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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. Ronny no one is against exercise, entitlement however be it Hoan Bikers, Brewers and the NLCS, and Occupiers who want their debts forgiven are something else.

    ub355 Oct 17, 2011 9:10 PM

  2. You are aware that the guys car was stopped in a lane of traffic? For some odd, reason, I suspect that a bike lane would be separated from vehicle traffic lanes. Duh.

    KWB24 Oct 17, 2011 9:11 PM

  3. You want everyone to pay their fair share...fine, lets set up tolls. For EVERYONE in proportion to the wear and tear on the road surface.

    Ronny Oct 17, 2011 9:12 PM

  4. I agree that everyone needs to pay attention ( I saw a kid fly through a red on Oakland....amazing). But what is with the animosity towards bikers? I drive a lot and bike a lot and I can tell you from biking that drivers are just so aggressive. Is it really worth injuring or killing someone to shave 15-30 seconds off a commute. I suppose we've become a me, me, me society and common decency is just plain lost.

    PharaohSpeaks Oct 17, 2011 9:13 PM

  5. You do understand that bikes will not ravel in traffic lanes, don't you?

    KWB24 Oct 17, 2011 9:14 PM

  6. Since when are roads and sidewalks entitlements? Roads predates cars and trucks. Bicycles came first. So many you "cagers" are looking for the entitlements.

    Ronny Oct 17, 2011 9:15 PM

  7. The Hoan Bridge should not be torn down as it represents a time in Milwaukee when the politicians actually got something done and Milwaukee had an Expressway Commission that acted in an apolitical manner. The result: a freeway system that many Milwaukeeans drive each day and have for the past 50 years. That is a testament to true public service. City Hall and the County Building are mere shadows of their former greatness.

    lawrev Oct 17, 2011 9:15 PM

  8. What Oklahoma exit are you babbling about?

    KWB24 Oct 17, 2011 9:17 PM

  9. Speed limit drops to 40mph further south on 794. Its 35mph over such great bridges as the Lions Gate in Vancouver and the Golden Gate....Do you people enjoy anything in life except complaining? Roads came before cars and trucks. Bicycles were here first so suck it.

    Ronny Oct 17, 2011 9:19 PM

  10. Where are you getting this $25 million dollars? Is this another one of your guesses? And no, I don't think this is the cure-all to Milwaukee's problems. I think there are a lot of things that need to happen, and this is something that adds to the value of the city. For your information, I would also like to see an extended freeway system on the north side and through the city as freeways bring commerce. But I also think that if we have a chance to add a fraction of the cost to a project to expand our recreational and bike transportation capabilities, we make MIlwaukee a better, more connected city. I think you underestimate just how many people bike. With health care costs spiraling out of control shouldn't we do what we can to help people facilitate a healthy lifestyle? Belittle all you want.......but there are people trying to make this city better.

    PharaohSpeaks Oct 17, 2011 9:33 PM

  11. Great points ronny, some are just ignorant. "Entitlement" is a fun buzzword to toss out for the easily manipulated when our tax dollars are being spent on things that benefit commerce and quality of life for the middle class. Can you just imagine the hand wringing folks like this engaged in after the model T came out and people wanted more paved roads? I pay taxes with the expectation that they will be spent to benefit me and everyone else in some way so you're darn right I feel "entitled" to those benefits.

    12>4 Oct 17, 2011 9:49 PM

  12. Seriously Milwaukee, you can bike across the Golden Gate Bridge for crying out loud! Biking on KK is a health hazard! Get out of your cars and see what the rest of the country is doing...

    bikingiscool Oct 17, 2011 9:56 PM

  13. Yeah, we shouldn't tear down or renovate the Pabst Brewery because it represents Milwaukee. We also shouldn't have demolished County Stadium because of it's history in Milwaukee. Honestly, this logic can be used with any aging structure. If the bridge is town down, which it will in the next 70-100 years, the arches should be preserved or incorporated in the new design.

    KWOakCreek Oct 17, 2011 10:14 PM

  14. If we approved this thing, but said it must be built with non-union labor, which state would Senator Larson run and hide in?

    freshwater Oct 17, 2011 10:14 PM

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