly how the hotel and restaurant jobs generated by business travel actually benefit the city financially, except that the city is generally a better place when more people are working.)

The city also has an economic development staff, again to help businesses in the city.

And let's not forget that providing parking via a city utility, even if it is supported by user fees, is a huge subsidy to the businesses – retail, residential developers, office developers, etc – that are located downtown. As noted above, the city could sell that land, allow the parking ramps to be torn down, and let the private market decide when and where parking would be available to different users. The private market could also set the price based on time of day, demand, or convenience. The city could get a one-time influx of money by selling the land, and then they could collect all those increased property taxes as well. But the decision has been made that providing a publicly run system of parking facilities is in the city's interest.

OK, but then why not allow a private company to run another type of transportation system using the public space? Like, maybe a bike sharing program.

How come there wasn't an RFP? Wouldn't other companies like to bud to offer the same product?

I admit, now we are getting into the process questions, but I can tell you what the official answer is, from the Mayor and City Attorney, based on the information Trek provided. B Cycle is the only company in the US (maybe the world, but I haven't checked) that not only provides the physical infrastructure – bikes, financial kiosks, parking/security for the bikes, etc – but also is offering to run the program, including maintaining the bikes, moving them around if too many get bunched up in one place – called “rebalancing,” taking care of the financial transactions, memberships, marketing, legal liability – in case someone sues because they fall off the bike, etc., data collection, and other parts of the operation of the system. In other cities, either the city, a non-profit, or a for-profit company actually operates the system, once it has been purchased from Trek.

I know something about bike sharing programs, and I believe it when city staff and Trek claim they are the only ones offering this whole package. There aren't many bike sharing providers in North America to begin with. Bixi operates in Montreal. Their home page doesn't seem to have anything about other locations, although according to this article, they also developed the systems in Minneapolis and Toronto. Smart Bikes operates in DC, as a partnership between the DC Department of Transportation and Clear Channel. Then there is B Cycle, which is the system in Denver, Des Moines, Louisville, San Antonio, and Ft. Lauderdale.

There are a few smaller programs being operated either on college campuses or private businesses with large corporate campuses. The bikes used are almost always heavy, specialized, utilitarian bikes, not your standard off the shelf model.

The truth is, except for Bixi and B Cycle, no one else is developing systems in multiple places. For an all-in-one, B Cycle is the only company, and Madison will be the first place they have run the system as well as developed it.

What about advertising?

The resolution states that all the bikes and kiosks must meet the current advertising regulations for the city. Several alder, most strenuously Alder Mike Verveer, have pointed out that Madison has been very strict about advertising in the downtown area. We don't have it in our bus shelters, and he has pledged to oppose it in this instance as well.

This will be interesting, because the model around the world has been that considerable revenue has been generated by the advertising on the bikes and the actual kiosks. Note above how the Washington, DC system is a partnership between the DC DOT and Clear Channel? Clear Channel is essentially underwriting the system in exchange for an exclusive advertising contract for not just the bike sharing system, but also the buses and bus shelters in DC.

Won't people that want to ride a bike just use their own?

Bike sharing programs are not aimed at people that bike to work/school anyway, they are aimed at people that don't have their bikes with them, but want to make a short trip. Examples of the potential market are:

State employee that take a van pool to work
People that take the bus to work
Carpoolers
Even drivers that want to make a short trip, but don't want to drive.
Regular bicyclists that for whatever reason don't have their bike with them.
Downtown dwellers that don't own a bike, but want to borrow one.

Where are these customers going, and why would they use a B Cycle?

To meet a friend or spouse at the Kohl Center for a basketball game. S/he may get to work with one mode, take the B Cycle to the Kohl Center, and then get a ride home.
Bike from the Capitol area to campus for a meeting. This is just a bit too far to walk, if you are pressed for time, but driving really isn't fast either, because of traffic and parking.
Run errands at lunch or after work, or get to lunch by bike.
Go to meetings within a couple of miles. Biking is often faster than driving, and definitely faster than the bus or walking.
Visitors that come to Madison without a car, or just want to bike somewhere. The Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that 20% of visitors don't have a car while in Madison.
Get somewhere when the buses aren't running frequently. Weekends, holidays, evening it might be 30-60 minutes between buses, but the bike is there for that trip to Willy St.

Other information: It's a great deal!

These systems generally cost well over $1 million to get up and running, and then possibly over a million dollars each year in operations. As with any other business, it takes awhile to not only work out all the bugs, but to also get the program on firm financial ground. Trek is offering this system, fully installed, operational, and maintained, for a pretty small financial commitment. It's a huge gift that is requiring very little on the part of the city. Think of the $810 million train that got thrown away by our governor, and how stupid that looked. It's that sort of deal for the city.

Why would Trek do this? Well, part of it really is a belief in Madison and a desire to make their (sort of) hometown as great as it can be. Trek believes in biking, and they want Madison to be a showcase for how biking can benefit a city.

But there is something in this for Trek as well, besides good PR. Trek holds a bike show/convention in Madison every year – Trek World. All the other bike companies, associated businesses, suppliers, and dealers go to a different show in Las Vegas, but Trek has their own show at Monona Terrace. I'm assuming that Trek would like to show off this system to other cities, advocates, dealers, and others right on their home turf. This system is a rolling, operational advertisement for one of their divisions. Since they have never been the operator, as well as the developer of this program, Madison will be the test case.

That's cool, I have no problem with Trek using Madison to show off their best ideas. It's good for the city, and it's good for Trek. Doesn't everyone want a win-win?

Random thoughts on a winter walk on University Ave

2011-01-31T20:00:00.001-06:00

I'm working on a post about the bike sharing program that will be before the city council tomorrow night, but that is going to be a long post. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on walking down University Ave this afternoon.

It was the large, fast, busy, part between Campus Dr and just past Shorewood Blvd. I don't usually walk that stretch, but didn't feel like digging out the car. Besides, it's not far, I thought, probably less than a mile. I wanted to get to the UW Credit Union, buy some coffee at Ancora, and stop at Panera to do some writing. I'm not sure why I write better outside my house, but I do. Panera has both food and wi-fi, and it's pretty quiet after the lunch rush.

I walked the block down to University from my house, and headed west on the south side of the street, that is, counterflow to the adjacent traffic. Although there are plenty of businesses along this stretch, not many people walk it. There are a few coming and going to the bus stops, but not the number of people you see on the campus part of University, or even the "Old" University portion farther east.

There's plenty of residential density and some offices in this area, but the walking environment is just not there. The sidewalk is sort of close to the road, so you don't get much protection from the noise and visual feel of the traffic rushing by. It feels like you could get plowed down at any moment, and each driveway and intersection made me flinch, worried that a turning vehicle wouldn't notice me.

A few blocks farther I started to see lots of crud from the street splashed up onto the sidewalk. Yuck. The temperature was below freezing, so much of the snow and crud was in semi-frozen chunks, but can you imagine walking that same stretch in the rain, or when that snow and slush is more splashable?

I crossed to the north side at Shorewood Blvd. Fortunately, there were no left-turning cars, because the crosswalk across the intersection feels very long and unprotected. I continued on through the little strip mall that contains Cost Cutters and the AT&T store. There is a walkway under an overhang, but at the end of that, there was both a fence-style bike rack (note, I'll have to go back for photos of that for my bike parking fail series) and a parked car blocking the end of the walkway. Yeah, I can get around those things, but I don't have a stroller, balance problems, or a big shopping bag.

So... a bit of business, a sandwich, and a little work, and I headed back home around 5:30 PM. With the light now gone, it felt even more vulnerable out there. Only twice did I feel like a driver didn't see me and my physical being was in danger.

