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"
The speed limit on the Golden Gate is 45 mph (which means 50-55 in normal, real-world travel). I was just there.
You need to slow down for the tolls (duh), but it's 45 on the main span.
BigJim Oct 18, 2011 9:53 AM
dasfix Oct 18, 2011 10:03 AM
MapleBacon Oct 18, 2011 10:06 AM
MapleBacon Oct 18, 2011 10:09 AM
Even if traffic is increasing it is still FAR less than that on I-43 at Brown Deer Rd (a 4-lane highway).
Why does I-794 need 6 lanes for 42,900 daily vehicles when I-43 handles 72,800 vehicles with only 4 lanes?
The Hoan can do just fine with 4 lanes. Give the other two lanes over to bikes/pedestrians.
sources:
for Hoan traffic:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee2010-i794.pdf
for I-43 traffic:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/counts/docs/milwaukee/milwaukee2010-i43n.pdf
TransitRider Oct 18, 2011 10:09 AM
If they have a single, combined north-south bike lane, bikers will be in for a rude awakening the first time they're hit with the wind blast from a truck traveling 50-60 mph in the opposite direction, particularly on a windy day.
Truck blast is bad enough on an 800lb motorcycle occupying an entire "normal sized" lane, so I can only imagine what it would be like on a bicycle traveling within in the relatively close quarters of a bike lane.
BigJim Oct 18, 2011 10:13 AM
According the the Federal Highway Administration...
"There are no Federal laws or regulations that prohibit shared use paths along or near Interstate highways or other freeways. Bicycle and pedestrian accommodations may be allowed on Interstate and other major highways and freeways. Bridges are essential in any transportation network, and many Interstate or other freeway bridges often are the only possible bridges across rivers, canyons, railroads, other highways, or other major barriers. Major highway bridges often are necessary links for nonmotorized transportation networks.
"Bicyclists and pedestrians should be accommodated in new construction in corridors where there is current or potential demand. Under 23 U.S.C. 217(g), transportation plans must consider bicycle and pedestrian accommodations."
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/freeways.htm
TransitRider Oct 18, 2011 10:18 AM
You have obviously never ridden anything on two wheels in windy conditions, because the notion that a car/truck/SUV gets blown around more than a bicycle (or even a motorcycle) is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
Tell you what: Borrow your neighbor's bicycle and take it out in a 25-30 mph crosswind some day. See if your uninformed "theory" holds water. (Trust me, it doesn't.)
BigJim Oct 18, 2011 10:23 AM
MapleBacon Oct 18, 2011 10:24 AM
See page 22 of:
http://www.themilwaukeestreetcar.com/pdf/BOARDS_FINAL_for_WEB.pdf
TransitRider Oct 18, 2011 10:26 AM
MapleBacon Oct 18, 2011 10:27 AM
30 people -- most of whom are almost certainly proponents of a Hoan Bridge bike lane -- showed up at an event organized specifically to "show the dangers and inconvenience of the Bay View-to-downtown bike route".
I've seen my share of lame publicity stunts over the years, but this one is near the top of the all-time list.
The only question I have is why the J-S even bothered to cover it.
BigJim Oct 18, 2011 10:35 AM
Portland has both light rail AND streetcars on its streets; Portland also has lots of bicycles; one doesn't stop the other.
TransitRider Oct 18, 2011 10:38 AM
Doc B Oct 18, 2011 11:03 AM