Metro Transit bus on the square, cyclist in the foreground
Transportation
Christof Spieler, Director of Transportation

Curb Management

Curb management is the set of policies, systems, and strategies that regulate and support how this space is used. It helps prioritize competing needs at the curb—balancing parking, deliveries, accessibility, driving, transit, walking, rideshare, biking, and public life.  

Street drawing identifying segments of street use: Walkway, Flex zone, Travelway, Flex Zone, and Walkway.

Optimizing Madison's Curbside

In Madison, curb management plays a key role in achieving broader city goals. It helps improve mobility, support local businesses, enhance access for all users, and create streets that are safe, efficient, and vibrant. As demand for curb space continues to grow, thoughtful curb management ensures that this limited but valuable resource is used in ways that best serve the community.

Framework 

In 2025, City staff developed a Curb Management Framework to outline goals, priorities, and focus areas for future work.  

In 2026, the City will begin developing a Curb Management Action Plan with support from a consultant team, which will include program and policy updates, planning recommendations, and experimental curb treatments to test solutions.   This process will take 12 - 18 months to complete. 

Goals

  • Safety

    Designing safer drop-off zones, calming traffic, and minimizing conflicts among various travelers.

  • Inclusive Access 

    Ensuring curb space serves the needs of all users, including those with limited mobility or other barriers to access.  

  • Mode Shift

    Making walking, biking, and transit more convenient, while exploring EV charging and accommodations for emerging transportation options.  

  • Economic Vitality

    Supporting commerce and neighborhood life by ensuring access for deliveries, service providers, and customers, while also allowing for outdoor dining, placemaking, and events that energize and activate the right of way.  

  • Efficiency & Innovation

    Maximizing the utility of curb areas through clear rules, dynamic management, and data-informed decisions.

Focus Areas

Curb management will look to affect plans, policies, and workstreams within the following focus areas:  

Round chart calling out the listed Curb Management Focus Areas (in caption)

Complete Green Streets

Aligning curb priorities with street design goals for more detailed curb treatment options within the Complete Green Streets Guide. 

Learn more about Complete Green Streets

Experiments & Spot Treatments

Implementing quick and cost-effective strategies to enhance curb space and increase multimodal access, informing policy makers and the public of the costs and benefits of curb treatments before making permanent changes.

Events & Construction Coordination

Enhancing accessibility and minimizing traffic disruptions by further incorporating curb management strategies into permitting processes and project planning.

Policy Updates

Evaluating whether curb-related regulations, including the Residential Parking Permit Program (RP3), align with recently adopted City plans and policies.

Development Support and Curb Guidance

Focusing on the curb management-related impacts of new development allows the City to accommodate new, more intensive uses, and to more intentionally allocate curb space for a variety of users.

 

Payment & Compliance Tools

Improving access to mixed-use and commercial corridors and supporting small businesses by promoting strategic parking management, modernizing meter payment systems, and enhancing compliance through better tools and technology.

Timeline

  1. Curb Management Framework

  2. Curb Management Action Plan

  3. Experiments & Spot Treatments

  4. Implement Plan Recommendations

Public and Stakeholder Engagement

  • Public and stakeholder engagement will be part of the Curb Management Action Plan. Stay tuned for more information!  
  • Questions? Contact curbs@cityofmadison.com  

Past Presentations:  

Transportation Commission Meeting, November 14, 2025

Planning Commission, October 16, 2025

Transportation Commission Meeting, July 23, 2025

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