Let's see what's in the windows of the stores as I go by. Most of the businesses on this stretch have been around awhile, and they seem financially stable. The IHOP seems pretty sad, however. Not one customer in there. Ouch, that's gotta hurt. All the other eateries have at least someone there: Bagels Forever, Jimmy Johns, Panera, Whole Foods, Q'doba, and Tex Tubbs shows some activity as I pass. Somehow, the IHOP just looks like the wrong joint in the wrong place. Maybe they make all their money off weekend brunch.

As soon as I turned off University, I felt more relaxed and safe. My neighborhood, and all the streets just behind the stores and businesses are great for walking. I've biked to all these locations many time, but I take the back way, not University Ave. It's not that it's impossible to walk and bike to the destinations on University, it's just that the walking (and biking) environment is really bad.

It's really too bad that one of our major streets, still very close to downtown and campus, and the retail area for many walkable/bikeable/transit-friendly neighborhood, is so ugly and unattractive to pedestrians. Maybe when we redo the street we can fix that.

Walker kills biomass at Charter St plant: Again penny wise and pound foolish

2011-01-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

Too bad that saying is using British currency, because "penny wise and dollar foolish" just doesn't sound quite as catchy. But the wisdom behind it is still the same. You can save a little money now, but find out that your savings are short lived, and you end up spending more money over the longer term.

Yesterday's announcement that our new Governor is finally killing the biomass boilers on the new Charter Street heating plant is just this kind of thinking. He's crowing about saving the Wisconsin taxpayers $100 million by not including the option to burn biomass, as well as natural gas. But heating plants last many decades, and we don't know what the price of natural gas will be in 2020, 2030, or 2050. We are passing up a chance to build a heating plant that could switch its fuel based on the prevailing price, and the fuel could come from right here in Wisconsin, instead of far away via a pipeline.

This power plant will sit on the University campus, a campus that is in the forefront of research on biofuels of all kinds. We are an agricultural state with lots and lots of biomass of all kinds, including waste from agricultural products, street and highway brush cuttings, waste from lumber and paper production, and naturally occurring plants that need virtually no fertilizer, irrigation, or cultivation. Wisconsin is in an ideal situation to both produce biomass and do the research to make sure that the plant is both energy and economically efficient and sustainable.

(How ironic that the Wisconsin Bioenergy Institute announced a grant program the day before Walker pulled the plug on a coal to biomass conversion on the UW campus. The grant they announced seeks a small, older coal or oil-fired facility in northern Wisconsin that could be converted to biomass.)

But that's all gone now. No jobs producing biomass. No home-town heating plant to test the efficiencies. No flexibility in fuel source, should natural gas prices soar. Less fuel security from a local source. All that design work down the tubes.

This seems to be the hallmark of the new Walker administration: It doesn't matter that a project has been planned, designed, voted on, budgeted, and started, we need to kill it if it will save a few dollars next year. it doesn't matter that this project will create jobs here in Wisconsin, if the left likes it, or it benefits Democratic strongholds like Madison and Milwaukee, kill it. Even if the project will possibly save billions of dollars in the next thirty years, we can't afford it now.

This is the sort of thinking that has gotten corporate American into so much trouble: Think only of the next quarter and the dividends of the investors next year. Forgot long term investment that may pay off in ten years, leave those to the Europeans and Asians. We can always play catch-up.

Intercity trains. Biomass heating plants. What's next?

I've been thinking of an analogy that individuals might understand, a decision they might make to save a little money now, but that will mean possibly decades of lost money down the road. Not too many things we purchase can't be changed, sold, or upgraded. If a pair of shoes falls apart, because we saved a little money, well, we are out the price of the shoes. We all know that buying the cheap brand isn't always a bargain.

But as I sit at home, on this frigid morning, in my drafty 1922 house (which I generally love), I think I found the right analogy. I replaced my old, wooden storm and screen windows about 15 years ago. I was tired of climbing up on the ladder each spring and fall to physically change the heavy outer windows. The screens were ripped on some of the frames, and it all seemed too much trouble. I replaced them with new, combination storm/screens, ones that I could slide up and down from the comfort of my house. But I didn't get the really energy efficient, double pane, expensive windows, because I was tight on money. Natural gas was cheap, and I have lived in drafty houses my whole life. "No big deal," I thought, "How bad could it be?"

Pretty bad. Now, because of my decision to save maybe $1000-$1500 on the whole house, my heating bills are hundreds of dollars more each year, and the cost of replacing those windows has skyrocketed by thousands of dollars. But I could actually still replace the windows.

Now imagine building a whole house that is drafty and poorly insulated from the start. Sure, it would be cheaper, but those heating bills would eat up your savings pretty fast. And your heating fuel might get even more expensive. Then you'd be faced with continuing high heating bills, or going back to do an expensive fix, like adding insulation and new windows. Wouldn't it be better to build it right the first time?

Penny wise, and pound foolish, Governor Walker. I hope the people of Wisconsin remember who killed the train and the flex-fuel heating plant. We'll have a new governor by then, but your decisions will be a burden on us for decades.

A winter Sunday in the Arboretum

2011-01-17T12:54:00.000-06:00

One of the great joys about living in Madison is the opportunity to get outside and enjoy nature, year round, even if you live in the heart of the city. One way to do that is to visit the UW Arboretum. Every Sunday there are two nature walks, one for adults, and one for families (that is, kid-friendly.) They may take off a Sunday around Thanksgiving or Christmas, but other than that, they run them in all weather and seasons.*

The last walk I went on was a couple two Sundays ago, and it was sunny with calm winds, so despite the temperature in the 20s, it was quite enjoyable to be outside. These walks give me a reason to get my butt out of the house on a wintery Sunday, when it is far too easy to hang around indoors all day. If there is snow, I'm eager to XC ski or snowshoe, but when there's no fresh snow, it's nice to have someone willing to lead a walk.

The topics of these walks vary quite a bit. Some that I have attended were focused on glacial features, prairie plants, spring ephemerals, Indian mounds, fungi and mushrooms, fall prairie plants, and wetland environments. Some of the naturalists are experts on birds, others on plants, and others on insects, but all have a wide variety of interests and knowledge, and they try to answer questions as best they can. The people going along on the hikes often can answer the questions as well, since these hikes tend to attract people generally interested in the natural environment.

The most recent hike was much less focused on a particular topic, and we went only a short distance to Longnecker Gardens to generally check out winter conditions. We looked at some animal tracks, talked about the birds and animals that can be seen in winter, and kept an eye out for anything else that happened or came by. Winter is a great time to get to know trees by their shape, since most are bare of leaves and it is very easy to see the branch structure. Unless you are used to looking at trees, you tend to think of evergreens as conical, and other trees as having a straight, thick trunk branches splitting off and getting smaller as you go up. We sort of think of a tree as being a stick with a fluffy crown of leaves. That's how kids draw trees, right?

But from across an open area like Longnecker Woods, and without the leaves, you can see the structure of the trees, and see how some are tall and skinny, others a more chaotic jumble of branch sizes, and still others having multiple trunks coming from the ground.

You can also see the birds and animals in the trees much more easily. Red tail hawks are very common in the Arb, and they love to hunt the snowy areas with only scattered trees. Twice we say a hawk swoop down from a tall tree along the edge of the gardens, but we didn't see wither one catch anything. It also seems to be easier to hear the bird calls, since there is less ambient noise in winter, and the sound isn't muffled by the leaves. While our guide was talking, I kept hearing a bird calling over the ridge, but of course, it stopped as soon as I asked if anyone could identify it.

But we did get a great treat a few minutes later, when a call came ringing over the snow from the edge of the forest. It was almost like a laughing sound, and as a matter of fact, some humans laughed on the other side of the gardens just after the bird had finished calling. They sounded like they were echoing the bird's call. I had heard the call before, but couldn't quite place it. From the volume and distance, we figured it was a pretty good sized bird, not a chickadee or nuthatch-sized. “I think that might be a woodpecker of some sort.”, I suggested. Finally, one of our group spotted something up in one of the tallest trees on the forest edge. With the small binoculars our guide had in his pouch, we took a look. Red head, definitely woodpecker-shaped. It was a pileated woodpecker!

