Wisconsin State Journal: No brake on the need for bike paths – 12 August, 2006

Some people can commute to work in a daze: same route, same time, same cup of coffee, same CD, yada, yada, yada.

Andy Swartz commutes every day from his home on Madison’s East Side to his job in Sun Prairie. If you ask Swartz how the commute went, don’t expect a yada.

Just stand back: “I leave at about 7 a.m. from Yahara Place, head down between the river and Olbrich, Lakeland Avenue to Monona Drive, to Walter Street, to Richard Street, Dempsey, to a nice overpass over Stoughton Road south of Milwaukee Street, parallel to Milwaukee Street, on to Milwaukee up over the Interstate to Metro parkway through the new development, dump out on to Sprecher Road, where it gets kind of ugly between there and Highway T, on Linerud Drive to City Hall, 300 E. Main St.”

It can take 40 minutes to an hour for the commute to his planning job with the city of Sun Prairie. He will not spill a drop of coffee, either, as he self-propels a 1980s-era Trek bicycle, burning about 800 calories round-trip instead of a couple gallons of gas.
But Swartz, who has an uncanny recall of every bump and pebble on the commute he has made almost daily for the past five years, pays attention to more than just the weather and traffic. He pays attention to the missing links, as do the thousands of bicyclists – commuters and recreational users – who use the bicycle paths in the Madison area every day.

“I’m not your typical commuter,” he said. “I’m not even your typical bicycle commuter.” He has been a “bicycle nut” since the age of 7 and has taught bicycling physical education at UW-Madison since 1995. “Many people think I am either stupid, insane, or foolish for riding busy roads to Sun Prairie,” said Swartz.

“This should not be the case. I should have routes to use that would not lead people to that conclusion. . . . We need safe routes to (Sun Prairie) and other destinations for the novice and average rider in all conditions, the temperature, precipitation, light and hour of day.” So, a motorist stuck on the Beltline might comment, add “utopian” to Swartz’s r sum .

Actually, said Swartz, it was a lot easier to ride to points out of Madison five years ago, when he started his commute, when it was a path less traveled by cars and bicycles. Development at the end of Milwaukee Street and points east have increased traffic, both two- and four-wheeled. Which leads to the continued efforts of William Schaefer, a transportation planner for the Madison Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The public agency is in the process of completing a new regional transportation plan, and bicycle path construction, upgrades and updates are part of it. For the bicycle paths, said Schaefer, it is important to put the process into context. We have been building roads for a long time but have been building bicycle paths only since the 1990s, when bicycle helmets came in one color.

Schaeffer – who also commutes by bicycle to work in Downtown Madison – provided a list of a dozen “missing links” priorities in the current draft, and said it would take “10 years, more like 15 years,” for them to be completed. “Our region has been getting about $1.5 million a year in funds from the federal enhancement program, and some of these projects are locally funded. If you look at the cost of these projects (on the list), 10 to 15 years is likely,” he said.

“The key is federal funding. In 1991 federal legislation changed the way the transportation program was set up, bringing in the enhancement program, which set aside a certain amount for (projects such as bicycle paths). Before that, there were no dedicated programs, and because these projects are so expensive, they are difficult to do with strictly local funds, and state funds are generally used for right-of-way acquisition.

The only major bicycle path in Madison done before that time was the John Nolen path,” he said. That context shows the importance of planning everything together, and also explains why sometimes the bike path construction schedule is measured in decades. “You have a plan and look at when roads are being reconstructed.

It is a lot cheaper to put in an underpass for bicycles when the road is under construction already, or when an area is being developed, rather than do it as an independent project.” “Our priorities (for bicycle paths) lean toward increased accessibility and mobility while at the same time recognizing bicycling as an important recreational activity that keeps people healthy,” he said, noting a recreational bicyclist frequently becomes a bicycling commuter.

He also predicts we will see more bicycle path commuter connections going through neighborhoods, where the ride is safer, quicker and the cost is less than if a route is along a high-traffic road. Arthur Ross, who has been directing bicycle traffic and plans for the city for 19 years, also hears the complaints about what’s missing from the network of path.

“One we hear a lot about is extending the Capital City Trail further east to Cottage Grove, and we have taken the first steps on that by adding a piece last year from Dempsey (Road) to Cottage Grove Road. Next year, it will be down to Buckeye Road,” he said. This illustrates the difficulty in even broaching the subject of missing bike path links.

A motorist facing a rough block or two can usually find another safe route. A bicyclist coming to the end of the path or, for example, Whitney Way, might be facing a life-or-death decision based on a tiny distance. Then there are territorial disputes. What comes first? Sherman Avenue or University Avenue? Both are on the priority list.

“The people on the North Side talk about Sherman Avenue, especially now with the Yahara River Bridge over East Washington Avenue, and East Johnson is gaining momentum,” said Ross. And at least for the recreational bicyclist, the conversation frequently turns to “the Mendota Loop,” a prospective 22-mile bike ride around the lake with lots of good scenery and few challenging hills.

“I have heard it asked a lot this year: Is there a way to get around Lake Mendota? People are looking for that longer ride, the bicyclists are getting stronger, wanting more variety,” he said. Madison will get a chance to show off its bicycle planning and path system in September, when the 14th International Conference on Walking & Bicycling, also known as Pro Walk/ Pro Bike 2006, opens on Sept. 5 at Monona Terrace. Ross said the bicycle path system is doing its job.

“As we get more and more paths, and the connections to those paths, we see more people commuting who would never have dreamed of doing so before,” he said. “Look at it this way,” Swartz added, “there is the obesity epidemic, land-use decisions, private property rights, public transportation costs, gasoline prices.

They are all integrated. With gas (headed toward) $4 a gallon, people will start thinking twice before they build.” Swartz’s duties with the city of Sun Prairie, by the way, include planning bicycle paths.