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UPAF, Rock 'n Sole secure use of the Hoan; cycling commuters look to the street

Posted by Tom Held on Jan. 3, 2012

Hoan Bridge

Cycling advocates in Milwaukee are looking to put some air back in their tires after the Department of Transportation punctured the proposal for a bike and pedestrian lane on the Hoan Memorial Bridge.

The lobbying effort gained momentum throughout the year, and more than 5,000 people signed a petition supporting the addition of a non-motorized pathway in an upcoming rehabilitation of the bridge over the Port of Milwaukee.

The DOT, however, decided the bike lane on the two-mile bridge was too expensive and would create too much congestion for motorists.

With the path over the Hoan blocked, here’s a look at the patch kit (map) for cycling commuters and recreational bikers looking to travel between Bay View and Downtown.

First, the bridge will once again be open for special events.

Organizers of the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts and the Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole confirmed they have secured permission to use the Hoan Bridge in 2012.

The bike ride and the run provided the first legal access to the bridge for non-motorized traffic in decades, and more than 10,000 bikers and runners seized the opportunity.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer cyclists over Southeast Wisconsin the opportunity to ride on the beautiful Hoan Bridge,” said Linda Edelstein, chief operating officer of the United Performing Arts Fund. “We’re excited the DOT has offered that opportunity to do that again.”

Could more events utilize the Hoan?

In comments on the bike lane proposal, advocates suggested the Hoan be opened for more events similar to the Ride the Drive in Chicago and the walks held over the bridge in the years after it first opened.

Emlynn Grisar, a DOT spokeswoman, said the department would continue to cooperate with community sponsors for special events.

For daily travels, cyclists will have to make do with the improvements scheduled to be made along the on-street route from Bay View to Downtown.

It’s a stripped-down version of the bikeway plan selected by the DOT in 2002, when it also rejected the Hoan Bridge proposal. Work on the route languished for nearly a decade but is now on track to be finished in the next two years.

A combination of two projects totaling $3.45 million will create the north-south route for bicycles, with two southern starting points: South Shore Park; and the intersection of S. 6th St. and Rosedale, in Bay View. The end point will be Erie St. in the Third Ward.

The first segment, a raised bike lane or cycle track on a short section of S. Bay St., opened in October.

In 2012, work will begin on several elements of the bike route along Kinnickinnic Ave. and S. Water St.

The bike lane on Kinnickinnic from Bay St. to Maple Ave. will be painted and non-slip plates will be installed to make the ride safer on the bridge over the KK River.

At Maple Ave., the route will link to a path built in the former Union Pacific Rail Corridor. The off-street path will extend for roughly six blocks, to Washington St. There, the route will turn east and follow a bike lane installed as part of the reconstruction of S. Water St., in an industrial corridor.

As part of the Water St. reconstruction, more than a half-dozen railroad crossings will be removed or repaired to make the route more ride-able north to the marked bike lanes on Erie St.

At that point, cyclists can follow the marked lanes leading east to the Henry Maier Festival Grounds and the Lakeshore State Park.

The Water St. route is scheduled to be completed in 2012, according to Mike Loughern, coordination manager in the Milwaukee Department of Public Works.

Other than the rail corridor and a short off-road segment along Water St., there will be no raised bike lanes or barriers separating cyclists from motorists.

Construction on the Kinnickinnic River Trail segment is also set to start in 2012.

An off-street path will be built on the rail corridor from 6th and Rosedale to E. Lincoln Ave., just east of S. 1st St.  A bridge, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will carry cyclists and pedestrians over S. Chase Ave.

From Lincoln, cyclists would return to the street and travel on the bike lanes marked on the rebuilt S. 1st St., and join the Bay View to Downtown Route at Maple Ave.

“This will be a great improvement and a logical route for cyclists,” Loughern said.

William Sell disagrees.

The route being built for bicyclists is convoluted at best, with limited segments of pathway separated from traffic, he said.

The Bay View resident was a citizen member of the advisory committee that started studying the various routes, including Hoan Bridge, in 1997. Since then, Sell has maintained a website promoting a bike path on the Hoan and helped collect more than 5,000 signatures on a petition calling for the high-rise route.

“I think it’s a vision of what we can do for our city,” Sell said. “Instead we get these convoluted bikeways, and a raised bike lane that’s only four blocks long.”

Sell remains committed to the pursuit of a bike lane on the Hoan, even if it’s merely painted on the roadway.

Kevin Hardman, executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, will follow a different route.

The proposal to put a bike lane on the Hoan drew support from 40 local business leaders, including top managers at Johnson Controls, Robert W. Baird & Co. and Rockwell. The Bike Fed will work to build on that mainstream support for cycling as it pursues more investment in bike routes and support for a vulnerable user law, Hardman said.

Below is a map of the Bay View to Downtown route.

 

15 Comments for "UPAF, Rock 'n Sole secure use of the Hoan; cycling commuters look to the street"

  1. "Sell remains committed to the pursuit of a bike lane on the Hoan, even if it’s merely painted on the roadway."

    I couldn't imagine anything more dangerous than this. Mr. Sells should move on instead of hanging on to crazy ideas that would put people into harms way. The above mentioned route looks perfectly fine to me and much cheaper than the alternative.

    JTBA Jan 03, 2012 7:08 AM

  2. The Bay View to Downtown route does not look convoluted. Sell is a bad example of advocacy. His inability to compromise does not serve him nor the issue. The article mentions that the route has been in the works since 2002; had this group and their leaders been willing to compromise then this route would be complete by now!

    How many more bike routes could have been constructed in these 10 years? And how much tax money has been spent studying the same issue over and over? Money that could have been used to develop more routes.

