Wisconsin Bicyclist - Fall/Winter 2001

Federation of Wisconsin Kicks-off Its Bicycle Safety Grant

In May 2001, The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin was awarded a grant to develop bicycle safety materials and activities for Dane County. The funding for the grant came through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and although the initial project is based in Dane County, the materials and approaches developed will be used as templates for activities throughout the state.

BFW will be working with community partners such as health organizations, law enforcement, neighborhood associations, safe community groups, schools, and state, county, and local transportation officials. On the UW-Madison campus we have been coordinating efforts with UW Transportation Services, University Health Services, and UW Police.

BFW has targeted three groups for safety education: adults, including a focus on college students, middle school students, and motorists.

Adults are likely to be able to use their bikes for transportation, but may be hesitant because of concerns over traffic. College students often arrive in Madison never having biked in a complex urban setting.

Middle school students are beginning to bicycle alone or in small groups. They are old enough to understand traffic situations, but have little direct experience because they do not drive. Teaching them to safely travel in their neighborhoods will encourage healthy activity and reassure parents.

Working to educate motorists on bicycle safety is also an important aspect of this grant. No matter how well bicyclists ride, motorists need to cooperate as well. If both bicyclists and motorists followed the rules of the road and had a little more patience, the streets would be safer for all users.

For further info contact Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin at (608) 251-4456 or info@bfw.org.

Kids Bicycle Clubs

Children 9 or 10 years old have the mental and physical capacities to bike on most roads. What they don_ t have is training to make sure they ride safely.

Kids Bike Club is a bicycle education program and bike club rolled into one. During a 9 to 10 week course, children ages 9-14 learn bicycle safety while exploring their community by bicycle. This spring and summer Kids Bicycle Clubs began in Green Bay and Madison. In Green Bay, WE BIKE, a bicycle consulting company, received a grant from the WisDOT to develop and test the bike club idea.

In Madison, funding also came from WisDOT, but the classes were organized by the City of Madison. Club meetings consisted of reviewing previous week's material and discussing the current week's lessons, then everyone hit the road. On-bike lessons cover bicycle equipment, bike safety checks, skills drills, and community bike rides. Rides go where the kids want to go: schools, parks, swimming pools, concerts, bike shops and anywhere that has food.

Kids Bicycle Clubs have been a big hit. The kids quickly pick up the concepts needed to safely travel in traffic. They watch for hazards and communicate _with motorists.

For more info contact Peter Flucke in Green Bay at 920-497-3196 or webike@aol.com or Ellen Pillsbury in Madison at 608-266-4474 or epillsbury@ci.madison.wi.us.

Three Bad Bills

AB462 waters down the liability a dog owner has in the case of unprovoked attacks. This change affects bicyclists by changing the liability provision from simply "causing injury" to "causing injury by biting". This would relieve dog owners of any liability should their animals charge a bicycle and cause injury. Tell your state assembly representative of this deficiency in AB462.

SB 113 would require those under 18 to wear a helmet, punishable by a $30 fine. This bill could discourage people from bicycling if they don't owe or can't afford a helmet. While the Bike Fed strongly encourages all bicyclists to wear a helmet at all times, we oppose this current bill because it does not have an educational component.

SB 225 would allow Madeline Island to charge a registration fee to bicyclists who don't live there. The BFW believes this fee is wrong. Bicyclists bring needed tourism to the area. Indeed, this summer 300 bicyclists on the BFW sponsored Northwoods Tour all biked out to Madeline Island and paid for strawberry shortcake, coffee, burgers, fries, sofa drinks, and more. For info contact BFW at info@bfw.org or 608-251-4456.

Hank Aaron Trail Update

This summer over 400 runners and walkers participated in a 5K event to help rase funds for Friends of the Hank Aaron State Treail. The Event was sponsored by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Civic Alliance. A goal of the The Event was to draw public attention to the trail, raise money for amenities to improve safety, and create interesting destination points along the trail. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin provided bike parking and bicycling informational table at the event.

The Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail is now taking membersips in the organization. Membership in the organizaion will provide a forum for discussion and support of the trail. Members will receive newsletters and advance notification of special events, as well as an opportunity to meet fellow trail supporters at an annual meeting. Contact Melissa Cook at 414-263-8559 or cookm@dnr.state.wi.us.

La Crosse Bans Biking

In a stunning move, the La Crosse City Council recently adopted an amendment to the City Ordinance that, as interpreted, bans biking on all trails within the City unless specifically signed as an authorized biking trail. The amendment was short-circuited in a special meeting of the council, allowing for very little public comment. One council member criticized the council for taking out the regular public hearing process. While the amendment was originally introduced to ban biking in Hixon Forest following concerns that a pedestrian could be injured by bikers on the trails, the council chose to make the amendment applicable city wide rather than specifically for Hixon Forest. The ordinance now requires any trails that allow biking to have appropriate signage allowing such use. Currently very few, if any, of the trails in the City have signs specifically permitting bicycle use. In recent discussions, the Mayor has indicated that he is willing to revisit the issue. The La Crosse Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has been investigating its options. For more info, contact Adryan Slaght 608-789-7512 or slaghta@cityoflacrosse.org.

Potential Trail in Walworth County

Recently a public meeting regarding the potential development of the White River Trail between Burlington and Elkhorn brought out over 100 community members. The public's strong support for the project caught Walworth County Board members a bit off-guard, since recreational trails have been met with minimal board support in the past. The DNR is seeking a partnership with Walworth County to develop and maintain the approximately 12-mile multi-use trail.

A group called the White River Cycle Club has formed to support development of the trail. For additional information, contact Jim Karcher at 262-723-5408.

Embracing The Fox River Trail

During development of the Fox River Trail, opponents of the trail often complained that the facility would attract criminals, reduce property values, and impose on the people that own property along the river. Even when presented with information from throughout the country that strongly suggests trails have the opposite effect; opponents insisted that the trail would ruin the area and the quality of life for the people that live nearby.

In spite of these objections, the trail plan was completed, the right-of-way purchased, and the trail officially opened on May 26, 2001.

Now the trail is heavily used during the weekdays, and is packed with bicyclists, walkers, in-line skaters, and others on the weekends. This shows that the community is more than merely accepting the facility; it's warmly embracing it!

The Brown County Planning Commission will be conducting a study that examines how, when, and how many people are using the trail, as well as the trail's effect on real estate and businesses in the area. The study will be completed by the end of 2001. For more information, contact Cole Runge at 920-448-3400.

Bicyclist Attacked by Motorist

A motorist on the famous Dane County bicycling road, Seminole Highway, attacked Madison bicyclists Didi Heisler and her friend, John.

The sole occupant of the car, a man in his late 40s, pulled alongside the bicyclists while screaming and yelling. Matching his speed with the bicyclists, the motorist swerved twice as if to hit the bicyclists, then pulled his car in front of the bicyclists and stopped. The driver, a big man, got out of his and car and knocked John down causing him to suffer bruises and a broken rib. The bicyclists did get the license plate number before the motorist drove off.

These bicyclists did nothing to provoke this man. This could happen to anyone.

To make matters worse, the Fitchburg DA merely charged the guy with disorderly conduct, a fairly lightweight misdemeanor. To give this motorist a charge of disorderly conduct at the outset sends a clear message that this crime is not being taken seriously. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is dismayed that the Fitchburg DA is sending the message that it is fine to assault and harass bicyclists.
For more information contact BFW at 605-257-4456.

Bike The Hoan

Businesses, community groups and individuals are signing-up to show their support for the Hoan Bridge Bike Path in Milwaukee.

