Round Up! Fri 10/11/19

Running late today, read why! News, tons of city updates and here’s what you need to know, longer than usual!

Whew! What a mess, you might have noticed Forwardlookout.com was wonky this morning. I mistaking assumed it was something I did and made it worse. But, all better now! Well, sort of. As soon as I have a solid back up – more changes! And then I have to figure out what happened.

NEWS

City
Madison Finance Committee delays $40 wheel tax, but vehicle fee is likely ‘inevitable’ – State Journal
City committee delays decision on wheel tax proposal – Channel 3000.com
Transportation expert says new bus rapid transit system would help decrease Madison’s congestion – Channel3000.com
Madison Finance Committee delays vote on $40 wheel tax – WKOW
Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney’s blog on the wheel tax
Alder Keith Furman’s blog on the Vehicle Registration Tax
Alder Verveer’s blog – UW Homecoming Parade and Fireworks Information
Warner Park Community Recreation Center Celebrates 20 years
Extra Traffic Enforcement in October
Public meeting October 23 on South Towne bridge over Beltline – State Journal
Alder Harrington-McKinney Blog – Oct 20: How do we start uncomfortable conversations?

County
Dane Co. funds awaiting approval for 6 affordable housing development proposals – WMTV

Schools
– K-12 (none)

– Higher Ed
New bill would limit student fees used for athletics, building projects – Daily Cardinal
WARF’s $15 million gift green lights UW-Madison vet school expansion, renovation – Cap Times
UW-Madison announces official plans to give Camp Randall major face lift – Channel3000.com

Other/Mixed
Where do Dane County elected officials stand on the F-35s? Not all of them are saying – Cap Times
Assembly approves bill allowing lemonade stands, resolution supporting F-35 jets at Truax Field – State Journal

CITY PROJECT UPDATES

Mayor’s Neighborhood Roundtable Registration
Street Closures – UW Homecoming Parade
Buckeye Rd
McKenna Blvd/Gammon Ln Flood Mitigation Project
Park Street Joint Repair
Hawks Landing Flood Mitigation
Davidson St, Drexel Ave, Lake Edge Blvd.
Haywood Drive
Lien Rd (Parkside Drive – Thierer Road )
Bryan St, Daley Dr, James St, Thorp St Reconstruction
Koster St – N Rusk Ave Reconstruction
Judge Doyle Garage
Street Closure – Northbound 200 N Baldwin Street
Pinney Neighborhood Library
Nelson Neighborhood Development Plan – The Nelson Neighborhood Development Plan (NDP) will be in front of the Plan Commission for discussion and consideration at its October 14, 2019 meeting (see item #7 on the agenda).  All interested parties are invited to attend.  If the Commission approves the Nelson NDP it is expected to appear on the City Council’s November 5th agenda for final approval.  Please see the project web page for the NDP draft and other project materials.

WILMAR GRAND REOPENING

Please join us for the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center’s Grand Reopening on Sunday, Oct. 13th, from 11 am – 3 pm! Be the first to see our newly-renovated interior—including our transformed community gathering space, our expanded youth programs area, and our new fitness center. We’ll offer tours throughout the day, and have a champagne toast at 1 pm!

FLOODING UPDATES – RAIN ON THE WAY, FLOODING NOT EXPECTED

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The City does not expect incoming rain to cause flooding in the next 24 hours. We expect minimal impact on lake levels.  Less than a half of an inch of rain is expected.

Lake Monona and Lake Mendota are managed by Dane County.  The City of Madison consults with Dane County on lake level management.

Because thunderstorms are possible, locally, heavier rain may fall, but overall should not cause flooding.  Residents and visitors are encouraged to monitor the forecast for changing conditions.  Residents should avoid parking in areas of the east isthmus that are prone to flash flooding, as a precaution.

There are no road or bike path closures at this time.

Current Lake levels: Oct. 10, 2019

• Lake Mendota
  • Current elevation: 852.02 feet
  • Down 0.04 feet from Oct. 9, 2019
  • 0.78 feet below the 100-year flood (which is 852.80 feet)
  • 0.72 feet below historic high (Historic High is 852.74, June 6, 2000)
• Lake Monona
  • Current elevation: 847.43 feet
  • Down 0.03 feet from Oct. 9, 2019
  • 0.27 feet below 100-year flood (which is 847.7 feet)
  • 1.10 feet below the historic high (which is 848.53 feet, Sept. 6, 2018)

Stay informed with the City’s flooding website.

