Transportation and PFAS Surveys, Metro Bus Route Changes, Flooding Solutions, Poetry Contest and Bike Updates.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT AT FORWARD LOOKOUT?
Lots of changes in process. If this round up and the home page looks different, here’s a summary of what is going on!
NEWS
In order to keep the news up to date a little bit better, I have a new format for news. You can look on the homepage under “Konkel Round Up” and I will update that information periodically throughout the day, depending upon what else is going on. I typically, but not always, update it between 7 and 8 am, around noon, late afternoon, early evening and again late evening. I update slightly less on the weekends, usually because there just isn’t anything to update.
MO’ MEETINGS
Will also be putting Mo’ meetings with the news items.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY CALENDARS
You will now see a two calendars on the home page in the right hand column. One calendar is for all the government related meetings I find out about that are not in the week ahead, the other calendar is community meetings that may be of interest. If you have anything to add, just send an email to forwardlookout@gmail.com.
CITY PROJECT UPDATES
Also added to the Konkel Round Up on the home page in order to be more timely.
POLICE POLICY UPDATES
You only get 14 days to comment, so I will add those to the Konkel Round Up in order to be more timely.
PODCAST!
It’s now the extended, slightly less edited, sometimes goofy version of the WORT Monday evening news show. The podcasts can be found here.
MORE CHANGES COMING
It’s a continuous work in progress.
MATPB (MPO) TRANSPORTATION SURVEY
The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MATPB) team is gathering public input to inform a rebrand of the agency and the Rideshare Etc. program we manage. We would like to invite your feedback through thisshort, 5-minute survey, which will close at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, February 27th.
Your input will be valuable to us regardless of how well you know the agency today.
Your responses will help us better serve the region in the years to come, in part by improving public awareness and understanding of MATPB’s resources and role in regional transportation planning.
The survey will ask about your perceptions of MATPB, your communication preferences, and your interests and engagement with transportation topics that we touch within the region.
We will use your input to develop new names, logos and visions for both MATPB and the Rideshare Etc. program.
Your input will be critical to helping us more effectively present the agency and its resources, and will inform how we approach future community engagement throughout the region.
We thank you in advance for your valuable feedback!
Sincerely,
Bill Schaefer, Transportation Planning Manager
Madison Area Transportation Planning Board – An MPO
100 State Street, #400
Madison, WI 53703
PH: (608) 266-9115
Email: wschaefer@cityofmadison.com
www.MadisonAreaMPO.org
https://www.facebook.com/MadisonAreaTPB
WISCONSIN PFAS ACTION COUNCIL SURVEY
From Safe Skies Clean Waters
Wisconsin PFAS Action Council (WisPAC) Action Plan survey. DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY!
“The Wisconsin PFAS Action Council (WisPAC) would like to hear what Wisconsinites think are the mostimportant issues facing the state when it comes to PFAS, and what actions can be taken to address these emerging chemicals.” Survey DEADLINE is midnight Friday, Feb 21.
(NOTE: there are several categories to choose from, use your judgment. You can submit more than one “suggestion” but you have to go back to the link each time.)
CITY OF MADISON FLOODING SOLUTIONS
The public is encouraged to join the City in the next phase of its Watershed Studies, by attending upcoming public information meetings which will focus on data collected from residents.
For the first time, engineers will share the results of watershed modeling, which was created from summer 2018 flood reporting and field data. The models will show areas that require system or watershed-wide changes to support different amounts of rainfall. A watershed is an area of land where precipitation that falls on it, drains to a common waterway, such as a stream or lake. The watershed acts like a funnel by collecting all the water within the area and channeling it to a single point.
During the upcoming meetings, City Engineering staff will also cover the next steps toward possible solutions to reduce flooding potential. City engineers will ask the public for review of the flood modeling mapping for their area and provide feedback.
“We continue to need public input to confirm that our models match what residents living in the areas experienced,” Assistant City Engineer Greg Fries said. “Public input is also important as a two-way conversation to discuss potential changes needed to reduce flood potential in the future.”
