Events, Meetings and Upcoming Changes of Interest May 21-28, 2023
postedGreetings friends and neighbors,
I'm trying out something new and could use your feedback! I know many of you are subscribed to Alder blog email lists across the city, not just mine. Our lovely Council Office staff work hard to produce a weekly listing of updates, meetings, events and announcements centering around the entire city. I've found these lists to be helpful in creating my blog but also realize the amount of information can be overwhelming to shift through and at times, redundant due to content being available elsewhere (ie: other alder blogs). For this blog, I borrowed some content from staff's weekly listing but also focused on topics I thought would be of interest to District 16 residents. Please let me know if you have preferences in what you'd like to see from my blogs; thanks in advance!
Madison Parks and MSCR Open House
May 24, 2023 | 4:30-7pm
Madison School and Community Recreation and Madison Parks invite the community to the Madison Parks & MSCR Open House! This will be the Ribbon Cutting Dedication and Open House in their new central lakeside offices, located at 328 and 330 E. Lakeside Street. The event begins with a short presentation followed by an official ribbon cutting! Then stay for the games, activities, and building tours.
4:30 pm: Short Presentation and Ribbon Cutting
Scheduled Remarks include:
Alder Tag Evers, City of Madison, District 13
Alder Isadore Knox, City of Madison, District 14
Maia Person, Vice President, MMSD Board of Education
Dr. Carlton D. Jenkins, MMSD SuperintendentMayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, City of Madison
5-7 pm: Open House
REMINDER Eastside Alders Meet and Greet May 26, 2023 | La Taguara | 5:30-7:30pm
Alders Field (District 3), Martinez-Rutherford (District 15), Madison (District 17) and myself will be hosting a meet and greet THIS FRIDAY at La Taguara (3010 Crossroads Dr, 53718). The evening will be filled with stimulating conversations and meaningful connections. Whether it's addressing community concerns, enhancing local services, or brainstorming innovative solutions, your input matters. Together, we can forge a stronger, more vibrant Madison that we're all proud to call home. And, light refreshments will be served – hope to see you Friday!!
Bird & Nature Adventures | Edna Taylor Area May 27, 2023 | Aldo Leopold Nature Center | 10-11:30am
Join Naturalist Mary Binkley for an easy family-friendly walk from Aldo Leopold Nature Center into the Edna Taylor Conservation Park and enjoy a bit of nature education along the way. The meeting location for the walk is outside at the Children’s Shack, located at Aldo Leopold Nature Center.
Walks through the Edna Taylor Conservation Park are held on the 4th Saturday, 10-11:30am of each month and begin at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 330 Femrite Drive. No registration is required. No pets are allowed. To learn more, visit the Nature Center’s website.
REMINDER WisDOT Interstate Alternative Meeting | June 1, 2023 | 6-7:30pm
This meeting is being held to discuss potential changes to the Interstate and interchanges in the Madison area. These alternatives are part of WisDOT’s larger I-39/90/94 corridor study that stretches from Madison to Wisconsin Dells.
At the meeting information about the proposed project will be provided as well as opportunities to provide feedback to determine the future of safety infrastructure along the Interstate, which could include, interchange proposals that may affect traffic patterns, commute choices, and development in the area east of Stoughton Road.
The meeting will be held at the Steamfitters Local 601 Training Facility (6310 Town Center Drive)
You can view study information and the proposed alternatives, submit comments, and sign-up for email updates on WisDOT’s project website
If you have questions or are unable to attend but would like to learn about the study, please contact I-39/90/94 Study Project Manager Frank Pritzlaff (Frank.Pritzlaff@dot.wi.gov; (608) 246-3803) or questions for the City of Madison can be directed to Ben Zellers (bzellers@cityofmadison.com; (608) 266-4866) with the City’s Planning Division.
In addition to the topic of WisDOT’s I-39/90/94 corridor study, WisDOT will also be hosting two upcoming public involvement meetings for the Madison Beltline Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) Study. If you are subscribed to the City’s Road Construction email list, you will receive an invitation soon. The PEL Study entails a three part process and is being used to focus on improving safety and mobility for all modes of travel while reducing congestion and limiting impacts to a responsible level of social, cultural, and environmental effects. Please note, the PEL is a long-term planning study and no construction projects are identified at this time. I will blog more about these meeting and include info for those interested in attending/participating, next week. There are a lot of studies going on and we don’t want to cause confusion!
Kids Fishing Day Events | June 3, 2023
Yahara Fishing Club Kids Fishing Day | June 3, 2023 | Warner Park Shelter | 9am-noon
In addition to the event pictured above, the Yahara Fishing Club will also be hosting an event for kids at Warner Park. Kids 14 and under get a free rod and reel, bait and instruction from members. Free hot dogs and soda will be provided and there's also no registration required. Contact Gerald King at (608) 513-8573 with question. To learn more about the club, visit yaharafishingclub.org or email them - yaharafishingclub@gmail.com
FYI – Upcoming Changes
Traffic Changes on Atwood Ave
A traffic switch will take place TOMORROW, May 24th, on the Atwood Avenue reconstruction project.
