Q: What is the Bicycling Community Page (BCP)?
Q: What do you mean 'our area'?
Q: Can you put up a link to our site ?
Q: Can you recommend a fun bike ride?
Q: Some of the links are broken! Can you fix them?
Q: Do you know where I can find Acme bike widgets?
Q: What do I need to know about biking in Madison?
Q: Who do we talk to about traffic light timing (in Madison) ?
Q: Who do I talk to about street problems?
Q: How do I report a lost/stolen/abandoned bike ?
Q: Where do I send questions/complaints about buses? ?
Q: Where can I donate my bike ?
Q: ?
Q: Hey! some idiot in a deathmobile almost killed me! What do I do ?
Q: What are the consequences of a hit-and-run in Wisconsin ?
Q: What are the consequences for drunk driving ?
Q: Can I ride on the sidewalk ?
Q: What is the legal status of a bike path?
Q: What are bulb-outs and raised speed tables ?
Q: ?
Q: ?
Q: What Official Bike Persons should I contact with my Hard (and not-very-frequently-asked) Questions??
Q: What do I do if I'm attacked by a dog?
Q: What is the Bicycling Community Page (BCP)?
A: See our standard blurbs .
Q: What do you mean 'our area'?
A: Basically, Dane county. We are demographically biased in favor of the city of Madison, but many of us live,work,play and/or agitate elsewhere.
A: Sure. Just follow our very loose guidelines.
Q: Can you put up a link to our site ?
A: If its related to bicyling, sure. The best way is to use one of our handy forms.
Be aware that this is a volunteer operation, and we may not be able to add your link immediately. We also reserve the right to determine what is 'bicycle-related'. A:Both the City of Madison and Dane County have
bike maps.
Printed copies are available at most
bike shops. The
county map is also available
at these list places . (some of those places
may also have the city map).
The maps are available on the web, but are
rather large (2.6 and 1 Megabytes, respectively):
Note:
That link to the Dane County RPC site is no longer current.
The Madison Area MPO will have an updated version of this bike map on our Web site (www.MadisonAreaMPO.org) when it goes public in the next couple of weeks. Until then, you can download a current version of the bike map on the Dane County LIO site at http://216.56.2.131/lio/Gis/mapcatalog.asp#bikemap
Q: Can you recommend a fun bike ride?
A:
Everyone's idea of 'fun' is a little different. Maybe you want
to take a spin around Lake Monona. Or ride out to Spring
Green and back.
For starters, pick up one our local bike maps.
The BCP hosts many cue sheets describing fun and/or interesting
rides in and around Dane County, WI. Here is a brief list (perhaps someday
this list will have a page of its own!)
The touring section
has reports on some fun rides, as well as general tips.
Harry Read has a wonderfully annotated set of
of tours of the Lake Mendota watershed.
Cue sheets for the popular
Wednesday night rides
are fun, even if you can't join them on Wednesday.
Consider joining one of the many
organized rides, such as the aforementioned Wednesday
Night Rides, or see our other
local bike groups
Q: Some of the links are broken! Can you fix them?
A: Yes, links do break. You can report them to the webmaster: bcp@danenet.org. It would be very helpful if you can tell me which BCP page you found it on, and if you happen to know what the correct link is.
Q: Do you know where I can find Acme bike widgets?
A:Unfortunately your humble BCP webmaster (probably)
does not know off the top of
his head where to find the information you seek.
Try our list of manufacturers.
Or, try asking at your local bike shop.
You might also try the rec.bicycles.misc Usenet newsgroup.
If you find the answer on a web page we don't have, please
tell us where it is,
preferably with our
link submission form
Q: What do I need to know about biking in Madison?
A: See our Welcome! page. In particular, you are required to register your bicycle.
Q: Who do we talk to about traffic light timing (in Madison) ?
A:
If you want to report a problem with a traffic signal not
working, or not responding to bicycle presence, call the Traffic
Engineering Shop at 266-4767. To discuss a timing change such as you are
proposing, call the TE office at 266-4761.
(answer courtesty Arthur Ross).
Q: Who do I talk to about street problems?
A:
See the back of the City's bike map (as is a lot of
info on both bicyclist's rights and responsibilities). For street problems
call the City's Streets Division 266-4681,
or email streets@ci.madison.wi.us.
For bike paths, call the Parks Division 266-4711.
All bicyclists will thank you for reporting needed
maintenance. Please give them as complete a location as possible so the
crew doesn't have to waste time trying to figure out what and where the
problem is - - street name, block number, which side of the street, nearby
landmark, etc.).
Maintenance on the Southwest Path is done by Engineering Services, not
Parks. Call Engineering Services (1602 Emil Street) 266-4430.
Q: How do I report a lost/stolen/abandoned bike ?
A:
For bikes on City of Madison property you can call the Bicycle
Recovery Unit (a.k.a. Lost and Found Bikes) at 267-8611, voice mail
available if no one is there to answer.
You may also E-mail to
cheywood@ci.madison.wi.us as another option.
It really helps if you've
registered your bike .
Also check out the Police Auction page on
the Police website for auction information.
Q: Where do I send questions/complaints about buses? ?
A:
Buses in our area are run by Madison Metro, and oversight is
by the Transit Commission. Share your ideas
by filling a
feedback web form , or calling their Customer Service
number 266-4466, or by email: Metrobus@cityofmadison.com.
You'll get a much better answer if you give them
specific information: date, time of day, location,
direction of bus, route # or bus #, nature of incident
To receive a weekly copy of 'Rider Alert', E-mail
metrobus@cityofmadison.com
and type "Subscribe".
Q: Where can I donate my bike ?