GOOD NOISE NEIGHBOR’S FESTIVAL

WHEDA QAP INPUT SESSIONS

As you may already know, WHEDA is in the process of evaluating and revising the State of Wisconsin’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).  The QAP spells out WHEDA’s

priorities in the form of objectives; and it also specifies the criteria WHEDA will use to select projects competing for Housing Tax Credits.

The current 2019-2020 QAP remains in effect during the 2020 round with the application period beginning in late November, 2019.

WHEDA is soliciting input from elected officials, developers, housing authorities, and other housing interests to assist in the creation of the 2021-2022 QAP.

The events highlighted on the attached flyers are excellent opportunities to come together to offer input regarding possible changes to the current plan.

Please pass this message along to parties who may have an interest in developing affordable/workforce housing in Wisconsin – and having impact on the process going forward.  (See the attached flyers for QAP listening sessions in Mt. Horeb, Milwaukee, and Wausau.)

If you are not able to attend one of these events, please submit questions or comments to WHEDA to HTC.FAQ@wheda.com.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.  We look forward to hearing from you.

PUBLIC INPUT MEETING ON NEW SOUTHSIDE SCHOOL

Flyers for community input sessions for a possible new elementary school on the south side. Session is Tuesday October 15, 5:45 pm at Frank Allis. There will be another session on November 14 at Badger Rock.

Here’s the flyer in English and Spanish

The Madison School Board is considering two referenda questions for the community to vote on in 2020 – one capital and one operational. We believe that a priority of a capital referenda is to explore the idea of building a new elementary school in the Rimrock area to address structural equity concerns and better serve students and families living there.

need your help exploring options:
• Moving Nuestro Mundo into a new building in the Rimrock area.
• Moving Frank Allis Elementary students into a new building in the Rimrock area, and moving Nuestro Mundo students into the Frank Allis building.
• Other options

You’re invited to a community input meeting
Frank Allis Elementary School
4201 Buckeye Rd
Tuesday, October 15
5:45–7:15 p.m.

PFAS TESTING AND NEWS UPDATES

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Madison Water Utility expected to receive PFAS test results for Madison’s seasonal wells (those used primarily in summer and fall) this week. Unfortunately, we heard from the lab yesterday that they’ve been inundated with testing requests and are facing a 4,000 sample backlog. It’s unclear when our water samples will be processed.

I will send notification to this email list when the results are in.

-Amy Barrilleaux, Public Information Officer

Eastside Farmer’s Market heading indoors soon

MADISON METRO DETOURS

Check here for updates.

Upcoming Detours
Routes 80, 81 & 82 – Langdon and State areas –      Begins TODAY (10/11) at 4 p.m. – Due to Homecoming events, buses detour this evening near the Langdon and State St. areas. See maps for boarding locations.

Routes 4 & 6 – State St. –      Begins TODAY (10/11) at 5 p.m. – Routes 4 and 6 detour from the lower portion of State St. beginning at 5 p.m. this evening. Board on Johnson or Gorham/ University Ave.

Routes 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 – Capitol Square –     Saturday, October 12 until 3:10 p.m. – Buses detour the Capitol Square until 3:10 p.m. on Saturday. Board one block off the square at ‘special event’ stops.

Southbound Stop #0256 on Mills at University Closed –     Wednesday, October 16 – Stop closed on Wednesday, October 16 for Routes 4 and 13. Closure is expected to last one day.

Detour Updates

Route 2 via Sherman – N. Baldwin St. – Construction extended due to rain. Detour is expected to into next week.

Southbound Stops #1270 & #1786 on Walter – Stops are expected to open 9 a.m. on Monday, October 14.

BIKE MADISON UPDATES – 10/11/19

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The Walk or Wheel Challenge is happening in schools throughout Dane County during the month of October. Madison has 12 schools participating this year including all of our Community Schools. Some schools are doing one day events while others have committed to doing a full week of events.

On October 8, the City of Madison Traffic Engineering and Police Department partnered with the Safe Communities and the Dane County Safe Routes to School program to do a “Slow Down for Our Kids” campaign in conjunction with Lincoln Elementary. Children who normally receive busing because of the need to cross either Fish Hatchery Rd or Park St  walked to school with representatives from those organizations. In addition, the City of Madison Police Department Traffic Enforcement Safety Team did speed enforcement on Badger Rd and residents and businesses in the area were encouraged to put out Slow Down yard signs.