Once the path is complete, the Milwaukee area will enjoy one of the best interconnected-systems of bike paths in the Midwest, including the Oak Leaf Trail and the Hank Aaron Trail. The Hoan Bridge Bike Path is an important connection within the system because it will create 13-miles of continuous lakefront trail from Lake Michigan to Grant Park. This long-sought lake front trail will give bikers spectacular views of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan. The view from the bridge is absolutely breathtaking.

The Citizens Advisory Committee and WisDOT studied all aspects of safety on the Hoan Bridge from weather to traffic flow. The design of a 12-foot wide bike path allows plenty of space for two-way bike traffic on the northbound lanes; a concrete barrier will separate motorized and bike traffic.

The committee was given the opportunity to cross the bridge on bikes. The ride was reported to be easy, as the slope of the bridge is more gradual than many hills.

A group of bicycle advocates have _been formed to generate public support _for the trail.

The group's web page, www.bikethehoan.com, explains how this path will benefit all of Milwaukee. The web site also has examples of bridges from around the world that have bicycle paths. These facilities are extremely popular as well as safe. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, for instance, accommodates more than 5000 pedestrians and bicyclists per day.

All Milwaukee county residents need _to write to their County Supervisors to _express their support for the Hoan Bike path, see: www.mkebikestowork.org/Bike_the_Hoan/index.html

The committee is also obtaining the support of businesses and community groups. For copies of the Position Paper, see: http://www.bikethehoan.com/hoanPosPaper.pdf

Questions? Call the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin at (414) 271-9685.

City of Middleton Future Bike Facilities

The City of Middleton is currently looking at bicycle facilities around the Quisling Property. In the future, Pleasant View Road will extend north to Airport Road and will include on-street bike lanes. Middleton also plans to build a shared use path along Pheasant Branch Creek west from Highway 12 to the Quisling property. One fork will then proceed west toward Black Earth Creek/Highway 14, and the other will extend north across Airport Road to serve a new recreational complex (soccer fields, ball diamonds, etc.). While the trail will run beneath existing and future Highway 12, several city residents hope that the path's crossings at Pleasant View Road, Airport Road, and the future extension of Deming Way will also be grade-separated. This route has the makings of becoming the north side's Capital City Trail, eventually connecting Black Earth Creek with Governor Nelson State Park.

If you are concerned about bicycle accommodations in Middleton, now is the time to contact city officials, because road design decisions are imminent. More information is available at www.ci.middleton.wi.us.

Madison Bike Paths Under Attack

Throughout the summer a group of young males attacked runners and bicyclists along the Isthmus Bicycle Path on the east side of Madison. One victim was stabbed and several other victims had guns held to their heads. To add to this nightmare, residents who live along this bicycle path were dismayed to hear that the Madison Police Department did not have the resources to stop the attacks and were telling residents to simply stay off the path.

One police officer said, "We don't have the resources to be out there all the time..." "We only have 4 officers to patrol a vast area that stretches from here out beyond East Towne Mall and then south to beyond the beltline & I-90."

At a neighborhood meeting concerning these attacks, the Madison Police chief was stunned when the neighborhood association's vice-chair, Betty Chewning, a year-round cyclist and professor of pharmacy, stated directly to the chief in front of everyone at the meeting, "We will NOT surrender our bike path!" The chief was stupefied.

Neighbors along this path indeed refused to surrender their path. They formed a nightly watch group and patrolled the path themselves.

Recently, these criminals were caught. A would-be victim called the police using his cell-phone. Currently, charges are being filed in adult and juvenile court.

For more info: Mike Barrett, 608-245-1059 or mikeb@urbanthoreau.com.

Highway 10 Trail Crossing Granted

A collaborative effort by the bicycle community, other trail user groups, local officials, and concerned property owners achieved a major victory recently when the state Office of the Commissioner of Railroads (OCR) approved an at-grade rail crossing of the proposed Highway 10 Trail in the Town of Clayton, Winnebago County. Forty-two individuals and organizations spoke in support of the crossing at a recent public hearing.