So despite the winter, I recommend the Arboretum walks, whether you go on the longer adult walks or the shorter family walks. I have never failed to learn something, and it's just nice to be outside in the woods with a few like-minded souls.

* Our guide said that the two weather conditions that will cancel the walks are lightening, and temperatures significantly below zero plus wind. He said that earlier this year he took a walk with two brave souls when the temperature was around 40 degrees, and there was horizontal, pouring rain. He said they had a great time just watching things blowing around out on Curtis Prairie.

Madison libraries are great, except the wi-fi.

2011-01-17T12:41:00.002-06:00

I wrote this yesterday (Sunday), but didn't post it until today, because... well, if you read the post, it will become obvious.

I love the Madison Public Library system, and and I've been using the (relatively) new Sequoya Library quite a bit in the winter because of the south and west facing windows, which allow me to sit in the sun during the afternoon. Finding a place to sit and work, preferably a place with comfortable chairs and without a requirement to spend a great deal of money has been a quest for me for several years.

It happens that my house doesn't get much afternoon sun, and I like to get out of the house to work. It's far too easy to stay home when the weather isn't great, and I'm more productive when I work outside my house as well. There are simply too many distractions at home.

Now I don't mind buying coffee or a sandwich to pay my way for the chair I'm occupying, or the wi-fi I'm using, but it's surprising how few coffee shops have sunny afternoon seats. It also happens that, due to my short stature, typing at a table is often uncomfortable. A livingroom-style chair is more comfortable, because I can put my laptop on my knees to work. Yeah, I know I'm asking for a lot. That's why I like the sunny corner of the library so much.

There's just one problem. The Madison libraries seem to have a really hard time keeping up their wi-fi network. This the second Sunday in a row that I have been unable to log on to the internet at the library. Now, there are some advantages to this, when I'm trying to get work done. Just as at home, no internet means fewer distractions. But sometimes I need to get onto the internet to get a piece of information for my work, to link to a resource or to check my sources. A public library should be a place that has free and abundant computer access.

And lest someone suggest that simply use the computers at the library, they are all occupied, and users are restricted to ½ hour. It's OK with me that they limit the time per person, we all have to share common resources, but that's why I carry my own laptop. Libraries across the US routinely have free internet access, sometimes even when the library is closed. I enjoyed a wonderful early-evening summer hour sitting outside the Burlington, VT library, checking my email and looking up tourist information, a few years ago. The library had closed at 6 PM, but I sat on the bench outside and had no problem logging on.

And one more note on how people use libraries in Madison. There has been much debate about the need for a new central library, or whether libraries are no longer needed, now that “everything is available on-line.” The Sequoya Library is jammed right now: 3:30 PM on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Some people are reading the paper, others browsing magazines, others reading library books or even their own books from home. There are parents with kids browsing, playing games, or surfing the internet in special sections set up for kids. A group of teen girls are studying (or gossiping, or both) over in the sunny corner. In the “youth” area, another small cluster of middle-school kids are studying. All the public computers are occupied, and finding a free chair or table is a challenge. Both the staffed and self-checkout counters have waiting lines. Sounds to me like a public libraries, including all the books, papers, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and written public information that everyone thinks are “all available on the internet,” are all very much in demand.

Now, if they could fix the wi-fi, it would all be a happy scene.

Bicyclists and car drivers are not (usually) separate groups

2010-12-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

An email arrived today from a colleague in another part of the country. She was posting a questionnaire her bicycle advocacy group had sent to candidates for office. Like many groups around the country, they wanted to see the candidates' feelings and attitudes towards certain issues in the community. The answers would be sent to members and shared with the public.

By the way, this is one way for a 501(c)3 organization, which are generally thought to be prohibited from political activity, to be involved with elections. Sending a questionnaire and sharing/publishing the results is fine, as long as you send the questionnaire to all candidates and don't endorse.

However, the first sentence on this questionnaire was, "We believe great places to live provide transportation independence for those who do not drive motor vehicles."

This bothered me a bit, and below is the response email I wrote.

You start off with the the statement, "We believe great places to live provide transportation independence for those who do not drive motor vehicles."

I think this is a bit of a disservice to your/our cause, and also to those of us use bicycling and walking as everyday transportation modes. I own a car and drive. But I also bike and walk more frequently, and obviously believe strongly in the necessity of having these options for all in the community.

It is not just those that "do not drive motor vehicles" that need these options. It is all of us! We all know why, so I won't go into that.

But we need to think about how we portray ourselves, and making a sharp dividing line between "pedestrians and bicyclist" on one side, and "drivers" on the other is not going to help both our image and our cause. We are everyone. We are you. We are your neighbors, friends, colleagues, doctors, lawyers, teachers, city officials, store owners, and the rest of the people you see every day. We are normal.

Not driving is seen as something for the poor, the very young and very old, and people with disabilities. Or worse, people who have had their license taken away (although that seems to stop few in Wisconsin, the only state where a first OWI is a civil forfeiture, like a parking ticket, and you have to have 4 OWIs in 5 years to make it a felony.) In very large cities, obviously not driving is more normal for middle class and professional people, but there are few of these places [where you live] and most states.

We know that this is not the case, but we need to point out that everyone needs good access to non-motorized transportation, not just the non-drivers.

I see this in news articles, community discussions, and policy documents. We talk about bicyclists as if they are not also drivers. I would venture to say that 95% of the people on this list own a car and drive. When we are told, "Bicyclists don't pay for the roads," - because people think we don't pay gas taxes - we have to point out again and again that we pay gas taxes, car registration, and licensing fees, because we are also drivers. And we are also property owners, and in Wisconsin property taxes pay almost 100% of the costs of local roads, the ones that most of us use for biking.

We also hear, "Bicyclists don't obey the law." Of course, drivers don't obey the law either - speed limits, yielding to pedestrians, full stops before entering the crosswalk, etc. But it is much easier to say, "Most bicyclists are also drivers, They probably don't obey the law when driving either." It personalizes the violation, so it's not the vehicle that causes the law-breaking, it's the person. And it points out that bicyclists and drivers are not separate, segregated elements of the community, but simply the same people making a separate choice for that trip, like running shoes, dress shoes or loafers on your feet.

Why aren't the bike lanes plowed?

2010-12-13T17:15:00.000-06:00

Because our Governor-elect seems to have finally managed to kill Wisconsin's opportunity for the expansion of intercity rail, at least for the next decade or so, I'm going to move back to writing about some other transportation issues, or whatever happens to pop into my mind.

Even though non-bicyclists and transplants from warmer climates find this hard to believe, many of us actually continue to bike in the winter. In my case, I'm not likely to be going out on recreational rides, but I do still use my bike to get around town.

It's not as hard as most people think, but more on that in another post.

Today I'm going to address a question that comes up every year on a local listserv: "How come the bike lanes are in such bad condition?" After all, this is Madison. The paths get plowed, often before side streets. So why, when the plows are running down the street anyway, do the bike lanes end up with snow, ice, salt piles, dirt, and combinations of the above?

If it makes anyone feel better, we aren't the only ones complaining about this. At that link, there is also a cool video of a machine in Copenhagen that clears the bike lanes. Here's someone from NYC also voicing the same problem.

Here is a part of an email I wrote earlier today about biking in winter, and it explains why the bike lanes are still full of snow, when the rest of the street is clear:

It is unlikely that the far right portion of any road will ever be as clear of snow, ice, slush, salt, debris, and sundry stuff as the middle portion. When cars drive over a street, the gunk that falls off of them acts like salt, both making the melting point of the resulting mixture lower, and also making the whole mess darker in color, so absorbing more sunlight, and melting. Friction from the cars' wheels also heat up the pavement and lead to faster melting.

