Weekend Round Up

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Board Kicks off Superintendent Search By Asking Community for Input

The Madison School Board is asking the community as it begins its search for the district’s next superintendent. This week, the board kicked off the search process by meeting with BWP and Associates, a national search firm which specializes in assisting boards that are seeking superintendents.

“Selecting a new superintendent is the most important task we have as a board, and we are starting the process by asking our community for input,” Board President Gloria Reyes said. “Input and ideas from our staff, students, families and community partners will help us shape the profile of what we are looking for in our next superintendent.”

During the community engagement phase, the board and BWP will gather input from the community that will be used to create a unique profile of what the community is looking for from its next school district leader.

Community members can give that input through community forums on October 29 and 30, and through an online survey that will launch on October 15 at mmsd.org/superintendentsearch. Times and locations of the forums will be announced soon.

Information received from the community engagement process will be presented to the board along with a draft profile of leadership characteristics for the next superintendent by BWP in November. A full timeline of the search process is available at mmsd.org/superintendentsearch.

“To be successful, we need to work together with our community, we invite everyone to join this process,” Reyes said.

BIKE MADISON UPDATES

all is a great time to start bicycle commuting for the first time or to get bike commuting more if you haven’t been riding as much as you would like. Temperatures are not as hot as they often are in the summer but also haven’t gotten so cold you need to find your hat and gloves.  Bike commuting even just one day a week can help you get in your daily dose of exercise which can be challenging as the daylight gets shorter. If you are new to bicycle commuting or know someone who is here are some suggestions to get you started:

• • Plan your route using the Low Stress Bicycle Route Finder.
• • Try out your route on a weekend to make sure you know the route and to see how long it will take so you are not stressed about being late.
• • If a co-worker commutes from your neighborhood ask if they would ride with you at first. If you don’t know any bike commuters log on to www.rideshareetc.org and look for a Bike Buddy.  Or sign up to be a Bike Buddy if you are an experienced rider who would like to help others get started.
• • Start with just one day a week and then progress to riding more often as you get comfortable making the trip. If your office does casual Friday that can be a great day to start out.
• • If you live far from work then combine bicycling with transit to make the trip easier. Metro Transit has bike racks on the buses to make it easy to combine biking and transit.
  • Get a front and rear light in case you end up working late or going in early as the days are getting shorter and it is better to be prepared.
• • For more tips on bike commuting visit the Bike Madison website.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

N Sherman Ave – 1300 Block
On Mon, Sept 23 and Tues, Sept 24 at 9am the 1300 block of N Sherman Ave will be closed to through-traffic between Aberg Ave and Boyd Ave for tree removal. The roadway will be re-opened by 3pm each day. The sidewalk on one side of the street will remain open. Bicycles riders should yield to pedestrians and use caution when crossing driveways.

Stoughton Service Rd (West) at Buckeye Rd
The S Stoughton Rd Service Road (West) at the intersection of Buckeye Rd will be closed to all traffic between 7am and 4pm from Tues, Sept 24 until approximately 5pm on Fri, Oct 4. This closure is in addition to the current closure of Buckeye Rd.  More Information

E Johnson St – First St to Fordem Ave
Work continues on this project and the next phase of the project is anticipated to start in early to mid-October and should improve the bicycle pedestrian access.  Currently, the Yahara River Path between 1st St and Fordem Ave is detoured onto a lane of E Johnson St. The lane is marked off for bikes and pedestrians and barrels will be used to protect the lane from motor vehicle traffic. In addition, the south sidewalk from Fordem to the Yahara River remains closed. The City has been working with the contractor to improve signage in the area.  Current Pedestrian Bicycle Accommodations: Phase 1.5 Map

Park St Project
Work continues on Park St from Badger Rd to Wingra Dr and some sections are only one lane.  Cyclists may want to use Cypress Way, Dane St and Beld St.to reach the Wingra Creek Path in the Phase 3 area. You can also cross at The Villager and Buick St using a traffic signal to reach Taft and Fisher to connect to the Wingra Creek Path.  Project Information

Greentree-Chapel Hills Park Path
As a part of the McKenna Blvd Flood Mitigation Project the path through the Greentree-Chapel Hills Parkis closed. This path provides a route from Elver Park to Schroeder Rd and Chapel Hill Rd. A marked detour will be in place and will use neighborhood streets except for a small section on Hammersley Rd. In addition, McKenna Blvd is  reduced to one lane in each direction from Morraine View Dr to Jacobs Way. Bicyclists who normally use McKenna Blvd should detour through Elver Park to avoid this section of roadway. Project Information

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

Dane County
The Capital City Trail from Fish Hatchery Rd to Seminole Hwy is scheduled to close for pavement restoration starting Wednesday, October 2. Project Information

UW Projects
The UW has a number of ongoing construction projects affecting bicycle routes.  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 Football on Sat, Sept 21 at 11:00am (pre-game starts at 8:30am). 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
• Drive Electric Celebration on Sat, Sept 21 from 9am-Noon on the 100 block of Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
• Octo-Bear-Fest on Sat, Sept 21 from 4-11pm on the 100 block of King St
• The Ride on Sun, Sept 22 starting at 7am from American Family Drive. This ride heads east out of Madison but will impact riding in the Sun Prairie, Marshall and Cambridge areas.
• The Future of Transportation on Wed, Sept 25 from 9:30am-2pm on the 100 block of Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

ADDITIONAL  EVENTS AND NEWS

• South Madison Plan Update Bike and Talk Workshop on Sat, Sept 28 at the Goodman South Library – The City of Madison is looking for south side residents interested in discussing bicycle safety, programming and infrastructure in their neighborhood. Madison’s Pedestrian Bicycle Administrator will lead a ride and talk around the south side as part of the neighborhood plan update. There will also be time for those who prefer not to join the bike ride to share their thoughts in a workshop format. Bike Tour from 1-2:30pm and then inside the library workshop from 2:30-3:30pm. If the weather is uncooperative all activities will take place inside the library.  Please RSVP Online
• UW Madison has reapplied for a Bicycle Friendly University designation. You can help out by filling out a survey with the League of American Bicyclists.  If you haven’t completed one for the City of Madison you can fill out the Bicycle Friendly Community survey until Sun, Sept 22.