The Highway 10 Trail between Menasha and Fremont will be a key link in the Friendship State Recreational Trail. Using a combination of abandoned rail corridors, highway rights-of-way, and surface streets, the Friendship Trail will ultimately provide a 100-mile connection between Manitowoc, the Lake Michigan ferry, and Central Wisconsin.

What makes the approval unique is that it runs counter to a federal recommendation to eliminate 25 percent of the nation's at-grade rail crossings, a policy the OCR has been aggressively pursuing. This effort to reduce the number of potential encounters between trains and other modes of transportation is widely recognized as having important safety implications. Clearly, safety is paramount, and the crossing was granted with the condition that warning devices be installed on-site.

Happenings at the Bike Fed

Ever wonder what sort of influence the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin has with other organizations, state agencies, and local planning efforts?

Facilities:

• BFW met with DNR to coordinate efforts around Year of the Trails activities in 2002.
• BFW also met with the City of Madison Climate Protection coordinator to discuss promoting bicycling to work.
• In Middleton, BFW advocated for bike lanes and a bicycle path to the Public Works Committee.
• BFW also worked with the Dane County Bike Transportation Sub-committee. The sub-committee is planning a route for a new bike path on the north side of Lake Mendota.
• BFW attended the SEWRPC Bicycle Committee Meeting and the Milwaukee Bicycle Task Force Meeting
• BFW spoke with the Wood County Supervisors to encourage them to provide bicycle facilities on the county's roadways.

Advocacy:

• BFW gave a talk to the Tour de Fort and Bay View Bicycle Clubs.
• BFW is working with the Dane County Smart Growth Coalition to design and pass a plan that encourages sustainable land use and still allows the growth that is inevitable within Dane County.
• BFW's is working with local bicycle advocates in Milwaukee to get a bike path on the Hoan Bridge.

Commuting:

• The BFW sponsored "valet" bike parking at the Great Taste of the Midwest beer tasting, the Madison Blues Festival and the Hank Aaron Run/Walk Event - parking over 600 bikes
• BFW has been working with Wisconsin Electric/Wisconsin Gas to encourage more of their employees to bicycle to work. Activities include writing a bicycle plan, organizing lunchtime talks, and implementing a bike-to-work competition.

Safety:

• BFW distributed bicycle safety information at the New Student Resource Fair for graduate and international students at the UW-Madison.
• BFW is a member of the Wisconsin Highway Safety Partners - a group organized and facilitated by the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety. Partners work together to share information and programs to make state roadways more safe for all users.

Milwaukee Grants Awarded - Milwaukee Position Available

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is hiring a full time program manager for its Milwaukee office. This person will represent the BFW to the media, at public meetings, and on committees such as the City of Milwaukee Bicycle Task Force. This position is entirely responsible for the management and implementation of several Milwaukee-specific programs, including Milwaukee Bikes to Work Week, the Bike to Work Partner program, the Bikes on Buses program, as well as a bicycle publicity plan for the city (for which the Bike Fed recently received a grant from the City of Milwaukee). The Milwaukee program manager will also be responsible for building support for the Hank Aaron Trail with a grant from the bicycle industry foundation, Bikes Belong. For more info email info@bfw.org, or call 608 251-4456.

Bridge Unsafe for Bicyclists After Resurfacing

The recent resurfacing of the Claude Allouez Bridge in De Pere, Wisconsin, resulted in a more dangerous bridge for bicyclists. Because of DOT's oversight, 22 drainage grates were not brought level with the new roadway. DOT repaired the holes two months later.

DOT saw the resurfacing as short-term maintenance, and DOT engineers did not see any bicyclists riding on the road surface. DOT therefore assumed that bicyclists either did not want to or were not permitted to use the road surface. But bicyclists are allowed on the bridge's road surface, and it's an important connection. Without it, bicyclists would have to detour 5-10 miles to cross the river.

Current DOT policies call for bicyclists to be accommodated on all roads that allow bicyclists. Because these policies were ignored, time and money were wasted, and bicyclists' lives were unnecessarily jeopardized.