Cars also throw snow, slush, salt, dirt, etc to the sides as they pass, and that stuff then ends up on the right of the roadway, and refreezes, or creates a pile of loose dirt/salt, which can be hazardous in and of itself. Much of the non-frozen stuff remains until spring, or a mid-winter rain storm, when rain washes it all down into the storm sewers and our lakes.

Sweeping would help, but it's pretty hard to predict when the streets will be snow-covered vs. dry vs. wet, but above freezing, so the city only sweeps April/May(?)-Nov. I'm assuming the sweeping equipment is simply put away for the winter, and staff assigned other tasks, even if we have a particularly warm year.

Most of us intuitively know all this, but every year someone asks, "How come the bike lanes are never clear?" So I thought I'd post that answer in advance.

Boneheaded politics means loss of rail money

2010-12-09T22:38:00.000-06:00

Mayor Dave didn't pull any punches today when he held a press conference today in reaction to Governor-elect Scott Walker finally and definitely losing $810 million of federal investment in passenger rail service extending the Hiawatha line from Milwaukee to Madison.

The Mayor also points out that he repeatedly tried to talk to Walker, but was "met with a blank wall." Not even returning the calls from the mayor of the second largest city in the state, and the person you are likely to see frequently, since your offices are within two blocks of each other? What sort of bizarre politics is that? Is this what we can expect from our future governor: the cold shoulder and avoidance of anyone with whom he doesn't agree?

I have to agree with the harsh words of the Mayor, when he said, "the day can't come soon enough when Walker can be referred to as 'the former governor.'"

And right after the decision became final, Talgo made a definitive announcement of its own: They are leaving Milwaukee. Nice going, Walker. Not only did you lose the jobs building the rail line, but you have now turned away a business that would have manufactured trains in Milwaukee and shipped them all over the US. Manufacturing jobs in a depressed city, aren't those exactly the types of jobs we should be trying to attract?

One restaurateur has also decided that his plan to revamp and reopen his current eatery is not a good idea, now that there will be no train passengers coming and going across the street. This same decision will be repeated in other parts of Madison, around an abandoned grocery store in Watertown, and in any community that might have been along the line to the Twin Cities.

Good-bye to construction jobs, redevelopment in downtown areas, manufacturing in a depressed neighborhood in Milwaukee, and better rail lines for freight and the businesses it serves. All so communities in other states can reap those benefits. Wisconsin taxpayers aren't getting a refund on the money they have sent to Washington, DC, they are just sending the money elsewhere. And Wisconsin taxpayers will still have to pay to upgrade freight infrastructure and signaling that is mandated by the federal government. We could have paid for all this while also building the passenger service, but now it is all gone.

I am just sick to my stomach about this. Right after the election, I felt the same way, and then felt for awhile that maybe we had a chance to still make the situation right. Maybe, just maybe Walker would come to his senses and realize that he couldn't afford to throw away thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe billions, of additional dollars circulating in the state economy. Has he never heard of the multiplier effect?

When you are stuck in the snow on the way to Milwaukee, Chicago, or the Twin Cities, think about how the trains can get through all sorts of weather will virtually no delays. When you are creeping your way through rush hour traffic, or on your way to the Brewers on I-94, or want to get to downtown Chicago, but end up driving slower than I can bicycle, thank Scott Walker for ruining any chance to getting to those destinations more quickly and efficiently. When people who can't drive or shouldn't drive have no way to come to Madison to visit, imagine what it would be like to have the elderly, people with disabilities, or people who like to drink in our bars to have another transportation option.

The rail haters say, "What about the buses? Can't we just use those?" Sure, if you don't mind the buses moving the same speed as the rest of the traffic. See, trains get their own right of way, so they can bypass all the traffic. And buses hold maybe 50-60 people, while trains can carry hundreds. That means that to carry the same capacity, you would have to put 60-70 buses on the road and that also means 60-70 drivers for those buses, and that's expensive. Buses are just not a solution for a corridor where passengers want fast, reliable, and high capacity service.

I'm not going to write more, because what more is there to say? Maybe I'll be inspired tomorrow. I don't suppose I'll wake up tomorrow and find out this was all a bad dream, right? No, I thought not.

What ever happened to the Red Bikes program?

2010-12-03T18:32:00.000-06:00

After I wrote a post about bike sharing, someone mentioned the famous Red Bikes in Madison. Once or twice a year, someone asks me, or posts a question on the Bikies list, about the Red Bikes that Madison has/had. So here is the story:

The original Red Bikes program was indeed a bike sharing program - you could borrow a bike for a short time - a few minutes up to an hour or so - then use another Red Bike when you next needed one. The idea was that Red Bikes were put out by Budget Bicycles in the spring, and people could use them if they needed to get somewhere. You weren't supposed to lock them up, but just leave them somewhere unlocked, so someone else could use the bike.

As opposed to bike sharing programs that are being run formally around the country/world (see previous post), you couldn't rely on a Red Bike being available when you needed it. They were few and far between, and people who didn't understand the program, or were looking to cause trouble, would either "steal" the bikes (although I'm not sure how you "steal" something that is free), or would trash the bikes, strip them, or ride/throw them into the lake.

Roger Charley, the owner of Budget Bicycles, and a great supporter of bicycling in general, transportation bicycling in particular, and also a wonderful patron of advocacy efforts, decided that the program just wasn't really working. So it was changed to what exists now.

The current Red Bikes program is more like a cheap/free, long-term bike rental. You go to Budget, put down a deposit, get a basic bike and a lock, and use the bike as long as you need it -days to months. This is great for people visiting Madison for a few weeks or th summer. The program is also popular with new arrivals, especially grad students or international students, that may not have the money to buy a bike right away, but want basic transportation.

When you return the bike, you get your deposit back. You are responsible for keeping the bike safe/locked up, and you can bring the bike in for basic repairs like fixing a flat or having the brakes adjusted. (Please check with Budget for the details, I haven't checked all the fine print recently.)

So there is no Red Bikes as "pick one up for an hour to run an errand" anymore, which is the niche of a bike sharing program. However, the Red Bikes are a very useful, and very generous program run by Budget that fills a different sort of niche.

Hope that helps explain the past and current program.

Economic Development Commission (in)action on rail last night

2010-11-30T18:53:00.002-06:00

My email to the EDC today. Thought I'd pass it on.

Dear members of the EDC,

Today I saw an article in The Daily Reporter, and had a few comments.

I have to say that I completely disagree with Alder Clear and Mario Mendoza about the best strategy to influence the debate about bringing frequent passenger rail to the city. I have been working very hard on this issue, and I feel that we need every voice to speak up, and not just one voice coming from the Mayor. As the committee that is tasked with looking at economic development issues, you can speak to a different perspective than any other individual or elected official. You can say, "This is an economic development issue, and it is important for the future of Madison on that basis alone."

Although I tend to agree with the Mayor on these issues, opponents of the rail project can more easily dismiss an individual well known as an advocate for the environment and transportation alternatives.

I also agree with Julia Stone, that this is also a public opinion issue, not just a political issue. We do not have enough input from the business community across the state saying that having a modern, fast, clean transportation system in Wisconsin is essential to our economic future. I have been very disappointed by the lack of input from the business sector, with the exception of DMI. At least, whatever is being said is not making the news.

I'm sorry I didn't attend your meeting last night to say just that. If you have another opportunity to write a letter or pass on your opinion on this issue, I hope you take it. In the meantime, I hope you will each write a letter to Governor-elect Walker, and the entire State Senate and Assembly, to show support for the rail project through Madison and on to the Twin Cities. This is critical to the future economic future of Madison and will provide connection to the entire Midwest.

