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Biking the Hoan would be better, riders conclude after trip downtown

Posted by Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel on Oct. 17, 2011

cycling, Hoan Bridge

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"

  1. The cost of building a bike lane leading directly from Milwaukee to a hotel in Rockford, Illinois would be astronomical. (I presume that's where Larson wants this thing to lead to)

    freshwater Oct 17, 2011 2:47 PM

  2. Three dozen people sympathetic to a hair-brained cause do not constitute a majority in a metropolitan area of 1.6 million people. Putting a bike lane on a freeway is STUPID. Does someone need to die to get that point across?

    noodz53022 Oct 17, 2011 2:55 PM

  3. Did Larson ride, too? Or was he unable to steal a bike?

    Izzatso Oct 17, 2011 3:14 PM

  4. I would have a better trip to work if the DOT would build me my own personal lane that went straight from my driveway to my job. No stoplights or all that pesky traffic. What's it gonna take to get it done?!

    Chuck Cecils Tooth Oct 17, 2011 3:14 PM

  5. I think it's time to push this issue. Let's show the real costs for the project. Since the bike crowds won't pay for their lane, let's explain to car, truck and motor cycle owners will pay for a few bike riders. Let's explain to taxpayers what we will have to pay just so the biking fanatics can play on an express way. We're talking millions for this to benefit who? A few dozen riders a day?

    So if you have a car, truck or bike, plan on an additional $25 for your license every year. Let's stop lying how many people will use this, how it will be this big savings, etc. It's a very expensive investment for a few dozen riders. Let's end this once and for all.

    jimtherepublican Oct 17, 2011 3:27 PM

  6. Can't wait to see how they redesign the Okhahoma left lane exit for the bikes too. Should be lots of fun avoiding the bike nazis....

    jimtherepublican Oct 17, 2011 3:28 PM

  7. No, the 5 minutes will not kill you, but the reckless fool on his phone not paying attention will.

    PharaohSpeaks Oct 17, 2011 3:29 PM

  8. Why don't they just commission a tax payer funded dedicated bicycle ferry/water taxi that bikers can take from South Shore Park to McKinley Marina? What world class city doesn't have a bicycle ferry? Do we want to be a world class city or what?

    Tommy Barrett's choo choo trolley can make a stop there!

    Hugh Jarmis Oct 17, 2011 3:31 PM

  9. Simply put, this idea is idiotic. Lets send that same 3 dozen up their on a day with 40mph crosswinds.

    SOSWisconsin Oct 17, 2011 3:31 PM

  10. Jim, for your comment below, the Oklahoma exit is not part of the Hoan bridge and would not have anything to do with this idea. Also road funding is only covered at about 50% from registration, less for federal roads like I-794, the rest come from sales tax and such. So as most people with bikes have cars, and buy things, they are paying their share.

    The real cost will be shown when the work is done on researching it, some people like to have real numbers when they release them to the public... kinda like when clean up needs to be done at the Capitol, oh wait...

    ride no evo Oct 17, 2011 3:36 PM

  11. In other non-news, twelve first graders were given plates of brussel sprouts and broccoli for lunch. Little Timmy stated the lunch was "unnerving" and a "bitter conclusion."

    Once of his classmates was heard uttering "“It would be so much easier if they would just feed us candy."

    Seriously, you cannot be reporting the thoughts of a completely biased group with an agenda already in place as news. If Larsen and/or Richards had reached the end of the route and said, "You know that really wasn't that bad" then you would have had news. This is a PR stunt.

    MikeTWI Oct 17, 2011 3:39 PM

  12. Just an FYI - the majority of people who bike also drive, so they are paying as well. This isn't about one trying to accommodate the needs of 3 dozen people, but it's about adding something to an infrastructure project that is scheduled anyways that would have a positive impact on the community. There have already been some great investments in the community surrounding biking (you should try it) - it's fan-diddly-tastic). There are plenty of things you can point to that we all pay for that we don't necessarily utilize on an individual basis.

    PharaohSpeaks Oct 17, 2011 3:40 PM

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