If you observe unsafe roadway conditions, contact the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin at info@bfw.org or (608) 251-4456.

Bicycle-Friendly Police

WisDOT's Enforcement for Bicycle Safety course is a two-day course designed to give police officers the information that they need to enforce laws to make bicycling safer - and it works!

This course has received national recognition through organizations like the League of American Bicyclists and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, a number of other states have requested this course.

This summer, seven officers completed an instructor-training course hosted by the Madison Police Department.

BFW believes that every police department should have at least one EBS trained officer, and that ultimately every officer should receive this training.

For more info contact JoAnne Pruitt Thunder, at (608) 267-3154 or joanne.pruittthunder@dot.state.wi.us, or Peter Flucke, at (920) 497-3196 or webike@aol.com.

Capital City Trail...a Transportation Route

The Capital City trail is a paved, multi-use path, which travels east to west along the southern edge of Madison. Many cyclists were upset to learn that Dane County Parks approved the imposition of a user fee. The Parks Commission argued that the user fee was justified because the trail joins two state recreation trails.

While the Capital City Trail is indeed a beautiful route for recreational rides, it is also an important transportation route. The Capital City Trail provides easy access to employers like the DNR, Nicolet, and other offices. It has connections to Madison's Southwest Commuter Path, and figures prominently in Fitchburg's recently approved Bicycle and Pedestrian transportation plan.

This fee really hit a nerve with cyclists, who felt that creating a toll road for bicycles was a dangerous precedent, and symptomatic of the disparity in transportation funding.

Many cyclists wrote to Parks and other county officials and the story received a fair bit of press coverage.

As a result, County Executive Kathleen Falk requested that Parks drop the fee for this year, and that the funding come from the county's Conservation Fund. While this did address the immediate funding question, it also diverted money that was intended for preserving greenspace.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin feels that funding for this transportation route should come from… yep, you guessed it& the transportation budget. For more info: http://www.danenet.org/bcp/cc_funding.html.

WisDOT Report

A new bike facility guide is nearing completion. The new state guide will offer more elaboration and clarification on planning and design issues. WisDOT intends to make the guide available to communities and counties. Development of the guide was a recommendation of the Wisconsin Bicycle Transportation Plan.

The Pedestrian Plan is also available and can be obtained at www.dot.state.wi.us/dtim/bop/peddraftplan.htm. The plan aims to increase the number and quality of walking trips and reduce injured pedestrian. A companion piece to the pedestrian plan is the Pedestrian Best Practices Resource Guide. This guide will contain detailed information to help local communities plan and design pedestrian facilities. Best practices on enforcement and education strategies will also be provided.

WisDOT has bicycle liaisons in seven of the eight WisDOT district offices.

Contact Tom Huber, the WisDOT Ped/Bike coordinator, at 267-7757, or thomas.huber@dot.state.wi.us.

BFW Active On Governor's Bike Council

Although the Governor's Bike Council has existed since 1991, and a representative from BFW has been attending meetings for several years, only in August of 2001 did Jeanne Hoffman, BFW Executive Director, become an official member of the Governor's Bike Council. The Council is charged with coordinating and promoting all things relating to bicycling in the state. In addition to members from the state Departments of Transportation, Natural Resources, and Tourism, Council members included legislators and citizen members.

For the last several meetings the Council has been strategizing about how to better promote bicycling in the state and assure that we all have safe and beautiful areas to ride. Input from the Bicycle Federation has been very important to bring the voices of individual bicyclists to the highest levels of government.

Missing Link...Filled!

At the opening of the Southwest Bike Path this summer, Larry Nelson, City Engineer for the City of Madison, said publicly that the city was committed to extending the trail through downtown to Monona Bay. This path, currently named the Missing Link, would, once built, create a seamless trail network from one side of the city to the other. For more information contact BFW at info@bfw.org or visit the Missing Link web site at www.lic.wisc.edu/bike.htm