Please speak as a member of the EDC in your letter, despite the fact that your were talked out of taking an official stand as a committee last night.

If you need further information on chances to weigh in on the rail debate, please let me know. The next important date is Dec 7, when the Wisconsin DOT will hold hearings on the best route for the Milwaukee - Twin Cities route.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Former Alder Robbie Webber

Bike sharing - why not Madison?

2010-11-30T15:05:00.001-06:00

One of the questions I get, as a bike advocate in one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US, is, "Why doesn't Madison have a bike sharing program?"

I'm not really sure of the answer, but I have a good guess. Here's what I tell people about the situation in Madison: There's no space for the racks that would hold the bikes.

Yes, that seems like a silly reason for not having this program in place, but it is a serious obstacle. Madison has so many private bikes, and such a shortage of racks in high-demand areas - the exact areas where you'd want to put a bike sharing location - that there's no space for the racks for the program.

This is the same reason you don't have a car rental parking lot in the middle of a busy city. These lots tend to be on the edge of town, at airports, or maybe at existing car dealerships. The parking in a dense city is just too valuable to allocate it to a private use like a bike sharing or car rental program. Cities need to make the available spots as efficient and open to all as possible. (OK, Madison could do a better job of managing its bike parking, but that's another blog post.)

For those not familiar with bike sharing programs, here's a quick primer. Think of it as a cross between Community Car (or Zip Car in other cities) and those luggage carrier rentals at airports. You walk up to a rack on the street, pay for one of the bikes in a special rack, remove the bike from the rack, ride it around or to a destination, and then return the bike to any of the racks around the city. You don't have to return the bike to the same rack, so you can ride the bike to an appointment or destination and then pick up a different bike when you want to go somewhere else.

Bike-sharing programs are great for either transportation bicyclists people that don't have their bikes with them - visitors, transit and driving commuters running a quick errand - or for people that normally don't use a bike for transportation, but want to go for a ride - tourists, novice riders, the timid, or just the curious. It's a way to provide access to a bike for a short period of time, from five minutes to one day.

There are several programs operating in the North America, and others around the world. There was a recent blog post for the Milw. Journal-Sentinel about the Bixi program in Montreal. A larger operation is the B-Cycle program, currently in Chicago, Des Moines, Louisville, Denver, and San Antonio.

So what about Madison?

Well, as I said, it's a space issue. To make these programs work, you have to have a bunch of these special racks scattered around town, racks that are sort of chunky and take up a lot of space. And the racks can't be used to lock up other bikes, both because they must be available for return of the special bikes, and because they just aren't those type of rack.

The locations that would be most logical for these racks, the places where people are most likely to want to borrow and return bikes, are also the locations currently lacking in adequate bike parking for the general public: around the Capitol, State St, campus, Willy St, Monroe St, etc. Where are we going to put these rather large racks without evicting other uses? And it's not just public bike racks that take space, but also benches, sidewalk cafes, trash containers, planters, street signs, etc. All those are perfectly good and legitimate uses, but they each take up space, and there is only so much space.

However, this is not a problem without a solution. Madison could have a bike sharing program, and could find space for all the uses, but it's just not as easy as in some cities. In downtown, both public and bike-sharing racks could be located in (car) parking garages. Private businesses may want to sponsor a rack and put a bike-sharing kiosk in their garage, especially those locations that the public currently uses anyway, like Block 89.

We cold also replace some on-street or surface (car) parking with space for bike parking, sidewalk cafes, benches, etc. A curb-side car spot could probably fit a 8-10 normal bikes. Wow! Think of all the additional customer parking for those businesses in the area!

Just like car parking, the public bike parking spots must be visible for users to find them. Private (or bike-sharing) spots can be a bit more hidden, because the users will either actively seek out the spots, or already know where they are. A private (car) parking ramp doesn't have to have a big sign, because it is mostly used by employees, or people going to a specific spot with instructions on where to park.

I think bike sharing would be incredibly successful in Madison. It's easy to bike in Madison, often biking is faster than any other transportation mode, and lots of people want to go for a ride, but don't have a bike with them right that minute.

So, the question comes back to, "How much do we want or need a bike-sharing program, and what is the City willing to give up or move around to make it work?"

Wisc-Minn hearings on possible rail routes between Milw and Twin Cities

2010-11-30T12:59:00.002-06:00

Dates for meetings at the end of this post. Also note the change of venue for the Madison hearing.

Photo courtesy of Environmental Law and Policy Center

No, rail is not totally dead in Wisconsin. Even though Gov-elect Walker is determined to throw away $810 million of federal investment and thousands of jobs to stop the extension of the Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin and Minnesota DOT officials are moving forward with a series of meetings to study routes through Wisconsin to Minnesota.

Coming up this week and next these meetings that give us a great chance to show support for rail in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the info about the meetings is hard to come by and confusing for anyone not already deep in the rail debate. There isn't even any information on the WisDOT web site, and they are running the meetings!

This is my effort to put all the info in one place.

Apart from the $810 million in ARRA money granted to Wisconsin to extend the popular and successful Hiawatha line west from Milwaukee to Madison, there was another project funded - a study of the best route between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities. This was a joint study between the Wisconsin DOT and the Minnesota DOT, but Minnesota is taking the lead. Each state put in $300,000, and the federal government kicked in $600,000, so the study has $1.2 million total.

If the Hiawatha extension moves forward, that is, if Walker allows the Milwaukee-Madison piece to be built, it would seem logical for the MN-Milw route to go through Madison. But there are actually 14 routes being studied, and three of them do not pass through Madison. However, according to today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Wisconsin transportation officials don't believe any alignment that excludes Madison would be economically feasible, but the study has to consider all options, said Cari Anne Renlund, executive assistant to Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi.

That is why we need to attend these meetings and say that we want rail in Madison. Also, one of the routes being studied is the current Empire Builder route that goes through Columbus, not exactly convenient to Madison, and certainly not likely to bring business or tourists to downtown for Badger games, Taste of Madison, Farmers Market, Art Far on the Square, etc. It's also not going to help business people that want to access the Capitol or campus area by bus, foot or bike. They are looking for a quick, easy way to avoid driving, and a Columbus stop really isn't much help.

However, the Walker has said he might consider using the federal stimulus funds for the Empire Builder. I guess he's willing to hang on to that money, as long as it is for a project that is guaranteed to fail and won't benefit those meddlesome liberals in Madison.

So let's get out to the meetings and show our support for rail in Wisconsin. This is about more than the much-debated Milwaukee-Madison piece. It's about economic development in western Wisconsin and connections to the entire region. Eau Claire and LaCrosse are both eager to have a connection to Madison and the Twin Cities. They know that this will bring investment in their communities and crucial connections to business and people across the Midwest. Minnesota wants a connection to Chicago, and they will push for it, even if they have to go through Iowa instead of Wisconsin. Illinois officials are already looking at that possibility.

Do we really want Wisconsin to be bypassed? Are we going to be the backwater of the upper Midwest, doomed to be off the map as modern transportation moves through other states, loaded with business deals, tourists, and investments? Are we willing to be left off the new interstate system?

Attend one of these meetings, and RSVP via the WISPIRG web site so you can get more information on how we can move rail forward in Wisconsin:

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 5-7pm: Best Western Riverfront Hotel, LaCrosse
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 5-7pm: Best Western Trail Lodge, Eau Claire
Thursday, Dec. 2, 5-7pm: University of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 5-7pm: ~~WisDOT Southwest Region Office, 2101 Wright Street,~~ Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4402 East Washington Ave, Madison

If you can't make the meetings, but want to submit comments, you can do so until December 29 by sending them to the MN DOT:

praveena.pidaparthi@state.mn.us

Bicycle-motor vehicle crash types in adults vs. kids

2010-11-24T14:12:00.001-06:00

I got an email a bit ago from a friend that got hit by a car while riding his bike to work. A left-turning motorist failed to yield at an intersection as Steven was going straight, and he was hit, thrown up over the hood of the car, and cracked the windshield with his helmet.