Motorists should expect the following:
1. Traffic will continue to be restricted to one northbound lane on Atwood Avenue between Cottage Grove Rd and Oakridge Ave/Sugar Ave
2. Vehicles traveling northbound between Cottage Grove Rd & Dennett Dr will be shifted to the new lane along the lake side of Atwood Ave. Traffic will then weave back over to the existing lane on the opposite side of the street from Dennett Dr to Fair Oaks Ave
3. Access to side streets such as Dennett Dr, Margaret St and Olbrich Ave will remain open, except during specific times when sanitary work is being done. Additional side street closures will occur in the coming weeks
4. The southbound lanes of Atwood Ave between Fair Oaks Ave and Oakridge Ave/Sugar Ave may be used for local traffic only
5. As a detour for vehicles wanting to travel southbound further down Atwood Avenue, take Fair Oaks Ave to Milwaukee St to US 51/Stoughton Rd to Cottage Grove Rd
Access to side streets such as Dennett Dr, Margaret St and Olbrich Ave will remain open, except during specific times when sanitary work is being done. Motorists should expect additional side street closures in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the southbound lanes of Atwood Ave between Fair Oaks Ave and Oakridge Ave/Sugar Ave may be used for local traffic only
Pedestrians traveling toward Olbrich Park from Cottage Grove Rd should plan to use the new sidewalk on the lake side of Atwood Ave. Meanwhile, pedestrians coming from Fair Oaks Ave should continue to use the sidewalk on the north side of the street. There will be a crossing point at the existing temporary walkway located just east of Walter St. Pedestrians may also use the crosswalk on the north/west side of Dennett Dr, the south/east side crosswalk on Olbrich Ave and the north crosswalk on Cottage Grove Rd.
Lastly, MG&E will be working in the project area, and Metro Transit will have temporary bus stops near Walter St, Margaret St and Cottage Grove Rd.
The entire project is slated to be completed by the fall of 2023.
For more information about the project, please visit the project page on the City of Madison website: https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/atwood-avenue
Changes to Salt Routes
Salt routes are the streets of Madison the City plows each time it snows and apply salt to, as weather allows. By way of a policy adopted in the mid-seventies, this high level of service is reserved for the major thoroughfares, which are the roads used by Madison Metro, those around schools, hospitals, police & fire facilities, and other important connector streets.
Through Madison Metro’s Transit Network Redesign, new bus routes were designed and will begin Sunday June 11th. In response to Metro’s route changes, the City’s Streets Division re-evaluated their existing salt route network and developed new/reduced salt routes. The reduction amounts to a 10% change from the past winter and means the City will spread around 500 fewer tons of salt on our roads during a normal winter!
Reducing salt usage is an ongoing goal within the City to protect the environment and our traveling public. Salt has a number of well-documented negative consequences. It rusts vehicles and degrades infrastructure. When spread onto the roads, it enters the storm drain system that leads to our lakes, which increases their salinity (see the Madison-Dane County Public Health report). Perhaps the most troubling of all, salt infiltrates into our drinking water wells.
The following street segments will not be salted starting the upcoming winter. Instead they will be treated like other residential streets nearby these roads:
- South Thompson Dr from Cottage Grove Rd to Buckeye Rd
- South Thompson Dr from Buckeye Rd to Vondron Rd
- McLean Dr from Cottage Grove Rd to Cottontail Trl
- Cottontail Trl from Mclean Dr to Kings Mill Way
- Helgesen Dr from South Stoughton Rd Service Road to Advance Rd
- Advance Rd from Helgesen Dr to Pflaum Rd
- Daniels St / World Dairy Dr from Pflaum Rd to Dairy Dr
- South Stoughton Rd Service Road from Pflaum Rd to the dead end
- Valor Way from Great Gray Drive to Freedom Ring Rd
- Brandenburg Way from Freedom Ring Rd to Freese Ln
- Freese Ln from Brandenburg Way to Siggelkow Rd
- Millpond Rd from Highway 12/18 to Long Drive.
- Long Drive from Millpond Rd to the BP station
- Millpond Rd from Long Rd to the Millpond / Evan Acres Rd / Savannah Rd loop near Ho-chunk Gaming
We are very far from snow and winter so I will revisit these changes closer to that time!
Mental Health Awareness Month
Lastly, in continued recognition of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I’d like to support the national dialogue around mental health and learn ways to take action to improve mental health in your schools, communities, and families. One example of a school based mental health resource in our community is the Building Bridges program, which recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary. Building Bridges is a school-based mental health program that serves students with immediate mental health needs in grades 4K-8. Services are voluntary and involve parents/caretakers and the involved student. Student services staff at each school district identify and refer students to the program.
Mental health is an important part of children’s overall health and well-being. Mental health includes mental, emotional and behavioral well-being. It affects how children think, feel and act. It also plays a role in how children handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices. During a time when 1 in 6 children aged 2-8 years old has a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder, as well as nearly 40% of adolescents aged 12-17 years old expressing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, this message couldn’t be more important. Talk to your children and young loved ones about mental health! Promoting acceptance of mental health issues can greatly influence attitudes about mental health conditions and those who experience them.
Take care and be well,
Jael
Alder Jael Currie
District 16
Contact Alder Currie