Sign up for winter alerts; Road diet on the table January 18; announcements & events

Hello neighbors,

Winter might finally really come this week, with significant snow in the forecast. I highly recommend subscribing to the winter updates from the Streets Division, as these will provide you the most up-to-date information via email.

Neighborhood Meetings                                                                 

• January 18, 7pm, Community Meeting on the proposed “road diet” for Mineral Point Road, Mid-Town Police District Community Room. 
  • A “road diet” has been proposed for Mineral Point Road from Speedway/Glenway to Midvale Blvd. Mineral Point Road is currently four lanes with directional peak-hour lanes. On-street parking is allowed during off-peak times, although not heavily utilized. A road diet on this street would consist of reducing the street down to three travel lanes (one lane in each direction plus a center left-turn lane) with marked buffered bike lanes. All on-street parking would be permanently eliminated along this stretch if this proposal were to move forward. Please come to listen to a brief presentation and share your perspectives on this proposal!

Announcements & News Releases

• Public Nominations for the Police Civilian Oversight Board: The Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) is currently seeking nominations from the community to fill vacancies on the Board. The PCOB supervises and works collaboratively with the City of Madison’s Office of the Independent Monitor.
• Job shadow program looks to connect officers, community members in new way: The Madison Police Department has created a special job shadow program allowing community members and officers to learn from one another. The Madison Proximity Project pairs a Madison resident with an officer. 
• Dane County Executive Parisi, Madison Mayor Rhodes-Conway Announce Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award Honorees: County Executive Joe Parisi and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced Ashzianna Alexander, Mathias Lemos Castillo, and Dr. Jack Daniels as this year’s recipients of the City-County Humanitarian Awards honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.
• Madison police create Hate Crimes Task Force: The Madison Police Department has created a new task force to help identify and prevent hate crimes in Madison. The task force was proactively formed to address bias-motivated threats, harassment and violence.
• Reduced Metro Service on January 15: Buses follow Saturday schedules due to Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
• Pick Up Native Wisconsin Seeds: Native Wisconsin Seeds are now available in SIX of our libraries! You can now pick up seed packets at Sequoya, Meadowridge, Pinney, Goodman South Madison, Lakeview and Hawthorne Libraries - no library card needed. Why Native seeds now? Native Wisconsin plant seeds are best sown in the fall and left to overwinter.
• MBCC Means Business Optimization Program begins February 13. The MBCC Program is designed to engage with current & future entrepreneurs to guide them through a structured process to review or a develop their business or business idea, improve the business’ product(s) using the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach, and to coach the entrepreneurs on how to use their success in the MVP phase of the project to grow and scale their business, either through internal funding or by helping to find outside investment capital.
• 2024 Neighborhood Grant Program: Have you and your neighbors been thinking about making community improvements or strengthening your neighborhood group? The Planning Division will once again offer funding through the Neighborhood Grant Program for Leadership and Capacity Building and Community Enhancement projects. The application deadline is February 12 at 4:30 p.m. Once you are ready to start an application, please contact the Planning Division at  Neighborhoods@cityofmadison.com, and share project ideas with your alderperson. We also invite you to attend an optional orientation meeting on January 11:
  • Virtual, 12:00 p.m. via Zoom. Please sign up to receive an email with information about participating in the meeting.
  • In-Person, 6:00 p.m., Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Room 206. 

Events 

• Check out all of the events surrounding observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, kicking off with a community dinner on January 12, and welcoming Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine at the Madison & Dane County observance event on January 15.
• Warner Family Fun Night, Friday, January 12: Join us at WPCRC for Warner Family Fun Night! Families can create art projects, play in the game room or the gym, watch a movie or win some prizes playing bingo!
• Groove & Glide, Friday, January 12: Make the most of winter at a Groove and Glide event! Experience the fun and beauty of ice skating under the lights with fun music and games.  All ages and experience levels are welcome. Grab your friends, a date, or the whole family, and come have some fun on the ice.
• Homebuyer education course, January 13, Atrium at Villager Mall. These workshops cover the following:
  • how to find the right home
  • how to apply for a mortgage
  • credit improvement tips
  • how much you can afford
  • barriers that can prevent you from qualifying for a mortgage and
  • what down payment assistance may be available to you
• Bird & Nature Adventures at Owen Conservation Park, Saturday, January 13: Explore Owen Conservation Park on gentle trails through historic oak openings on a hillside with an Ice Age kettle and along restored prairies with beautiful vistas on this high point overlooking the west side of Madison. Co-sponsored by Madison Parks, Badgerland Bird Alliance, Madison Audubon Society,  and the Friends of Owen Conservation Park . Free, family-friendly guided nature walks at Owen Conservation Park are held on the 2nd Saturday of each month, year-round 2:30-4pm. No registration is required. No pets are allowed.
• Candlelit Snowshoe Hike, Saturday, January 13: In partnership, Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Monona Parks & Recreation, and Madison Parks present this wonderful snowshoe hiking event! Hundreds of softly glowing lights illuminate the trails through Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Edna Taylor Conservation, and Woodland Park. Snowshoe or hike and enjoy a roaring bonfire outside. All ages are welcome.
• Bird & Nature Adventures at Turville Point Conservation Park, Sunday, January 14: Follow rolling hiking paths through the Turville Point Conservation Park woodlands and prairie with beautiful vistas of Lake Monona and Monona Bay. Walks at Turville Point held on the 2nd Sunday every month are co-sponsored by Madison Bird City FUN partners, Madison Parks, Badgerland Bird Alliance, Friends of Olin Turville, and Madison Audubon Society. Meet at the Turville Point parking lot, entrance at the E. Olin Ave. stoplight from John Nolen Drive at the railroad tracks, south of Olin Park (not at the boat launch). No registration is required. No pets are allowed.
• The Urban League of Greater Madison and Legal Action of Wisconsin are hosting a free expungement clinic on January 25. Please register as soon as feasible to ensure your needs can be accommodated.

Stay warm!

Regina Vidaver