Biking the Hoan would be better, riders conclude after trip downtown
Biking over the Hoan would be better, three dozen bicyclists concluded Monday after dodging traffic on a purposeful ride from Humboldt Park to the Discovery World Museum.
The result was no surprise.
State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) and his legislative neighbor Rep. Jon Richards set up the lunch-time trip to show the dangers and inconvenience of the Bay View-to-downtown bike route the Wisconsin Department of Transportation chose 10 years ago. Then, the DOT rejected a proposal to add a bike and pedestrian lane to the bridge that connects the south side neighborhood to the lakeshore near Veterans Park.
Richards called it a “bitter conclusion.”
Almost the entire route is on busy streets, and bicyclists have no protection from motor vehicles. Richards called the experience pedaling on S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and S. 2nd St. “unnerving.”
Add in nearly 20 intersections, and the confusing route is clearly inferior to the alternative: a bike and pedestrian pathway on the 2.5-mile Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge, Larson said.
“It would be so much easier to say go over the most beautiful bridge you see, and that’s going to connect you,” Larson said.
The ride was part of the current campaign to change the yet-to-be-completed path chosen in 2002.
Larson, Richards and cycling advocates have a window of opportunity to make their case, while the DOT again studies the feasibility of a bike lane as part of the planning for a reconstruction of the bridge scheduled to start in 2013.
A report on the cost and engineering challenges of adding a bike route, separated by a safety barrier, is set to be released later this year.
“This is a 40-year opportunity; a generational opportunity,” Larson said, as he gathered the group outside the Humboldt Park Pavilion.
The ride reinforced the impressions the bikers brought to the street.
“I prefer not to have all the stop signs and traffic,” said Debra Tuckwood, a member of the Bay View Bicycle Club. “I probably wouldn’t want to do it by myself.”
Tuckwood was one of the thousands who took the opportunity to ride the Hoan during the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts in June. That experience convinced her that the slope and wind would be easily overcome.
“I was surprised it was as easy as it was,” Tuckwood said.
Larson urged the riders, a mix of old and young, some on clunky mountain bikes and others on recumbents, to press business owners and state officials to see the benefits of opening the Hoan to bikers and walkers.
Their task is to convince opponents like Sheriff David Clarke and Gov. Scott Walker, who have called a bike lane on the Hoan too costly and too dangerous.
The group that traveled down S. 2nd St. doesn’t need further persuasion.
279 Comments for "Biking the Hoan would be better, riders conclude after trip downtown"
MKEJake Oct 17, 2011 4:32 PM
MKEJake Oct 17, 2011 4:32 PM
MKEJake Oct 17, 2011 4:35 PM
MKEJake Oct 17, 2011 4:36 PM
Just a week ago a car broke down on the Hoan and a guy was killed because his car was rear ended while he was looking at the engine.
Add in nasty crosswinds up there, which are strong enough to blow my Jeep Grand Cherokee all over the place I just don't know how someone can convince anyone this is safe for bikers & drivers.
brewcitypaul Oct 17, 2011 4:45 PM
ShowMeYourArchambeau Oct 17, 2011 4:48 PM
MikeTWI Oct 17, 2011 4:49 PM
MKEJake Oct 17, 2011 4:49 PM
honeyBdgr Oct 17, 2011 4:50 PM
More Bikes = fewer cars on the roads
Fewer cars on the roads = less money spent on road maintenance and repair
Over 2 Million Wisconsin residents ride bicycles regularly (Source - DNR report, 3/2011)
Less than 1 million Wisconsin residents Hunt annually (Source - DNR report 3/2011)
The combined expenditures for Pedestrian and bike infrastructure in the 2011/13 WI Budget is less than 0.24% of the total transportation budget.
Since 1967 The State of WI has spent a total of $244 Million dollars on dedicated bicycling infrastructure.
The ANNUAL tourism revenue generated by bicycling in WI is $924 Million. In other words, every year bicycling generates 400% return on the total investment of the last 44 years.
According to a DOT traffic count study performed in OCTOBER 2003 80,000 bicyclists use the designated bike routes on each side of the Hoan.
Chicago recently constructed its first European-style protected bike lane or “cycle track” on Kinzie Street. According to a traffic study conducted in Chicago this summer Bicycle traffic on the street increased 60% after the cycle track was installed. Even more importantly, bicycles now make up 48% of peak hour traffic there.
I am running out of allowable characters or I would go on.
What the above facts make clear is that there is a large number of people who ride bikes in WI, and also who ride adjacent to the Hoan bridge. There is definitely a reasonable case for a need.
Additionally, history shows that Wisconsin's investments in bicycling infrastructure pay off phenomenally well.
The Hoan is already scheduled to have the decking replaced in 2013. The cost will be relatively unchanged by the addition of a bike lane. The only question is the configuration of the decking.
The business case is there for the bike lane.
BDWIRunner Oct 17, 2011 4:53 PM
Christophorus Oct 17, 2011 4:54 PM