This one is jam packed cuz it’s been a while. I was more interested in getting perennials for Occupy Madison and completing my balcony gardening project at my house then blogging . . . so I was slacking! This is only done through Friday afternoon . . .
Waterfront Festival Volunteers Needed
Volunteer and be part of the fun! Round up your friends and grab a shift at the 30th annual Marquette Waterfront – https://signup.com/mobileweb/
Madison’s Biking Honors
People for Bikes recognized Madison as the 9th best city for cycling in its 2019 PlacesForBikes City Ratings. Madison’s ranking changed slightly from its 2018 6th place ranking. However, Madison is one of only four cities to be ranked in the top 10 in both 2018 and 2019.
The City adopted a Complete Street policy, which considers all road users in the roadway design process, including pedestrians, bicycles, handicapped users, transit, freight operations and other motor vehicles. The City has built a robust multimodal transportation network. It has been ranked as one of the most walkable communities in the Midwest and one of the best bike cities in the country.
“Madison is proud of its bicycle culture and we are pleased to be ranked 9th out of 510 cities,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “However, we recognize that there are still improvements to be made to ensure that everyone in our city has a safe, reliable way to bike for both transportation and recreation. Our bicycle facilities need to work for people of all ages and abilities.”
The PlacesForBikes City Ratings uses a scoring system to rank cities based on five key areas: Ridership (how many people ride bikes), Safety (how safe is it to ride bikes), Network (how easy is it for people to get where they need to go), Acceleration (how fast is the bike network expanding) and Reach (how well the network serves all neighborhoods in the community).
Madison scored highest in safety and in its overall bicycle network with a lower score in acceleration. “Our acceleration score will improve over the next year with a number of new projects on the horizon including a trial of a parking protected bike lane on Bassett St, an underpass of Gammon Rd on the West Towne Path and a series of new bicycle pavement markings,” said Yang Tao, the City Traffic Engineer. “Projects like these and others will also continue Madison’s commitment to a safe, well connected network of bicycle routes.”
Find out more about the ratings at People for Bikes .
Tree Butchering Coming to your neighborhood? Compliments of MG&E
This is from Christian Albouras’ Alder Blog:
Many residents have already received the postcard from Madison Gas & Electric regarding tree pruning in our area. MGE is required to apply for a permit to prune City-owned trees. They will be submitting their annual tree pruning plan and request for permit to the Havitat Stewardship Subcommittee at their May 15, 2019 meeting. Customers who have concerns about their plan are encouraged to attend that meeting.
The Habitat Stewardship Subcommittee will meet in Room 103, Goodman Maintenance Facility, 1402 Wingra Creek Parkway on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 4:30 p.m.
You can find the map with the planned work area highlighted and a sample postcard here.
Additional information can be found on their website at www.mge.com/environment/trees-landscape/tree-pruning.htm
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.
Screech Owl Sightings?
Heard a Screech Owl or even had the opportunity to see one, please let me know. Attached is a picture on one and you can head heir cal at: https://macaulaylibrary.org/
I’m trying to document their distribution in our neighborhood. As more of our mature trees are removed, nesting habitat for these owls is decreasing. If you have a tree with a small or large cavity in it, consider letting the tree stand. Those trees are important habitat for owls, bats, flying squirrels and nuthatches.
I’m a wildlife biologist interested in animal distributions. Several species have learned to live with us in urban situations but their habitat is limited. With the impact of emerald ask borer we are loosing some of our mature trees, which provide that rare habitat.
https://d1ia71hq4oe7pn.
This small handfull of a bird catches mice and vermin so it would be great to know they are patrolling our neighborhood. Screech Owls have been sighted here, particularly in spring, and I sometimes hear them calling outside my bedroom window. If you have one of these rare and cool birds near you, please let me know. If I get enough responses I will give a neighborhood count.
thanks 🙂
john (colemanjj@ameritech.net)
Urban Forestry Task Force Public Hearing
From Marquette Neighborhood Listserve:
Urban Forestry Task Force Public has a completed draft document and recommendations on how to preserve and expand the tree canopy in Madison. Please consider attending the public meeting to hear more about it and offer your feedback.
Wednesday, May 15, 6pm, at the Madison Water Utility, 110 S. Paterson St. Rm. 121
Grocery Store Meeting Rescheduled
From Tag Ever’s Blog – obviously it’s too late for the first part of the notice, but mark your calendar for the second part!
Many of you received a postcard about the neighborhood meeting to discuss the grocery store access issue this Thursday, May 9 at the Urban League.
Due to a requirement that the city gives at least ten days notice, this meeting has been rescheduled for 5:30, Thursday, May 23 at the Labor Temple on S. Park.
Please help spread the word.
Keeping up with the Public Market
From City project updates:
For more information about the project and regular updates, please visit: madisonpublicmarket.org
Project background and quarterly reports can be found at
City of Madison DPCED (Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development).
Schroeder Road Apartments Project
From Alder Albouras’ Blog
Many residents have contacted me since my election about the development project on 5614 Schroeder Road (currently Babe’s Restaurant). I requested information from Jim O’Keefe, the city’s Community Development Division Director, about this project.
He provided me with good background information about this project and I wanted to share that information with District 20 constituents.
5/3/19 Memo: Background and Status of Schroeder Road Housing Development
12/18/18 Letter: Approval of demolition permit to demolish restuarant to consturct four-story 96-unit mixed use buiding with 4,000 square feet of rentable commercial space at 5614 Schroeder Road
PowerPoint Presentation by Stone House Development, Inc. – Schroeder Road Apartments (provided by Ald. Keith Furman, District 19)
Affordable Housing FAQ Informational Sheet
If you have further questions please feel free to contact me.
