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"
BadgerFan04 Oct 18, 2011 3:46 PM
gkar Oct 18, 2011 3:56 PM
I thought some cost estimates put the added cost somewhere around 1% of the entire rebuild?
And I thought National and State laws support doing the engineering and whenever a bike lane is at all reasonable, it is required to be part of a rebuild? In terms of engineering for the approaches and the overall design, this is about as easy as such a thing would be, and perfectly safe, as it would have a full barrier away from traffic, and almost certainly be enclosed in fence (no blowing off, as if that would happen anyway, bit of a crazy misguided thought there).
mikeyd Oct 18, 2011 3:56 PM
Agreed Upon Need: Connect the Southside to downtown for bikers; I've witnessed many bike/car accidents/near-accidents on KK - this route does not enhance the riding experience and is somewhat dangerous & inconvenient especially when having to share the road with buses.
Solution: a bike path NOT on the bridge at a fraction of the cost to address the need in a non-over the top way.
I'm an avid biker - I bike to work from Cudahy to Downtown several days a week Year-Round - there aren't as many bikeable days in the winter months obviously but we have enough 30 degree sunny days which actually make for pleasant riding. There's nothing better than a beautiful bike trail - and the views from a bike bath extended from the St Francis route would be spectacular. Biking for me however, is miserable in high winds and steep inclines for miles - the Hoan has both. I often times can feel the super high winds which are consistently on the bridge trying to push my car into the adjacent lane as much as it would be nice to have I just don't think it's practical and I think it's even more dangerous being up that high in those winds.
I'm also an avid driver in my 40 mpg sedan as I often travel between Cudahy and the West side and the Hoan is the best thing to happen to the southside in terms of ease of access to Waukesha County and beyond. I want to be able to drive that bridge at 60 mph, I don't want to worry about bikers or experience additional congestion due to lane reductions on the highway either. That's not good for health or the environment either
Please let's look at other alternatives. I want to see a bike path proposal so we can compare costs and feasibilities.
BadgerFan04 Oct 18, 2011 4:21 PM
Dave Reid Oct 18, 2011 4:29 PM
Tax Payer Oct 18, 2011 4:59 PM
Tax Payer Oct 18, 2011 5:00 PM
Boots Oct 18, 2011 5:06 PM
MkeEagle2 Oct 18, 2011 6:15 PM
Can the bicyclists make the same claim?
MkeEagle2 Oct 18, 2011 6:28 PM
MkeEagle2 Oct 18, 2011 6:50 PM
MkeEagle2 Oct 18, 2011 6:54 PM