Updates February 22, 2021

Section 1: Transportation

• Metro Transit Network Redesign: Attend a community meeting - March 3

• Attend a Metro Bus Stop Planning Hearing - March 10

• Beltline construction begins in March for a Flex Lane 

• Where to get info on winter streets, parking, snow and how to report problems

Section 2: Meeting highlights for the week of February 22, 2021

Section 3: Community

• Family shelter progress

• Submissions being accepted for the 2021 Bus Lines Poetry contest 

• Renter assistance

• Driver License recovery info clinics

• Neighborhood beautification grant opportunity - applications due March 15

Section 4: Events

Section 5: Property crimes

Section 6: COVID updates

Section 7: City meetings schedule

Transportation

Metro Transit Network Redesign: Attend a community meeting

Attend a virtual informational meeting on Wednesday, March 3 to provide feedback and learn more about Metro Transit's redesigning of their route network.

Public Information Meeting
Phase One Community Meeting
Wednesday, March 3
6 - 7:30 pm

What is the Transit Network Redesign?

The Metro Transit Network Redesign will design a route system that will better meet the needs of Madison area residents and businesses by increasing access, decreasing travel times, and improving the quality of transit riders' experience.  

Attend a Metro Bus Stop Planning Hearing - March 10

On Wednesday, March 10 at 5 pm, Metro Transit and the City of Madison Transportation Commission will be reviewing the planned bus stop changes occurring in 2021. Changes include bus stops closing, opening, the addition of concrete bus stop pads and/or the addition of an amenity.

Beltline construction begins in March for a Flex Lane 

Construction to improve daily commutes for drivers will start in March to convert the Beltline inside median shoulders between Verona Road and the Interstate.  The Dynamic Part-Time Shoulder Use or "Flex Lane" for US 12/18 – will allow for their use as an additional travel lane during peak travel periods. 

You can expect: 

• Daily single lane closures from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

• Off-peak ramp closures at interchanges between I-39/90 and Whitney Way. 

• Nightly lane closures from 6:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. 

• The Flex Lane system is anticipated to open in late 2021 or early 2022.

• Additional traffic cameras will be installed along the Flex Lane corridor

Learn more about the Flex Lane project at wisconsindot.gov/FlexLane

Where to get info on winter streets, parking, snow and how to report problems

The City of Madison winter website has info on snow emergencies, where to get free sand, winter recreation, Snow Plow Alerts and more.
 

Snow related questions, complaints, or problems? Use the snow removal Report a Problem form or call 608-246-4532.

Meeting highlights for the week of February 22, 2021

Tear Gas Usage Report

The Common Council Executive Committee will be discussing the MPD Tear Gas Usage Report at its meeting on Tuesday.

Meeting details

Agenda

Register for public comment 

COVID Relief Housing Assistance Update

The Community Services Committee will be receiving an update on COVID relief housing assistance at its meeting on Wednesday.

Meeting details

Agenda

Register for public comment

Housing Ordinance Changes

The Housing Strategy Committee will discuss proposed changes to ordinances related to housing density at its meeting on Thursday.

Meeting details

Agenda

Register for public comment

March 1 community Q & A on proposed housing changes to zoning

On Monday, March 1, from 5:30 - 7:30pm, there will be a Zoom-based Community Q & A session regarding the proposed zoning ordinance amendments related to allowing greater residential densities and adjusting conditional use thresholds. There will be a video presentation to provide an overview, and Planning Division Director Heather Stouder and Zoning Administrator Matt Tucker will be available for questions.

Register for the session 

Read the proposed amendments

Read the Staff Report/Memo

COMMUNITY

Family shelter progress

City Engineering is working with Community Development and other City agencies and partners to convert the former Karmenta Nursing Home, 4502 Milwaukee Street, into a new temporary shelter for families. You can watch a video about the work that's underway on the new shelter. The target opening date for the facility is set at March 15.

Background:

Families were moved from the East Washington Ave Salvation Army facility to hotel rooms last spring to allow for social distancing, using CARES Act funding. The current facility was then reconfigured to continue to provide shelter to single women. Improvements to and expansion of the East Washington Ave Salvation Army facility were approved last year by the Plan Commission and will be underway soon. For all of these reasons, an interim location is needed for homeless families. 

Recording of the December 2020 community meeting on this topic

Presentation slides from that meeting

Submissions being accepted for the 2021 Bus Lines Poetry contest 

Metro Transit and Madison's Poet Laureate invite you to send short poems, haiku, prose poems, or excerpts from longer poems, 3-15 lines total, to the 2021 Bus Lines open call for poetry.  Entries are due Monday, March 15.  