    Stas66 Jan 03, 2012 7:23 AM

  3. So bicycles on the Hoan Bridge roadway would be "put[ting] people in harm's way", but bicycles on city streets, with dozens of intersections, driveways, and crosswalks is somehow less dangerous? For the record, I'm just fine with the on-street route proposed (although the Hoan route makes more sense and is safer for several reasons), but to argue that the Hoan route would have been more dangerous than an on-street route is inaccurate. I've done both and there is far less potential danger on the Hoan.

    rivwst Jan 03, 2012 7:50 AM

  4. The Hoan pedestrian lane would have been separated from traffic by a concrete wall. It would not have been in traffic. No one, to my knowledge, ever suggested that cars, trucks, bicycles, and pedestrians would have shared the same lanes.

    rivwst Jan 03, 2012 8:18 AM

  5. You may want to reread my post or the article. A painted line separating high volume traffic that regularly moves faster than the 50 mph speed limit does not seem safer than the route that is under construction.

    JTBA Jan 03, 2012 8:24 AM

  6. The fact that traffic moves faster than the 50mph speed limit on the Hoan is a problem, one that the Sheriff's Department should be on top of, but isn't. If people are speeding, they should be ticketed. I would choose a marked bike lane on the Hoan even if it wasn't physically separated from traffic over the route that follows city streets because, in my experience, most close calls happen at intersections or where cars pulling out of driveways from businesses enter the roadway. That's my preference based on tens of thousands of miles of riding. But again, I'm fine with the route that follows city streets, as long as it's actually completed and not just talked about. I agree with Sell that we need to concentrate on completed bicycle routes and not the segmented approach that seems to be the way that things are done. I also agree that the Hoan idea is probably and unfortunately dead and we should concentrate on making the on-street route as good as possible.

    rivwst Jan 03, 2012 8:42 AM

  7. I always felt when this bridge was built it should of included the possibility of foot traffic and tourist interest. It would of been great if a tour bus parking spot was design into the bridge for a photo ops. Don't see why engineers could not come up with an idea to add a second deck for bikes.

    So much of Milwaukee planning held onto its old bridge wars ideas to build with limited vision for the future. Convention center and tourist areas parked along side police and jail facilities. Downtown mega mall with no attached hotels. Old sky bridge from the federal building built too low for the circus parade. A beautiful lake front chopped up with disconnected streets for a bike trail. Bradley and down arena area built with no thought for parking. No hotels in walking distance for summerfest or state fair.

    Always it was the drama to think logically for better city planning. Big fight over just presenting a possible idea in the 60s to move state fair out to Waukesha which had more land space.

    Standard operating procedure - reject all new ideas, put down those with new ideas, build walls to keep out new ideas and request more federal money for the poverty that for some unknown reason keeps growing.

    Ticket Taker Jan 03, 2012 8:43 AM

  8. @rivwst, would you rather get clipped by a driver going 20 mph on south water, or a driver going 50 mph on the hoan?

    i bike commute from bayview to downtown, and this plan seems way more cost effective than a separated bike lane on the hoan.

    waxworks Jan 03, 2012 9:32 AM

  9. As all of these routes are planned it is also important to incorporate the runner, walker, etc. As more people use the multi-use paths for biking, there are more conflicts between them and people on foot. Many bicyclists exercise the same lack of care with regard to pedestrians that they (rightfully) complain about with vehicles. Tom - maybe it is time to do a blog post about these conflicts - and what the appropriate etiquette is.

    Runner Girl Jan 03, 2012 9:51 AM

  10. @Runner Girl, you're right. That topic was somewhat addressed on the 'And the same goes for you Lance wannabes on the Oak Leaf Trail' post a while ago.

    It's important to differentiate between bike trails and general use trails though. The Oak Leaf trail is general use, it sounds like the converted rail corridor described above will also be general use.

    waxworks Jan 03, 2012 10:10 AM

  11. The same could be said about walkers/runners. Many travel two or three abreast down the path. Others insist on running down the dead center of the path while wearing headphones--making them oblivious to the sound of a bicycle bell.

    ChronicWhiner Jan 03, 2012 10:13 AM

  12. My point was that we need to address the issue from both sides as I don't recall that any trail is designated for bicycles only. People with headphones are an issue, few bikers use bells or warn pedestrians, what IS the standard for pedestrians - for or against bike traffic?, etc. I am personally alert to my surroundings yet am often forced off the Oak Leaf Trail by bicyclists who provide no warning (they are also wearing headphones often). Of course, then you get to the issue of bicyclists riding on sidewalks (especially downtown) either to get out of traffic or to not have to go around the block on a one-way...

    I am a bicyclist (sometimes) and see the need for everyone to be more sensitive to others. Unfortunately, we are not like the Twin Cities where the trails are designated for specific uses and there is no conflict.

    Runner Girl Jan 03, 2012 1:31 PM

  13. There are bike lanes which are designated bikes only, but sometimes you'll see roller-bladers and runners using them for some reason. It's annoying, but not a big deal.

    It's everyone's responsibility to use the general use trails safely and courteously. For pedestrians, that means leaving clearance for cyclists to pass. For cyclists, that means calling a heads up and passing at a sane speed. Based on my own anecdotal experience, cyclists tend to be more of a problem. The Oak Leaf Trail is not a velodrome, but I always see cyclists gunning it down hills & around corners, it's really stupid. I bike commute 8 miles/weekday, and there's no way I would use the trail at those speeds. Those cyclists don't know what they're doing, frankly.

    waxworks Jan 03, 2012 2:03 PM

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