Fortunately, he is OK, except for some major bruises, soreness and stiffness, but it makes me think about bicycle crashes. (And another pitch to wear a helmet. Note the part about cracking the windshield with his helmet, instead of his head.)

One of the little statistics that I have learned from being a bicycle safety educator and advocate for over a decade, is that this type of crash - motorists failing to yield and turning left into a bicyclist - is the most common type of motor vehicle-bicycle crash for bicyclists over 16 years old. (See below for why I worded that exactly that way.)

It also happens to be the most common crash type for motorcycle-auto crashes. Probably for the same reason: bicycles and motorcycles are narrower vehicles and easier to overlook when looking for a gap to make a left turn. This is why I am especially cautious when I see a motorist waiting to make a left.

Now, a slightly longer explanation, if you are interested in crash types.

Notice above I specifically said:

Bicycle-motor vehicle crash
Bicyclist over 16 years of age

First, most bicycle crashes do not involve a motor vehicle. Falling due to snow, gravel, wet leaves, dogs/squirrels/deer, cracks in the pavement, curbs, bumps in the road or trail, railroad tracks, going off the path, missing a turn, or our own operating errors are by far the largest category of bicycle crashes. But that's not what people think of when they hear about a bike crash.

Then, when you read crash statistics for bicyclists that do involve a motor vehicle, the crashes for bicyclists under age sixteen and over sixteen are often lumped together. They are very different, and the result is the general public often misunderstands how, when, why, and where bicycle crashes occur.

Bicyclists over sixteen are fewer in number than those under sixteen – children are still the largest group of bicyclists in the US - and adults (over sixteen in this case) are much less likely to make certain types of errors that cause them to get hit by a car. So the majority of bike crashes happen to kids, which means they skew the statistics if kids and adults are lumped together.

Most people over sixteen in the US are also drivers, so they understand traffic, and know how things work on the street. Kids don't understand how to ride a bike as a vehicle operator, and they don't have the experience needed to do it right.

In MV-bike crashes involving bicyclists under sixteen, it is more likely the bicyclists has made an error that caused the crash. Kids ride out into the street from sidewalks and driveways without looking, and they often swerve in the street without looking for cars. They have poor impulse control, and have certain developmental issues that make it harder for them to perceive traffic and control their bikes.

When the bicyclist is over sixteen, the error is more likely to be on the part of the motorist. Failure to yield is the big one. Whether making a turn or simply not yielding after stopping at an intersection, it's usually the motorist that did something wrong.

Yes, bicyclists run stop signs and red lights, but most of the ones that do it are looking for cars, and few of these actions cause a crash. The problem is, motorists aren't looking for bikes, and even when they are, they just don't see us.

Doyle's response letter on rail

2010-11-23T13:48:00.000-06:00

This arrived in my email a bit ago. I suspect it was written several weeks ago, despite today's date in the header.

Thought others would like to see what is being sent as a response to calls of concern to Doyle's office.

Jim Doyle

Governor

State of Wisconsin

November 23, 2010

Dear Friends:

Thank you for contacting me in the wake of the news about the future of high speed rail in Wisconsin. I appreciate your comments and ongoing support for the project.

The high speed rail project is one that is very important to Wisconsin, and is one that I have worked on for many years. During the past several years, we have made Wisconsin a regional rail leader.

When President Obama announced his initial investment in modern high speed rail, Wisconsin was the biggest winner. The $823 million Wisconsin received is more than 10 percent of all the funds awarded nationally for high speed rail projects, and Wisconsin was the only state to receive all of the funds it applied for.

There are real consequences for not going forward. More than 400 Wisconsin workers scheduled to work on the project during the next several months face the possibility of being laid off. The job losses for workers in the early phases of the project include:

• 272 lost construction jobs on track and bridge reconstruction, and train shed construction;

• 70 lost engineering firm jobs; and

• 60 lost design and consulting jobs.

Over the entire project, job losses will be even greater if Governor-elect Walker refuses the federal money. The construction, engineering and design that would have been needed to complete the rail corridor will instead experience:

• 1,281 job losses in the first year;

• 4,060 job losses in the second year;

• 5,535 job losses in the third year;

• 1,847 job losses in the fourth year;

• 621 job losses in the fifth year; and

• 250 job losses in the final year.

In addition, 125 manufacturing jobs will be lost because Wisconsin workers won’t build the train sets needed to serve Wisconsin travelers.

We are at the point where construction is ready to begin immediately. While I could force the issue, I believe that this project will only be successful in the long run if the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Transportation are strong partners. For that reason, I have put the project on pause.

If Governor-elect Walker continues to oppose the project, U.S. DOT has made it clear, and has reiterated in recent days, that the money will go to one of the many states willing to move forward with high speed passenger rail.

In addition to Wisconsin job losses, over $14 million in expenses incurred over the last six months will need to be paid for by Wisconsin taxpayers. Necessary upgrades to the existing Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago totaling $82 million will no longer be eligible for federal assistance, shifting costs from the federal government to the state. These include $18 million in platform renovations at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station necessary to bring the platform into compliance with federal safety regulations; $12 million for platform renovations at the Milwaukee Airport Station and other important improvements to the existing Hiawatha line; and $52 million for a facility to maintain new Hiawatha train sets.

U.S. DOT has reached out to Governor-elect Walker, so he fully understands the consequences of not going ahead with the project. To me, it doesn’t make sense to not move ahead, but we have had an election. A lot of politics have been played with this issue, but I have to deal in the real world and think about how this affects jobs and the real lives of people in Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

Jim Doyle
Governor

JED: rbw

Bike Parking Fail: Wave/ribbon racks poorly placed

2010-11-22T19:32:00.001-06:00

Bike Parking Fail is going to be an occasional post topic here. I often see bad bike parking situations:

Bad racks
No rack
Not enough racks
Right rack, wrong place
Bad access
etc.

Today's pics are racks that are marginal design, but placed where people can't really use them properly. Wave and ribbon racks are much better than "fence racks," - those racks that only hold the front wheel, unless you put your bike frame over the top - but they have issues.

A good bike rack will support the bike at two points on the frame. That means that you can lean your bike up against the rack, and it won't fall over. Wave and ribbon racks only support the frame in one place. Some also don't let you use the spots efficiently, because the upright posts are too close to get your handlebars through. Or the bottom part of the rack is too high, so it hits the bottom bracket when the bike is placed through the U.

But the biggest problem with wave and ribbons racks is that to lean your bike up against the rack and not have it fall over, your have to place your bike parallel to the rack, thereby blocking a whole bunch of "spots."

Then there is the problem in these photos: the rack is not placed in the correct location. If you put the rack, any rack, too close to a wall, you can't lock your bike frame, because your front wheel will hit the wall.

So here we go:

First, we have some racks at the library. Here, you can see two aspects of bike parking fail. The racks don't let you put the handlebars through the inverted-U part of the rack, and then you can't put the wheel over the upright-U part, because the rack is too close to the wall. The only way to use this rack with a U-lock is to put your bike parallel to the rack and take up multiple spaces. Or, you can lock just your front wheel and hope no one steals the rest of the bike. If you use a cable, then the bike is likely to fall over, and it's less secure.

Then, we have the racks at my local gas station/convenience store. I feel sort of bad putting them up as an example of bad bike parking, because they actually tried to do the right thing. I left them a note a couple years ago telling them that as a neighbor and customer, it would be nice to have some decent bike racks. I pointed out that lots of people that shop there use bikes to get there, and all they had was a fence-style rack that was hard to get to, way over by the propane locker.