This is part of the Engineering Division’s work toward finding possible solutions to flooding in the City. City Engineering is focusing on several watersheds on the City’s west side first, and then will focus on east side watersheds in 2020 and 2021.
In April 2019, City Engineering hosted the first round of public information meetings for the following watersheds: Madison Pheasant Branch, Spring Harbor, Strickers/Mendota and Wingra West. The meetings were focused around education, the plan for the Watershed Studies and provided answers to residents from presentations and question and answer panels. In August 2019, City Engineering lead nearly 30 focus group meetings in neighborhoods, hardest hit by flooding, to meet with residents in person to discuss what they’ve experienced to compare with the drainage models engineers are using to propose updates with.
Upcoming February and March meetings will share what data was collected during the first public information meetings, focus groups and identify areas that may be proposed for projects to improve flooding conditions.
Meetings are scheduled for the following watersheds:
-
- Wingra West:
6-8 p.m., March 16, 2020, Sequoya Library, 4340 Tokay Blvd., Madison, Wis. - Spring Harbor:
6:30-8:30 p.m., Feb. 24, 2020, Muir Elementary School Gymnasium/Cafeteria, 6602 Inner Drive, Madison, Wis. - Madison Pheasant Branch:
6-8 p.m., March 19, 2020, Blackhawk Church, 9620 Brader Way, Middleton, Wis. - Strickers/Mendota:
6-8 p.m., March 9, 2020, Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Ave., Madison, Wis.
- Wingra West:
*Wingra West Meeting will be livestreamed. Check back for link or on the City of Madison Engineering Division Facebook Page .
Stay connected with flooding resources:
City of Madison Flooding Website
Listen to Everyday Engineering Podcast episode on Watershed Studies
Listen to Everyday Engineering Podcast episode on basement drainage
Listen to Everyday Engineering Podcast episode on historic flooding
Learn about easy ways to flood-proof your home
Learn about Flash vs. Lake Level flooding or high lake level flooding
Learn about flood insurance
Explore a Story Map about Flash Flooding Resilience in Madison
City Engineering Facebook Page
City Engineering Twitter
BUS LINES POETRY CONTEST DEADLINE MARCH 6th
Attention all area residents, students, transit riders and writers
:
Metro Transit and Madison’s Poet Laureate invite you to send short poems, haiku, prose poems, or excerpts from longer poems, 3–15 lines total, to the 2020 Bus Lines open call for poetry.
Submissions can be made in any language. Poems in a different language must include an English version in order for full consideration. Selected poems will be transformed into moving art by Edgewood College Graphic Design students. The final designs will be approved by the Edgewood College Graphic Design Professor with consultation with the Poet Laureate and Metro Transit.
Contest Theme
The theme this year is “How riding the bus is good for us and the planet.”
Share with your fellow citizens why riding the bus is beneficial. What did you see out the window or inside the bus that made you smile? Did you hear a good story? Witness an act of kindness? Ride by nature? Your voice, your perspective, your bus system. Ours. Tell us how riding the bus helps the planet!
Submit Online
Submissions can include up to (3) poems maximum. Entries must be no longer than 15 lines to be considered.
Poems of certain lengths work out better for certain Metro marketing material over others. When submitting your poem, you will be asked to select for which marketing item you’d like your poem to be considered.
| Marketing Item | Poem Length/Max Lines |
|---|---|
| Bus Side | 3 |
| Transfer | 3-5 |
| Online | 10-15 |
Entries are due on Friday, March 6.
MADISON METRO ROUTE CHANGES
Public Hearing Scheduled
PROPOSED AUGUST SERVICE UPDATES
Wednesday, March 11, 6:00 PM
Madison Municipal Building
215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. – Room 215
Please use Doty St. Entrance
On Wednesday, March 11, Metro Transit and the City of Madison Transportation Commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. to discuss potential service updates proposed to go into effect in August.
