Madison’s Common Council voted to reconfigure N. Sherman Ave from a four-lane to a two-way with a center left turn lane. During the testimony, several issues were raised by opponents, and rehashed later on talk radio that I would like to fact-check for posterity.
Claim: The Alder rushed the process through and did not give businesses a chance to respond.
An announcement of a public meeting about N. Sherman appeared on the city website on September 19th of 2012. In addition, the Alder, Satya Rhodes-Conway, sent postcards announcing the hearing to every address in the City within several blocks of N. Sherman between Northport and Fordem.
45 people attended the October 2nd meeting, including Northside Business Association members Steve Nelson and Margo Dixon. 27 people chose to speak during the hearing, and cards distributed at the meeting resulted in 6 pages of public comments. At the meeting, Satya made it very clear that her intention was to take the public input and have Traffic Engineering create a proposal that would be voted on in early 2013.
Claim: The 2001 test proves the reconfiguration won’t work.
The 2001 test involved setting up traffic barrels on N. Sherman between Aberg and Roth. The test was terminated by the Pedestrian-Bicycle-Motor-Vehicle commission due to problems associated with the test. The termination of the test prevented Traffic Engineering from completing their data collection, which in turn meant the results were not reliable. Had the test been allowed to continue, it is likely that Traffic Engineering would have extended the test region a bit further north so the transition point (which is the most critical element) was further away from the intersection. It is also likely that a full test would have resulted in more drivers becoming accustomed to the change, and the result would be a better understanding of the long-term performance of the reconfiguration.
Claim: The number of bicycle trips stated in the engineering report is inflated.
Several counts along various parts of N. Sherman were performed by volunteers and supervised by an employee of Alta Planning + Design. Alta developed a model based on more rigorous counts in other cities that allows a small set of key data to be extrapolated into an estimation of total bicycle trip counts. The report clearly states that the 447 trips number is an order of magnitude estimation suitable for use in city planning.
Claim: This reconfiguration is a tipping point for Frugal Muse books, who may move as a result of the change.
I contacted Frugal Muse books, that here is their response:
“Our lease on the N. Sherman Ave location comes up soon, and what rent we manage to negotiate will be a much bigger factor than street reconfiguration. The street reconfiguration will just be one of several factors we will need to consider.”
Claim: The Alder is linked to UN Agenda 21, an international conspiracy to force people out of their cars.
I contacted Satya Rhodes-Conway about this claim and here is her response:
“I don’t know anyone at the UN. My household owns two cars, a Corolla and a Tacoma. I’d like to see someone try and keep us from driving them. I’d also like to see someone try to keep us from riding one of our five bicycles.”
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Great comment on keeping Satya out of her cars or off her bike. The idea of a blue helmet preventing anyone from getting in their car cracks me up.