Renter assistance

Are you a Dane County renter in danger of eviction due to COVID-19?  You may be eligible for rental assistance from Dane CORE Emergency Rental Assistance Program.  Learn more and see if you're eligible here.

Driver License recovery info clinics

The YWCA is currently offering virtual info clinics for individuals who are experiencing licensing issues in the Dane County area. Appointments can be made on their website with more dates to be added in the future. Please contact Aneesha Mitchell at (608) 395-2188 or amitchell@ywcamadison.org if you have any questions.

Neighborhood beautification grant opportunity - applications due March 15

Perhaps you are noticing opportunities to beautify something in your area, or maybe you are getting more involved with your neighborhood group or business association. You may be feeling a deeper sense of place and a desire to get involved in making your neighborhood even better. The Planning Division's 2021 Neighborhood Grant Program may be able to assist you with a small grant. 

New this year, your neighborhood group or business association could earn up to 10 bonus points for incorporating a COVID-19 recovery initiative into your project proposal. 

Learn more and apply.

EVENTS

Roadbuilding virtual job fair 

This will be held via Zoom on Thursday, March 4, 4pm-6pm.  This event will offer one-on-one interviews for various open positions with Walbec.

Register

Women in Construction Roundtable 

Join WRTP/BIG STEP via Zoom on Wednesday, March 10, at 4pm. The roundtable will feature a panel of women who have found success in the construction industry. The discussion will include personal stories from women in the industry; advice on how to have a successful career in construction; live Q&A/open discussion platform; and representation from several union trades.  

Register  

If you have any questions, please call WRTP/BIG STEP at (608) 255-0155 or email WRTP at southcentral@wrtp.org. 

Winter is Alive! a cooler world carnival

Through March 7, experience Winter is Alive! 

This cooler world carnival is a multi-disciplinary event fusing art and spectacle to revision climate change and activate global relationships. Uniting us during late winter and the physical separations caused by COVID-19, Winter is Alive! gathers together diverse local and global perspectives to demonstrate the collaboration required to combat climate change. Winter is Alive! provides the opportunity to reawaken a positive vision of the future where we collaborate to reduce climate change and create inclusive community between people and nature.

Family winter activities

1000 Friends of Wisconsin and Healthy Kids Collaborative have put together a guide for beating cabin fever.  The Cabin Fever Survival Guide is a family-friendly activity guide for the last of the winter months during the pandemic.

PROPERTY CRIMES

Break-ins are happening throughout the city, and sadly, our district is not immune. MPD reports that arrests have been made over the last few weeks. These are overwhelmingly crimes of opportunity, where people are looking for unlocked vehicles, homes or open garages.

Please, if you're a victim of a crime, always get a business card with your case number on it from the Madison Police, which allows for you to have a point of contact in the future. It also makes it much easier for following up if needed.

Please follow these guidelines from the Madison Police Department. Each evening, make sure your:

1. Garage door is closed

2. Car and home are locked

3. Exterior lights are on

4. Valuables are not left behind and visible in your car.

More tips and resources from the Good Neighbor Project

COVID

COVID-19 variant strain B.1.1.7 confirmed in Dane County

An individual with no recent travel history outside of Dane County was found to have the COVID-19 variant strain B.1.1.7. The B.1.1.7 variant was first discovered to be circulating widely in England at the end of 2020. Researchers believe this strain of the virus spreads more easily and more rapidly than the original strain.

Public Health, health care team to vaccinate Dane County school staff

A new public/private collaborative will help ensure teachers and school staff across Dane County receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks. Under the new partnership, Public Health and local health care providers will join forces to vaccinate school staff at Dane County's Alliant Energy Center in the month of March.

COVID resources

• Data Dashboard

• Financial Navigators hotline

• Close Contacts Now have Quarantine Options

• UW-Madison's rapid testing

• WI Dept. of Health Services Cases by Neighborhood (Census Tract)

• Madison COVID-related news and service updates, Español: COVID-19 and Hmoob: COVID-19

• COVID-19 recovery dashboard, a tool to track local indicators in order to better understand how our residents and community are doing throughout the pandemic.

• Public Health Madison and Dane County COVID data and orders

• Dealing with job loss

• Childcare, food, jobs, housing and low-cost internet access 

• Community-aggregated COVID resources

• From the City's Economic Development Division: Business & Non-profit Information Covid-19, including Streatery Program

City meetings schedule

City weekly meeting schedule

The Mayor's meeting schedule

The County weekly meeting schedule