Proposed Changes
Route 3 – Improve On-Time Performance
This route chronically misses connections at transfer points, which causes large numbers of passengers to miss transfers and be late throughout the day. With a goal of reducing late buses to transfer points by 50%, a number of changes are being proposed to speed up the route including:
- Westbound service shift from MLK Jr. Blvd. to King St.
- Eastbound service shift from Winnebago St./Atwood Ave. to Eastwood Dr.
- “Via Division” segment eliminated – all trips operate “via Winnebago”
- Consolidated stops on Jenifer St., Atwood Ave., and Walter St.
Additional routes affected:
- Route 4: Westbound service shift from MLK Jr. Blvd. to King St.
- Route 7: Eastbound service shift from Winnebago/Atwood to Eastwood
- Route 37: Eastbound service shift from Atwood to Eastwood.
Routes 32, 33 & 39 – To Serve New Pinney Library
- Route 32: Service shift from Acewood to Dempsey. Service loop proposed to operate counter-clockwise at all times.
- Route 33: Service loop proposed to reverse.
- Route 39: Service removed from Buckeye and Vondron. All trips operate via Dempsey.
Route 29 – Northside Town Center Park & Ride Removed
- Service shifted from Packers/Northport to Aberg/Sherman Ave.
Route 35 – Cottontail
- Service removed from Kings Mill.
- Loop reversed on Langley/Cottontail
Route 50 – Rayovac Dr.
- Service shifted from Struck to Rayovac Dr.
Route 67 – West Towne Mall
- Service shifted from Ganser/West Towne Mall road to High Point/Mineral Point Rd.
UW Campus – Routes 80, 81, 82 & 84
- Route 80 & 84: Routes/schedules revised to help with overcrowding and keep buses on schedule.
- Routes 81 & 82: Revised late-night service.
Additional Bus Stop Changes
Select stops are proposed to close, shift or change on Odana, Mills, Regent, Gorham, Johnson, Hamilton, Milwaukee, Spaight, Rogers, Rutledge, and Oakridge.
Give Feedback
Interested persons are encouraged to attend the public hearing to give feedback. Consideration will be given to views and comments expressed at the public hearing as well as to all written comments received.Comments can be submitted at mymetrobus.com/feedback. Written comments can also be sent to: Metro Transit Public Hearing Comments, 1245 E. Washington Ave., Suite 201, Madison WI 53703 or emailed to mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com.The Madison Municipal Building is accessible to people who use mobility aids and is equipped with assistive listening devices.If you need an interpreter, translator, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program, please contact Metro Transit at (608) 266-4904 at least three business days prior to the meeting.
BIKE MADISON UPDATES
Ride the Drive 2020 Announced
Ride the Drive is back for its 12th year on Sunday, May 17 from 10am to 2pm. For those new to Madison, Ride the Drive is a free, community event celebrating Madison’s commitment to a healthy, active lifestyle. The routes takes in the scenic views of Lake Monona along John Nolen Drive and includes Brittingham Park, Olin Park and Law Park. Learn More
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- University Bicycle Resource Center Class on Wed, Feb 26 at 6pm – Annual Maintenance and Clearning Your Chain
- Neighborhood Grant Program – The City of Madison has a grant program designed to help neighborhoods build capacity and beautify public places as well as improve the quality of life in the City. Grants are due March 2. Previously funded projects include neighborhood bike racks, art, welcome signs, kiosks, neighborhood walk/bike maps, events, and more. Meet with your neighborhood and plan a project!
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.
- Howard Temin Lakeshore Path parkrun on Sat, Feb 15 at 9am – This 5k run takes place every Saturday on the Lakeshore Path starting at Alumni Park on Langdon St.
- Winter Farmer’s Market – The market is moving to the Garver Feed Mill this winter for the first time. This will increase traffic in and around the Capital City Path and there will be more pedestrians on the path and crossing near Garver and Olbrich.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
City Projects
Information on future city projects can be found on the City of Madison Engineering webpage.
Closures:
- Reindahl Park Path
- Greentree-Chapel Hills Park Path
- Mills St from W Johnson to Conklin Pl
- Campus Drive Path behind Veterinary Medicine Building