Olbrich Gardens Expansion
From City Project Updates:
Follow the Progress on our FLICKR page!
See our Progress in a Time Lapse Video – updated weekly by EarthCam®
UPDATE: May 08, 2019 – Project Status Update as of May 07, 2019
Southwest Bike Path Remains Closed due to Rain
Project Description:
Due to the current weather MG&E will not be able to finish its work on the power poles along the Southwest Path on Friday, May 10. During the week of May 13 the Southwest Path from Breese Terrace to Commonwealth Ave will continue to be closed between 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM.
A marked detour will be in place during the closure. Most of the detour will be on residential streets. However, the eastbound detour will use a section of Regent St and the westbound detour will use a section of Monroe St. Although the previous update on this project said that a lane of the road would be reserved for bikes that information was inaccurate and the sections of Regent St and Monroe St used for the detour will continue to allow parking. If you would like to find an alternative route that works better for you please use the online Low Stress Bike Route Finder.
Parks News
From one of the many city updates [Madison Park News]
LEARN TO PICKLEBALL
Learn the game of pickleball just in time for summer on Thursday, May 30. Thanks to the Madison Parks Foundation all Learn to classes are free! LEARN MORE
FREE GOLF INSTRUCTION SATURDAYS
Take a free class from a golf pro. No registration, experience or equipment needed. First class is this Saturday, May 11. LEARN MORE
GOODMAN POOL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE – new online application
Thanks to the generous donations of the Madison Parks Foundation and the Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman Foundation, scholarships are available for general pool admission, lessons and the Waves Swim & Dive Team. LEARN MORE
DISC GOLF
Elver and Hiestand disc golf courses are now open for the season. On Saturday, May 25 play all day for free – no permit required. LEARN MORE
RIDE THE DRIVE – volunteers needed
14 volunteer positions remain. Each volunteer receives a 2019 RTD t-shirt AND a one-year Madison BCycle membership! We also have just a few spots remaining for vendors. LEARN MORE
HOW TO CARE FOR A NEW TREE
Trees provide many benefits and new trees require special care. LEARN MORE
PARKS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
Submit your Madison park photos for consideration in the 2020 calendar. LEARN MORE
Road Construction Updates
Shepard Ter, Chamberlain Ave, VAn Hise Ave and Mason St
Groveland Terrace
Blackhawk Ave, N.-Bruce Ct-Heather Crest Resurfacing
Bryan St, Daley Dr, James St, Thorp St Reconstruction
Williamson and E Wilson St
Sunset Village
Winnebago St-Linden Ave Reconstruction
Johnson St, East
Capital City Hues – May 6th Edition
We hope you are doing well! Marilyn Ruffin and the Sun Prairie School District held their first annualBEAM Awards recognition for African American students. El Día de los Niños will be held at the Goodman Community Center on May 18th. Northport/Packers is holding a celebration of their Photo Voices Project at Warner Park. These are just some of the stories in Your Capital City Hues.
Conversation on Bail and Front End Justice
El Dia de lost Ninos (The Day of the Children)
The Latino Children and Families Council (LCFC) is honored to once again host the annual El Día de los Niños (The Day of the Children) Celebration. This event will take place on Saturday, May 18th, from 10am to 2pm at the Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa Street, Madison, Wisconsin.
In current times, daily life is incredibly difficult for our Latino community and all immigrants. It has become even more important to promote a strong sense of community and support our Latino families. El Día de los Niños, now in its 16th year, is a Dane County Latino Community tradition that brings smiles, happiness and hope to over 1,000 Latino children and families. This year, we will offer information and resources that assist with parenting skills and maintaining healthy families. Children will display their cultural heritage in the Parade of Nations and showcase their talents on our stage. It will be a day filled with celebration and learning as well as a way to show support for our Latino Community.
Water Main Flushing this Week
Spring Yard Waste Collection Over
From Patrick Heck’s Alder Blog
The 2019 Spring Yard Waste Collection Is Complete
The opportunity to receive curbside yard waste collection this spring has ended. Streets Division collection crews are wrapping up the final round, and it is too late to add additional material the curb to guarantee pick up.
Residents should not place yard waste to the curb at this time.
Rather than placing yard waste to the curb, residents should take the material to one of the Streets Division drop-off sites.
The drop-off sites are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd, 4602 Sycamore Ave, and 402 South Point Rd.
They are open 8:30am until 4:30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The sites are open 8:30am until 8:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
As of Friday, May 10, 2019 collection crews are working on a handful of areas in Madison finishing the final round. However, it is too late to add new yard waste to the curb for pickup. Piles of yard waste set to the curb after the final collection round is completed for a neighborhood will not be collected until the fall when curbside collection resumes.
The start of the fall curbside yard waste collection period is weather dependent and will be announced when that date is known.
Additional information about yard waste, including the difference between yard waste and brush, can be found on the Streets Division’s website.
Blair St. Gardens Volunteers Needed
Blair Street Gardens invites volunteers to join us Saturday, May 18 form 9 am to noon at “Wilson Green.” It’s located on E. Wilson Street, next to the Crowley Pumping Station and across from Nomad World Pub. We will be planting perennials, mulching, raking and pruning. We have tools and gardening gloves. Please bring your own drinking water. We welcome all ages; groups too.
Demolition
Applicant’s Comments:
The intent is to demolish the unoccupied building and return the site to vacant land. No future redevelopment is planned at this time.
