-----Original Message----- From: Oeth, Jim [mailto:JIM.OETH@aecom.com] Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 2:17 PM To: Barta, Larry Subject: RE: [Bikies] Losing ground Larry, here are my thoughts: I am not sure what the marked bike lane width was prior to construction. The new bike lane widths are straight from the manual. Prior to construction, the pavement on Seminole south of the intersection had markings for a bike lane and a driving lane in each direction. While this condition clearly defined the bike lane, the driving lane was more loosely defined being used for both straight and turning movements. The new roadway width is actually wider, but there is more definition to lanes with separate marked left, right, and straight through lanes in addition to the marked bike lane. Because of the added definition, I suspect there could be a perception that everything "feels" narrower. Prior to construction, bicyclists entering the intersection from the south encountered difficulties because it is an uphill slope, and cars would come up from their behind and cross over the bike lane to turn right onto the frontage road. There was a very small right turn lane at the intersection, and right turners would regularly back up due to the insufficient storage and encroach on the bike lane. The new roadway width substantially lengthened the right turn lane, and also placed the mark bicycle lane between the right turn lane and the through lane (as per the manual). The northbound approach has a 10-ft left turn lane, an 11-ft thru lane, a 5-ft bike lane, and a 10-ft to flange (12-ft to face) right turn lane. All of these are commonly accepted lane widths in urban settings. The Bike Federation of Wisconsin (BFW) was coordinated with during development of project and had an opportunity to comment on proposed work. They fully supported the proposed work, and felt the project accommodated bicycle needs well (see attached memo). David Vogt, Deputy Executive Director of the BFW attended the first Public Information Meeting on January 10, 2008 (his comments are included in the attached memo). Jim

-----Original Message----- From: Pamperin-Volk, Mary Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 8:09 AM To: Barta, Larry Subject: RE: [Bikies] Losing ground I like Jim Oeth's response. Only thing to add is to indicate what manual he is referring to in the first sentence. If it the WisDOT Bike Design Handbook, or the 1999 AASHTO Guide For Bike Facilities? In any case, they give the same answer. The concerned bikie should be directed to those manuals as a source to better understand how agencies decide when/where/how we plan our bike facilities. Also we should delete the sentence "I'm not sure what the marked bike lane width was prior to construction." Other things to consider: - Did the pavement get striped per plan? Or did the bike lane become narrower and the right turn lane or the through lane become wider? - This project should have been reviewed with the City of Madison (maybe it was) to see if it meets their levels of accommodating bikes. Arthur Ross is the city contact for bike issues. We may not be able to address all the bike facility needs they want, but we should start our design with a discussion of their needs. Mary Pamperin-Volk WisDOT Southwest Region Multi-Modal Coordinator WisDOT SW Region Madison Office 2101 Wright St Madison WI 53704 608-242-8018 Think of the Future and Do the Right Thing - Dick Madrzak 1997

-----Original Message----- From: Fernandez, Anthony Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 12:42 PM To: Nelson, Larry Subject: RE: Seminole Interchange Bike Lane Striping Larry, I measured some of the bike lanes on Seminole Hwy and the south frontage road this morning, and there are some small problems. Note that for bike lanes adjacent to curb I made all measurements from the edge of gutter to the outside curb side) of the bike lane marking. I believe it is standard practice with WisDOT to locate white lane line markings to the left of the theoretical lane location. Also WisDOT's Wisconsin Bicycle Facility Design Handbook (2004)Section 3.4 clearly states that the 4' dimension is a clear dimension between the gutter joint and the outside edge of the marking line. I checked with Mark Winter on City policy, and we normally locate lane lines centered on their theoretical location EXCEPT bike lane markings, which we normally locate to the left of the theoretical line to give the full bike lane clear width to the bikes. Based on that standard, nearly all the bike lanes are sub-standard, but some by only a couple inches. Here's a summary South leg, SB lane: 47" West leg, EB Lane: 45" West Leg, WB lane: 45" North leg, SB lane: 46" North leg, NB lane: 45" East leg, WB lane: 45" East leg, EB lane: 46" South leg,NB south of the RT turn Lane: 48: : 46" center to center of lines The biggest problem here by far is the last line. Where the bike lane is between the thru lane and the RTL it should be 5' wide, and this is what is shown on the plans. In this case it is less than 4' even if you measure center to center of lines. On the south leg, NB south of the RTL we have the full 48" but it looks like less because there is still a trace of the old lines, which were about 8" further from the curb. I did not measure things north of the Beltline of for any distance down the frontage roads, but we probably have the same problems. I think we should request that the State's Construction Engineer for this project do a more systematic job than I did of measuring these and get back to us. Tony Fernandez afernandez@cityofmadison.com voice: 608-266-9219 fax: 608-264-9275

-----Original Message----- From: Nelson, Larry Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 2:09 PM To: 'Barta, Larry' Cc: Fernandez, Anthony; Dryer, David Subject: RE: Seminole Interchange Bike Lane Striping You will probably recall this issue of the widths of the bike lanes on Seminole, which was raised by a biker. We checked the plans and the plan dimensions are correct. However, the actual marking is not per plans. (See the following message from Tony Fernandez. Admittedly, this is only 3 - inches off but the bike lanes are critical for the safety of the biker and we want to be respectful of this mode of transporation. Please advise.