Common Council

From MMSD: Neighborhood Food Sites and from Community Action Coalition: Dane County Food Pantry Network

From the City: Community Resources Section on the city's COVID website, including housing and eviction information

The Governor's Office compilation of all COVID-19 resources and information from state agencies, including the State Dept. Public Health

Dane County Small Business Grants

• City Continues to Curtail Traffic Speeds on East Washington Avenue

• No Streets Division Collections on Monday, July 5

• In-Person Recycling Fee Stickers Sales Return to Streets Division Offices on Tuesday, July 6

• Metro Transit Follows Saturday Schedules on Monday, July 5

• From the Mayor: Bus Rapid Transit an Opportunity for Revitalization

• Reminder: Maxwell Street Days Summer Sidewalk Sale on State St, July 15-18

• City of Madison Transportation Offices Reopening to the Public on July 6, 2021

• From the Mayor: Legislature's Budget Bill Undermines State's COVID Recovery

• From the Mayor: Wisconsin Legislature's Attack on Your Body

• The Bubbler at Madison Public Library Announces New Artist-in-Residence Program

• Remember to Schedule Your Large Item Collection! On June 1, the Streets Division began a new large item collection system where residents must schedule their large item pickup to guarantee collection. You can schedule your large item collection here.

• July 3 Bird and Nature Outing at Tenney Beach! The Parks Division has created a series of community events that are free and accessible to the public. To learn more, check the City Parks Calendar.

• Current Status and Water Quality Conditions at Beaches (both James Madison and Tenney Beaches have recently been closed due to the presence of bacteria, so check that website and/or signs before you swim)

• Latest Update on Gorham Street Resurfacing

• Project Update: State Street Sidewalk Repairs

East Washington - Can We Slow Traffic Down?

As has been reported in the media, the dangerous driving on E. Washington continues. Two tragic deaths, one a pedestrian and one a cyclist, in less than a week point to the need for changes to address safety and to the need to rethink our approaches to transportation in general. City staff and Mayor Rhodes-Conway detail some of what is being done here; there have been some successes, but those are difficult to appreciate when people are dying.

Many have asked that East Washington, aka US Highway 151, be entirely redesigned to make it less attractive to speed racers, drag racers, and everyday drivers who drive as fast as the road appears to be designed for. I entirely agree and that is exactly what the city's Vision Zero initiative aims to do, but unfortunately it will take funding, time, and patience to implement most of those infrastructure changes on E. Washington, more or less citywide. We simply do not have the resources to quickly change all of our road design and other infrastructure. The city's Traffic Engineering Division, however, has come up with some low cost and quick-to-implement traffic calming strategies and anticipate they will continue doing so.

I'm not at all arguing that someone's life is less important than other city budgetary needs, but there are many stakeholders involved in road design changes, some of whom may not agree with reducing traffic volumes on E. Wash and other dangerous city streets. Certainly, even those stakeholders will agree that speed kills, but despite the correlation between high speeds and road capacities, some redesign ideas that would also eliminate capacity could be unpopular. Fortunately, E. Washington capacity will be reduced anyway when Bus Rapid Transit is constructed, if all goes well. BRT will take a full lane in each direction, thereby dropping E. Wash from 3 lanes in each direction to 2 lanes. Hopefully, the small reductions in average speed along E. Washington that occurred after the speed limits were reduced last year, will be accentuated when the number of lanes drops even though rush hour is likely to retain a 3-lane capacity (most high speed incidents occur outside of rush hour).

Note too that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation dictates what infrastructure can and cannot be implemented on their highway in which they have invested many millions of dollars over the years. Madison can try to change infrastructure to slow things down, but it is anticipated that WISDOT will eventually say no to some changes. Madison could instead simply ask WISDOT to let us take over Hwy 151 and it would be come a local arterial - Hwy 151 could move elsewhere. While it may be that WISDOT would be amenable to that, Madison would then be responsible for tens of million of dollars for upkeep, reconstruction, and other ongoing infrastructure needs; money we do not have. For instance, John Nolen Drive, also part of Hwy 151 that desparately needs to be redesigned for slower speeds, is slated for reconstruction in the coming years - that will be a very expensive project that the city likely can't accomplish without the accompanying state funding. Another consideration is that if we are able to fully change E. Washington infrastructure by taking over, then the cars currently speeding and crowding E. Wash will simply divert to other nearby roads like Willy, E. Johnson, E. Gorham, etc., so a system wide rethink is in order - there are no easy fixes for the greater problem.