The manager called me, and we had a nice conversation. I gave her some ideas of how to pick out a good rack, and she thanked me for the information. Miracle of miracles, new racks appeared right next to the entrance to the store. However, they were fence racks, and placed so close to the wall that your couldn't use them except by putting the rack parallel to the rack. They also have a tendency to pile up firewood and cases of bottled water next to the rack, so you can't even put your bike next to the rack. It would be funny if it wasn't such a pain to buy a half gallon of milk on my way home. (This photo taken before this latest trend became established.)

Last summer, a couple of friends and I decided to stop at the Panera at Cahill Main, just off the Capital City Trail in Fitchburg. They had wave/ribbon racks as well. [sigh] This style seems to be the easy choice for everyone, and we've gotten justed to it. OK, we'll cope, as long as we can get to the racks. In this case, there is a newspaper box right next to the racks, which are also too close to the wall. All the bikes parked there are wedged in at a slant, again, making several of the spots unusable.

Here we have a restaurant that is right next to a bike trail, in a development that is actually pretty bike friendly. But they clearly don't have enough rack space, and didn't put the racks in the right place. They are next to the door, so you don't have to go searching for them. That's good. But couldn't they have alloted a little more space to customer parking? There's tons of car parking. Maybe just one or two car spots would have given them adequate space, instead of trying to squeeze the rack and the newspaper box right next to the wall.

And finally, my favorite photo for this blog post is the racks at Home Concepts on the Beltline frontage road. They put the racks near the door, so again, they are easy to find. But something makes me think the racks don't get used much. Maybe people would use them if they weren't covered with evergreens!

However, as a follow-up, this photo is a couple of years old, and the shrubs have now been trimmed, so you can use the racks. Thanks, Home Concepts, you get points for caring about your biking customers!

So this wraps up this today's presentation of Bike Parking Fail! There's plenty more to come, so stay tuned.

Wisconsinites don’t want to pay anything for transportation, neither rail nor roads

2010-11-22T15:57:00.001-06:00

While an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel indicates that Wisconsinites oppose rail, I think the results merit a little further reflection.

Although this poll shows a marginal opposition to the Madison-Milwaukee extension of the Hiawatha
service, it also shows opposition to toll roads. Yet I am quite certain that there would be a howl of
opposition if the gas tax or registration fee was raised.

So, given that the Wisconsin Transportation Fund, not to mention the federal Highway Trust Fund, will
soon not be able to pay for the road expansions and reconstructions that taxpayers demand, where will
that money comes from?

And shouldn't we be planning for alternatives to all those roads, maybe something that would carry more people, faster, and requires less of our precious farmland? Something that is less money to maintain, and would also be more environmentally friendly?

Nah. That's too close to socialism.

The article reveals that Wisconsinites feel transportation is an area where spending can be cut. Really?
Because all I ever hear from people is the need to either expand roads that are congested for a couple
hours per day, or complaints about the need to fix the roads that already exist.

What many people do not realize is how expensive it is to maintain, let alone build roads.

And lest anyone get the idea that all that money comes from gas taxes and registration fees – so
called “user fees” - 40% of road costs are borne by all taxpayers, whether they drive or nor, own a car or
not, or how many miles they drive. That 40% comes not from gas taxes and registration fees, but from
state sales and income taxes, and mostly from local property taxes. When we look at local roads, where
most driving is done, almost 100% comes from property taxes, with a slim amount coming from state
reimbursement of some maintenance costs on local roads.

People think the trains will be too expensive to maintain? It’s going to be considerably more expensive
to maintain the additional lanes of interstate, state highways, and local roads that will be needed if we
don’t give people an alternative to driving. This resistance to the train is the epitome of cutting off ones
nose to spite the face.

So whether you are a tree-hugger that wants to use less oil and create less pollution, or a pissed off taxpayer that sees the huge costs of our continued reliance on roads alone, or maybe you are someone that knows not everybody can drive, should drive, or wants to drive, if you want an alternative for the future, speak up!

Tell our Governor-elect that you want to have the train. You can call his transition office at 608-261-9200. You can also email him or even write a letter, if you want to give him more detail than a voice mail will allow. Hey he's got a link on that page for "Citizen Suggestions." That might be a good place to leave your thoughts.

You can also tell your federal and state elected officials that we want and need alternatives to driving everywhere. They are the ones holding the purse strings. And finally, it wouldn't hurt to tell US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood that not everyone in Wisconsin is against the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. Email, phone numbers, and snail mail contacts can be found here. Remember that hard copy letters take forever to be delivered in Washington, DC. Faxes and emails might work better for federal offices.

What does Minnesota think of losing their frequent rail connections?

2010-11-12T13:18:00.001-06:00

Although many anti-rail folks seem to forget this fact, the Madison-Milwaukee rail project, that Gov-elect Walker is determined to stop, is but one piece of a larger system, one that would run Chicago<-->Milwaukee<-->Madison<-->Twin Cities. If this piece doesn't go through, there is no future link between Madison and Minnesota, or from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee or Chicago, except for the once-a-day Empire Builder, which runs at a relatively slow speed and is often delayed on its way from Seattle.

Minnesota was counting on a fast, frequent service to he other cities in the Midwest, a link to research, business, and tourist destinations in Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Sure, you can fly, but what a pain, and expensive if you want to make a last-minute trip. Who wants to deal with airport traffic and parking, security, check-in, weather delays, not to mention a huge carbon footprint, when you could step onto a train and step off in your downtown location, all while getting some work done?

So what are the Minnesota news sources saying about Walker's stance?

The Winona Daily News says that the joint MNDOT is moving ahead with a request for proposals to study a route between the Twin Cities and Madison, possibly passing through Winona. Minnesota received $600,000 for the study from the federal government, and both MN and WI were supposed to kick in another $300,000 each. Is that on the chopping block as well? Minnesota is plowing ahead on their end at least.

The Pierce County Herald also points out that Walker's decision would doom the expansion to Minnesota. Both LaCrosse and Eau Claire are hoping the rail line passes through their cities, because they know that will bring economic development and jobs, but the boosters in each city are united in the desire to see the rail expansion happen, regardless of the route.

One reason we may not have heard much from Minnesota is that they have other things on their minds since the election. They don't know who their new governor will be, since the race is still too close to call.

Minnesota also lost both a strong advocate for rail and considerable power on transportation issues when Rep. James Obestar, currently the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was defeated. He had pushed not just the Chicago-Twin Cities line, but also the Northern Lights Express, passenger rail service to his home district in Duluth.

Trains vs. buses

2010-11-11T11:10:00.000-06:00

Short post, because I'm running off to a meeting. Sorry, not my best writing work.

Several people have suggested we don't need the Madison-Milwaukee train because "You can take the bus."

I have a few comments about this. Obviously this completely ignores the fact that the train also goes to Chicago and would be extended to the Twin Cities, not to mention the connections to points in between and cities throughout the Midwest network. And as you see below, there are distinct advantages to trains over buses, both for the individual, the state, and the operator of the service.

So, from a previous post in another medium:

A couple of notes on the bus vs. train.

1. Buses can carry far fewer people than trains, and it is expensive to add a bus for peak need or time, because of the driver's labor cost. Far easier to add a rail car, and no additional driver. There are a LOT of people trying to move between Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin Cities.

2. Buses get stuck in traffic, like Badger Games, Brewers games, peak hour every day into/out of any city, Summerfest, etc. Trains don't get stuck in traffic. Yes, I have many times been stuck in traffic on the Badger and Van Galder buses.

3. Buses move considerably slower than trains in bad weather. Trains have no problem in the snow, rain, wind, sleet, fog, etc.

4. To downtown Chicago: min. 3 hours by car, possibly much longer; min 3.5 hours by Van Galder, often 4 hours in heavy traffic; trains would be there in just over 2 hours. It is also faster to Milwaukee by train than bus.