The Walk or Wheel Challenge continues throughout October and the Slow Down for Our Kids campaign will be partnering on Oct 21 with Lakeview Elementary. If you would like a Slow Down yard sign just stop in at your local police station and ask for one.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

Walter St at Milwaukee St
Walter St is currently closed at the Milwaukee St intersection for concrete pavement replacement. The closure will last until 7am on Mon, Oct 14. All sidewalks will remain open during this work.

Northbound N Baldwin St
Northbound traffic on the 200 block of N Baldwin St from E Dayton St to E Johnson St will be closed until 5am Wed, Oct 16. Southbound traffic on N Baldwin St will be allowed to turn right onto E Johnson St. Left turns at the intersection of E Johnson St and N Baldwin St will be restricted during this closure. Bicyclists who elect to use the sidewalk should always yield to pedestrians.

E Johnson St – First St to Fordem Ave
The project is in Stage 4. The Johnson St underpass will be open during this phase. Only one crosswalk will be open at First St to cross E Johnson and it will vary as to which side of the intersection is open based on the progression of work. In addition, the railroad will be working on their bridge over the Yahara River so please watch for railroad vehicles when accessing the bus stop on the southside of Johnson near the tracks as they will be entering/exiting.Stage 4 Bike and Pedestrian Routing Plan

Park St
The joint repair project is nearing completion and is expected to be finished in the next week.

Southwest Path – Waite Circle Culvert Reconstruction
In 2017 the original stone arch culvert under the Southwest Path at Waite Circle began to fail and it was slip lined with a 60-in culvert as part of an emergency repair. This project will reconstruct the culvert and do other minor repairs to infrastructure in the area. This project will close the Southwest Path during construction which is anticipated to start Oct 28 and go until Dec 20. During this time a marked detour will use Council Crest, Yuma Dr and a protected lane on Midvale.

Additional City Projects
Information on additional city projects can be found on the City of Madison Engineering webpage.

Dane County
The Capital City Trail between Fish Hatchery Rd and Seminole Hwy is  closed for pavement restoration until sometime in November. More Information

OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS

A number of events this weekend will impact the bicycle facility network. Please use caution in these areas or choose another route.

• UW Homecoming Parade and Block Party on Fri, Oct 11 from 6-9pm. The parade starts at 6pm at Gilman and State St and the Block Party is near Alumni Park and the Memorial Union starting at 7pm. Street closures being at 4pm. Parade Map
• UW Football on Sat, Oct 12 at 2:30pm (pre-game at Noon). UW Football games brings lots of people to the area around Camp Randall and this is especially true on the Southwest Path and all the neighborhood streets. Bicyclists not going to the game day activities may want to avoid this area leading up to the game time and right after  or use caution while traveling. if you are going to the game try the free bicycle parking corral sponsored by UW Transportation Services and provided by the Wisconsin Bike Fed. The corral is located of the Southwest path, just east of the intersection of Monroe and Regent Streets. Bicycle Corral Map
• Science on the Square on Fri, Oct 18 from 6-9pm including events on the Top of State St. Please use care if biking on the State St/Mifflin St bicycle route. Madison Bikes will be participating in the event with a series of “who wore it better – bikes or cars?” sustainability scenarios.

ADDITIONAL  EVENTS

• Hawthorne Elementary Tunnel Mural Dedication on Tues, Oct 15 at 9 am. Join Dane Arts, Hawthorne Elementary, the City, students, parents, neighbors and others at the dedication of the mural at the tunnel under East Washington Ave at Wright St and N Fair Oaks Ave.
• Oscar Mayer  Special Area Plan Open House on Wed, Oct 16 at 5pm at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Dr. The special area plan will establish detailed, site-specific guidance for future development addressing land use, building scale and design, new streets and paths, and public open spaces.
• 2019 Mayor’s Neighborhood Roundtable on Sat, Nov 2 from 9am to Noon at the Madison Public Library, 201 W Mifflin St.
• Winter Bike Fashion Show on Sat, Nov  2 from 1-4pm at the High Noon Saloon. Come learn how to prepare to ride during the winter or come and share your favorite tips and tricks. Stop by the City of Madison Pedestrian Bicycle Program table and talk to program staff.

WATER MAIN FLUSING/BROWN WATER ALERT!

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