What the Regent St Redesign Means for Park St + Upcoming Events

Hi everyone! I hope the beginning of summer is treating you well. 

Reflection on Regent Street Redesign

Last week, the council voted unanimously to approve the street geometry for the newly redesigned section of Regent Street from Park to Randall. We received a lot of feedback from the community, both in-person at the meeting and beforehand through emails and calls, about what people wanted to see as part of this redesign. While there was plenty of positive feedback, there were two main areas of criticism that we heard a lot about: the width of the lanes that people will need to traverse to cross the road and the lack of dedicated bike lanes. These are both very valid concerns and ones that I have also heard about Park Street in our district. Pedestrian and cyclist safety were key parts of my campaign and areas for which I care deeply, so this is not a vote I took lightly. I wanted to take some time to share with you my thoughts on the Regent St vote, how it differs from the challenges of Park St, and the lessons I think we can take away as we turn our attention there.

First, let's talk about the safety of people crossing the road. We all know that unsafe road crossings can be fatal, and we the city needs to make sure that pedestrians aren't put in danger when crossing. While all of the intersections in the newly redesigned Regent St are shorter than they are now, some are still rather long, about 35-40 ft. However, even these crossings will be safer for pedestrians: There will never be more than one lane of forward moving traffic at any intersection, which means pedestrians will not have to try to peer around a stopped car to make sure there isn't another one who hasn't seen them. The addition of left turn lanes in the center of the street also means that cars will have to be more aware of their lane and surroundings while driving compared to the completely straight paths they have now. Lastly, three of the intersections will have stoplights, where pedestrians can be confident that cars will stop, meaning you won't need to travel more than a block or two in either direction to reach an especially safe crossing. Also, the other intersections will have better lighting, marking, and flashing warning lights to improve the baseline safety of all crossings. These improvements will make Regent safer to cross, even if the road itself is still wider than some would like, and I think would be welcome improvements to Park St crossings as well. Those frequent stoplights are a particularly important feature of Regent when compared to Park – not only do they provide ample safe opportunities to cross, but the cadence of the traffic signals also keeps drivers from reaching dangerous speeds (it is extremely rare even today for drivers on this stretch of Regent to reach 40 mph). Moreover, the width of the roads was determined with good reason – Regent is a particularly important route for emergency vehicles (much like Park St), and the combined width of the lanes and gutters gives cars enough space to pull over to let ambulances, fire trucks, and the like to get through.

Next, let's focus on the bike infrastructure in the new plan. As a daily bike commuter, this is something I am keenly aware of. Right now, biking on Regent Street can feel very dangerous, much like it does on Park St. The new design does not include bike lanes or a multi-use path, as some had advocated for. However, this part of Regent St is well serviced by the Southwest Commuter path only a few blocks to the north. By improving the bike infrastructure on side streets and for crossing Regent, we can make it easy for cyclists to access businesses on Regent St without needing to bike on the road itself. Taking the path or a residential side street and only turning onto Regent at the block of your destination may add a minute or two to the commute, but it does make the journey safer for all involved. It's also worth noting that the new plan includes 8 ft sidewalks on both sides of the road. In Madison, it is legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk, so long as you do so at a reasonable speed and yield to pedestrians. So if a biker needs to travel down Regent for a short stretch and isn't comfortable on the road with the cars, this is also an option for them. This is similar to the plans for Park St, which should gain a multi-use path parallel to the road as part of the redesign. This path, in addition to more frequent signaled crossings, should make it much easier for people traveling by bike or other micromobility devices to access business on Park St.

As we move closer to the Park St redesign, I am going to make sure we are communicating the plans and next steps well to everyone who uses that road throughout the process. One of the biggest points of contention in the Regent St debate was how the city's Complete Green Streets guide was being applied to the project. Park Street is unique in that it does not have a classification in the CGS guide, which means that we will have even more leeway in how we apply those guidelines to it. It's crucial that we all share an understanding of what that guide recommends and the goals that it aims to achieve, which will only be possible with constant communication and input. If you are interested in shaping this process, I would encourage you to get engaged early on in the process; as we learned from Regent St, these projects spend a lot of time in the Transportation and Public Works committees before reaching the Common Council, and that is where the more fundamental decisions are made. 

Office of Independent Police Monitor Releases Reports on Pearson, Johnson arrests

I wanted to quickly make note of two cases reviewed and recently released by the Office of the Independent Police Monitor. The first involved the arrest of Maia Pearson and the second involved the death of Richard Johnson in police custody. In both cases, the OIM found significant evidence of police misconduct that contradicts the findings of the police department's own internal investigations and public statements. These are the first cases released by the OIM in which their findings significantly differ from the PSIA.

While MPD is disputing some of the OIM's findings, I think it is clear that something went terribly wrong in both of these arrests. Whether that was officers not following MPD policy, or the policy not respecting the humanity and basic rights of the detained, it is evident that something has to change with how police handle these situations. This is why I support the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board, and it's why I think they should be a central part of reforming MPD's policies and laws. MPD leadership has made clear their goal of community-based policing, and that is a goal I stand behind. But police cannot be truly integrated into our community unless there is trust, respect, transparency, and accountability. I encourage you to read the reports released by the OIM and the responses by MPD Chief Patterson.

News and Events For District 14

If you have an event or issue you'd like to see covered here, please let me know!

• Juneteenth Parade/Celebration - Saturday, June 20th - Parade will start at the Labor Temple Parking Lot at 11:00 AM and make its way to Penn Park by noon. Celebrations at Penn Park will follow until 6:00 PM. Also, please note that some roads (including part of Park St) will be closed Saturday morning.
• Olin Ave Development Proposal Neighborhood Meeting - Monday, June 29th at 6:00 PM - Range Hill Partners is proposing redevelopment of the property at 222 E. Olin Avenue, formerly the Coliseum Bar and Wonder Bar into a mixed residential/commercial space. This will be a virtual meeting to hear about their proposal at the start of the approval process. Click here to register for the meeting. 
• Parks Alive @ Aldo Leopold Park - Tuesday, June 23rd at 5:00 PM
• Parks Alive @ Penn Park - Thursday, July 9th at 5:00 PM
• Badger Rock Neighborhood Association is seeking feedback about traffic and safety on Moorland Rd. You can fill out the BRNA Moorland Rd Survey with your thoughts. Please note that this is not official city feedback, but will be used by the neighborhood association to advocate for changes to Moorland Rd.