5. No bus to Eau Claire or LaCrosse today? or only extremely slow and limited service? One of these would be served by the extension to the Twin Cities. Minimal and slow bus service available to Twin Cities now. Six trains per day planned for the MN extension, and very fast.

6. A minor point for some, but a major point for business travelers is that working on the train is much easier and more pleasant as compared to on the bus.

My letter to Scott Walker on rail

2010-11-10T12:39:00.000-06:00

Although lots of people are calling and emailing Doyle and Walker to support the Madison-Milwaukee extension of rail service, I thought a person, hard copy, snail letter might be a good idea. Below you can see my letter Walker.

I will likely also deliver copies to all current and future Wisconsin state and federal legislators. [Note that mail to DC is very slow, so using the address of the district office for US Senators and Representatives may be more efficient.]

November 10, 2010

Governor-Elect Scott Walker
Transition Office
The Risser Justice Center
17 West Main Street, Suite 310
Madison, WI 53703

Governor-Elect Walker:

Congratulations on your recent victory.

I praise your effort to utilize tax revenues in an efficient and effective matter in the delivery of services to the public. I do NOT praise your decision to reject federal funds designated to extend the Hiawatha line from Madison to Milwaukee, and eventually on the Twin Cities.

Efficient, accessible, and affordable transportation for all, regardless of age or physical ability means having choices in mode of travel. The federal plan to build a rail network between Midwest cities is a step in this direction. Already, the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha line is bursting at the seams, and we can anticipate the same demand on the extension to Madison.

There are already strong connections between Minnesota and Wisconsin, and frequent travel between Madison and the Twin Cities, not to mention connections to either LaCrosse or Eau Claire. The opportunity to strengthen these connections and provide fast, efficient travel between these destination – for business or tourism, single or multi-day trips – will be lost if we do not move forward with the Madison-Milwaukee link.

Your rejection is myopic and will allow the over $800 million dollars designated for the Wisconsin portion of the project to transfer to another state as well as force the State of Wisconsin to reimburse the federal government for funds already spent. Do we really want to send that money, as well as the jobs, to Illinois, New York, or Florida?

This project not only means jobs and funding flowing into Wisconsin, but it has been vetted and received extensive planning and public input for over a decade. All appropriate and required procedures have been followed, studies have been made of routes and ridership, and Wisconsin was awarded federal funding in a very competitive grant process.

Why would we throw away this opportunity?

I am concerned that you continue to insist that the operating costs would be too high. We both know that the Hiawatha receives a 90% subsidy on its operating expenses, and we could expect a similar cost sharing on the new section. This brings the operating expenses down to $750,000 per year, a real bargain when moving people between major cities.

Another concern about your preoccupation with the operating expenses is the implication that our highways do not cost anything to operate, or that all these expenses are covered by user fees. All road in Wisconsin are only 60% covered by user fees, and local roads, where the majority of driving is done, are 100% paid for by local property taxes. As a property owner and Wisconsin taxpayer, I would like to see the burden of road maintenance lowered. Providing alternatives to driving is one way to avoid expanding the roads and helping those we have last longer. Both of these will result in cost savings over time.

We also must consider social justice when we think about transportation policy. Many people cannot drive, or do not own cars for various reasons, including the expense. Those who cannot or do not drive also need to travel. Linking our major cities in the Midwest by rail is a cost and time-competitive alternative to flying, and certainly fast than bus service, which is limited to the same congested roads and bad weather as our cars. Rail and transit service allows people to access jobs, visit family, and move about without the financial burden of a car.

US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood has made it clear that the funding currently assigned to this project will never be available for roads or bridges in Wisconsin. The funding currently assigned to Wisconsin will simply go to another state for their rail projects. There are significant expenses that Wisconsin must undertake simply to meet federal standards on the existing Hiawatha line. Freight rail will also benefit when tracks are upgraded. And finally, there are expenses already incurred, which we will need to pay back. All of these opportunities will be lost if you continue on your current course.

Please find a way to move Wisconsin forward with clean, fast, efficient, and fiscally wise rail service. It means jobs, connections to resources in the Midwest, and fair policy.

Thank you.

Two similar crashes. Two media reports. Can you spot the difference?

2010-11-05T14:36:00.003-05:00

Crash # 1: Two vehicles collide on Mineral Point Road, one eastbound, and one westbound. Westbound vehicle operator turns left, failing to yield to eastbound vehicle operator.

Crash # 2: Two vehicles collide on University Ave, one eastbound, and one westbound. Westbound vehicle operator turns left, failing to yield to eastbound vehicle operator.

Can you spot the differences in the way the incidents were reported? Same reporter, although many times the newspaper reports are a verbatim repeat of the police reports, so it may not be the reporter's fault.

In crash # 1, ""He [westbound driver] apparently didn't realize a car was coming eastbound," DeSpain said. "The victim's car was hit and flipped over, landing on its roof."

In crash # 2, "As he [eastbound vehicle operator] went into the intersection, a 23-year-old man was making a left turn with his car from University Avenue onto Randall," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "The cyclist hit the car and landed on the pavement."

Hmmm, why is it that the report seems to imply that the bicyclist ran into a car, putting him possibly at fault, yet when two cars are involved, it is clear that the westbound driver failed to see the other vehicle, clearly making the turning driver at fault?

Also note that University Ave is actually not one-way in this location. It is a two-way roadway, but motorized traffic is only allowed westbound. Bicycles are legal vehicles in the state of Wisconsin, and therefore bicycles on University Ave, whether going eastbound or westbound, are "traffic.'

Now, before anyone jumps down my throat about a few more details, the bicyclist definitely violated the law in one way: he did not have a light. The crash occurred after dark, and despite the area being well lit, a headlight is not only required, but may have prevented this crash by making the bicyclist more visible.

There is a green arrow for westbound traffic turning onto Randall, and the news report does not state whether the bicyclist was facing a green light or a red light when he went through the intersection. Certainly, if he ran a red, he was at fault legally for the crash. But we don't know, and I suppose that is why the "crash remains under investigation."

Edit: Turns out the police report did indeed state that the bicyclist had a green light, which makes the indication that the bicyclist " hit the car" especially strange.

Also, although there is no legal requirement to wear a helmet, and it is a personal decision, a helmet can help mitigate the consequences of a crash, in the same way that a seatbelt will mitigate the consequences of a crash if you are in a car.

I am a big believer in helmets, since I have fallen or had crashes several times - nothing serious involving a car, by the way, always another bicyclist or my own fault and a fall - and have cracked one helmet along the way. I have had several friends involved in very serious crashes that walked away with bruises or even broken bones, but no head injury. I also wear my seatbelt all the time, and not just because my car won't stop beeping if I don't.

When I talk about bike safety, people often bring up helmets. Just as seatbelts don't prevent a car crash, a helmet won't prevent a bike crash, but both can help you survive the crash or prevent serious injury. I'd rather prevent the crash in the first place, which is why I wish more people would both drive and bike safely, and know what they are doing when they both drive and bike.

Very few real "accidents" occur n the road. An "accident" is something that is unforeseen and maybe not even preventable. The Wisconsin Dept of Transportation, Madison Police Dept, and increasingly most media outlets use the word "crash" when two vehicles collide, or a vehicle collides with a fixed object or person.

Most of the time, someone - usually one or more or the vehicle operators - did something that caused the crash. That something could have been not paying attention, going too fast, drinking and driving, running a red light, or as in both these cases, failing to yield to another vehicle.

40,000 people are killed by or in motor vehicles every year in the US. That is more than 10 times the number of people that died in the 9/11 attacks. Every year. Almost all of these deaths are preventable. If any other consumer product, and other activity, had this kind of safety record year after year, that product would be banned, or there would be federal investigations and media uproar.

Why do we let 40,000 people per year die every year, and still consider these "accidents?"