While traffic enforcement is another component of slowing folks down, it is not a panacea. As detailed below and in past Alder Updates, MPD has obtained special grants to underwrite traffic enforcement efforts and, as a result, for the last couple of months they have issued many citations and warnings along E. Washington and nearby streets. The well-documented racial disparities in traffic stops also needs to be a consideration, but fortunately MPD is not focusing on minor offenses along E. Wash. Burned out lights and expired registrations are not on their "radar" and those are the type of traffic stops that can escalate or result in inequitable treatment of BIPOC. An aside - issuing citations via redlight and speed cameras is not permitted in the state of Wisconsin, so that tool is not at play.

In summary, I believe we currently have some effective tools for improving the situation on E. Washington and surrounding streets, but it will not significantly improve until we implement more changes to the roadway infrastructure while simultaneously reducing vehicular traffic volumes. Both goals can be helped along by constructing BRT and bolstering transportation alternatives such as bike and pedestrian infrastructure (and their safety) asap.

Exploration of City Street Parking Policies at TLNA Council on Thursday

At last week's Transportation Policy and Planning Board meeting, members discussed a presentation concerning neighborhood parking management in the city. TPPB member Chris McCahill, Alder Grant Foster, city staff, and I have recently been meeting informally to learn about other cities' street parking policies, permit systems, etc., that are designed to make street parking policies more effective and equitable. A version of that same presentation and a subsequent discussion is expected to be on the July 8 TLNA Council monthly meeting agenda.

No parking policy changes have been devised or proposed, but we are hoping that the Tenney-Lapham (T-L) Neighborhood will engage on this subject since it sees a fair amount of competition for street parking spaces and could perhaps benefit from some policy changes. T-L sees various parking pressures including from:

1. commuters who park in T-L to bike/bus/walk to work;
2. high numbers of car-owning residents who do not have off street parking or choose not to avail themselves of what they do have access to;
3. special event parkers, and
4. parkers frequenting neighborhood businesses.

It is possible that the neighborhood could see some sort of pilot program in the future to test any new policies, so engaging through TLNA Council is a great way to contribute to the discussion. If you are unable to attend Thursday's meeting, I'll be sure to publish the details of any future neighborhood engagement opportunities on street parking matters.

Public Meeting on Alcohol License Changes for 7 Iron Social on State St.

On July 8 at 5pm, 7 Iron Social on the 2nd floor at 508 State Street, will hold an onsite public meeting to discuss their application for a change of premises for their existing alcohol license. 7 Iron Social is a virtual golf gaming center with food and alcohol that is able to be served until midnight on weekends and 11pm on weekdays. From what I understand, 7 Iron may also be exploring a change to their alcohol serving hours, but I do not yet know if that is the case. Generally, extensions of serving hours until bar time or closer to bar time in the State Street area, namely in the Downtown Alcohol Overlay District, are looked up with skepticism by the Alcohol License Review Committee and by MPD due to the well-documented drain on city staff and city resources that accompanies most businesses that cater to a more alcohol-fueled clientele later at night. I anticipate that 7 Iron Social's plans will be made clear at their July 8 meeting if not before.

S. Blair Street Reconstruction Almost Through City Process

The S. Blair Street reconstruction project will be presented to the Board of Public Works for final approval on July 7, 2021. In District 2, a portion of the block of E. Washington Avenue between Blair and Blount Streets will see pavement replacement and some curb/gutter/sidewalk work. The S. Blair portion of the project, which runs from E. Washington to E. Wilson will occur in 2022 with the E. Washington section expected in 2023.

The street geometrics were previously approved by the Transportation Commission, Board of Public Works, and the Common Council in the summer of 2020. See the Board of Public Works meeting details, and links to the agenda, including participation details, in "City Meetings of Interest" below. Stay informed by signing up for road construction email updates here.

Let's Talk Streets Community Survey

The City of Madison wants to know what you think about the streets you use to work, live and play in the City of Madison. What do you value about our city streets, what worries you and what type of street user are you? Also, going forward, how can the City design streets around people? 

Please visit the City of Madison's Let's Talk Streets website. There, you can:

• Take the Let's Talk Streets Community Survey.
• Watch a video that explains how values and priorities related to streets changed over time, and why the City wants to change how it designs streets so that they are equitable for all residents.
• Learn about three initiatives that will be guided by input from Let's Talk Streets survey and input: Complete Green Streets, Vision Zero, and Traffic Calming & Pedestrian/Bicycle Enhancements