Madison commission looks for potential pedestrian and bicycle projects

The intersection near Sandburg Elementary School where some are asking for a traffic island. (Maija Inveiss/Madison Commons)

The Madison Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission held a public hearing Tuesday to receive comments on projects the city might consider undertaking before the creation of the 2017-19 Capital Budget

Besides the 15 speakers at the hearing, people in the greater Madison community sent written comments with ideas for future projects.

The community members brought light to some of the main problems for pedestrians and bikers throughout the Madison area. Concerns included the diagonal sidewalk in Orton Park, the intersection of East Johnson Street and North First Street and Portage Road by Sandburg Elementary School. 

Sue Pastor of the Greater Sandburg Neighborhood Association said that she would like to see a traffic island on Portage Road to help slow down traffic and give people more time to cross the wide street. Traffic islands are a raised spot in the middle of the road for pedestrians to stand on as they wait for traffic to yield.

“It would give pedestrians a place to pause,” Pastor said. “The city needs to look at the older neighborhoods, so the benefits aren’t limited to downtown.”

Children frequently cross Portage Road at Donald Drive going to and from the elementary school. According to Pastor, this area is the number one concern identified by the neighborhood association’s traffic safety committee.

All of the comments gathered at the public hearing and mailed to the commission will be used to develop a list of projects to be considered for the 2017-2019 work program.

Arthur Ross, the City of Madison Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator, said that the commission hopes to start looking at all of the community recommendations and staff comments by September.

The Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission will be accepting written comments through July 8 by mail and email.