A:
Locally, the best place is the
Wheels for Winners program, particularly
if its a kid-sized bike.
Rumor has it that you can also donate to
Pedals for Progress, at the annual
Wheel and Sprocket Bike Expo.
PFP collects over 11,000 bicycles annually and ships them to developing
countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands.
Q: ?
A:
Q: Hey! some idiot in a deathmobile almost killed me! What do I do ?
A:
Regardless of the severity of the situation, you should probably
do most or all of the following:
Q: What are the consequences of a hit-and-run in Wisconsin ?
A:
Q: What are the consequences for drunk driving ?
A:
Q: Can I ride on the sidewalk ?
A:
Wisconsin state
laws do not permit riding on sidewalks in general, but allow municipalities to
permit doing so. ( http://www.dot.state.wi.us/dtim/bop/pdf/bp-bikestat.pdf
346.94(1) & 346.804 )
In Madison, you can ride on sidewalks that are not
adjacent to storefronts.
Note that Effective Cycling
discourges sidewalk riding.
Q: What is the legal status of a bike path?
A:
State Statutes do not include a definition for a "bicycle path",
only for a "bicycle way" - - 340.01(5s) "Bicycle way" means any path or
sidewalk or portion thereof designated for the use of bicycles by the
governing body of any city, town, village or county.
The basic right-of-way rules for using bicycle ways makes it clear that
these are intended for pedestrians as well (and those using other human
powered conveyances):
346.803 Riding bicycle on bicycle way. (1) Every person operating a
bicycle upon a bicycle way shall:
(a) Exercise due care and give an audible signal when passing a bicycle
rider or a pedestrian proceeding in the same direction.
(b) Obey each traffic signal or sign facing a roadway which runs
parallel and adjacent to a bicycle way.
(2) Every person operating a bicycle upon a bicycle way open to 2-way
traffic shall ride on the right side of the bicycle way.
(3) Every operator of a bicycle entering a bicycle way shall yield the
right-of-way to all bicycles and pedestrians in the bicycle way.
Note that the federal AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle
Facilities no longer includes any references to bicycle paths. This
term has been replaced with:
Shared Use Path - - A bikeway physically separated from motorized
vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier and either within the
highway right-of-way or within a separate right-of-way. Shared use
paths may also be used by pedestrians, skaters, wheelchair users,
joggers and other non-motorized users.
(NOTE: Motorized wheelchair users are pedestrians under Wisconsin
State Statutes.)
State Statutes are also clear that motor vehicles are not to be driven
on bicycle ways:
346.94(12) DRIVING ON BICYCLE LANE OR BICYCLE WAY. No operator of a
motor vehicle may drive upon a bicycle lane or bicycle way except to
enter a driveway, to merge into a bicycle lane before turning at an
intersection, or to enter or leave a parking space located adjacent to
the bicycle lane or bicycle way. Persons operating a motor vehicle upon
a bicycle lane or bicycle way shall yield the right-of-way to all
bicycles within the bicycle lane or bicycle way.
Note that even a motorized bicycle is prohibited on a bicycle way under
power (they can still be pedaled on the bicycle way, however):
346.79 Special rules applicable to bicycles. Whenever a bicycle is
operated upon a highway, bicycle lane or bicycle way the following rules
apply:
(5) No person may ride a moped or motor bicycle with the power unit in
operation upon a bicycle way.
The operator of a motor bicycle also needs to be licensed:
343.05 Operators to be licensed; exceptions.
(3) NONCOMMERCIAL VEHICLES. Except as provided in sub.(4):
(c) No person may operate a moped or motor bicycle unless the person
possesses a valid operator's license . . .
Q: What are bulb-outs and raised speed tables ?
A:
These are two common 'traffic calming' devices.
Bulb-outs are where the entrance to a street is narrowed at the
intersection by extending the curb on either side. This makes the
pedestrian crossing shorter, forces slower turns at corners, and also makes
the entire street look narrower - and therefore slower.
Bulb-outs are also called chokers, or curb extensions and can be
either at an intersection or mid-block.
Speed tables are raised areas such as "speed humps" (not bumps).
Flat on
top, more gently sloping sides than a bump. Can accentuate
pedestrian
crossing area and/or serve to slow traffic directly by making it
uncomfortable to driver faster than the speed limit. See Manitou
Way near the Arboretum.
Speed tables are flat topped speed humps. Madison's speed humps
so far have been flat topped speed tables, but they can also be
rounded (actually, parabolic for the mathematically inclined).
For more information, see
http://www.ite.org/traffic/tcdevices.htm
and
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/tcalm/index.htm
Q: ?
A:
Q: ?
A:
Q: What Official Bike Persons should I contact with my Hard (and not-very-frequently-asked) Questions??
A: The city of Madison has a very friendly and helpful Bike/Ped Coordinator, Arthur Ross. The State of Wisconsin has a friendly and helpful ped/bike coordinator, Tom Huber. Tell them the BCP sent you. Or you can refer to state statutes .
Q: What do I do if I'm attacked by a dog?
A: See our dog bite page.
A: There is a general city ordinance
prohibiting parking a bike for more than 48 hours in any rack.
If there is not adequate bike parking at your workplace, and your
employer/landlord are resistant to installing racks, you can call the Madison
City Zoning Administrator (266-4560 or 266-4569) and let them know there is
inadequate bike parking. As it turns out there are minimum requirements for
safe and adequate bicycle parking in Madison, but few people are aware of
them.
When calling the zoning coordinator, make sure to ask him/her
to NOT let
your landlord or employer know that you are the one making the
request/complaint.
Municipal code
(thanks to Matt Logan for digging this up).
|
|
? ? ? About the BCP |
|