At the TNLA meeting in
November, I was honored to be elected chair of the Parks Committee. Some of you
know me from work with the Friends of the Yahara River Parkway, but that is but
one of the many projects in the neighborhood. If you are working on one of
these projects, I would like to get to know you and your work. Give me a call
at 257-5718 or email me at mmb@chorus.net, whether is to acquaint me with the work you have already done, or to
enlist support for a great new idea you have had.
In the last newsletter,
outgoing Parks Chair Bob Shaw did a great job of summarizing the status of some
of many ongoing parks and gardens projects in our neighborhood. Now let’s take
a look at the future.
Dates have yet to be set for
many of these events, so if you have a project for which you would like to
recruit volunteers, let me know and we can coordinate our calendars.
A design has been approved
and orders placed for the planting of trees, shrubs and native perennials at
the corner of Sherman Avenue and Marston Street this spring. This beautiful new
landscape will replace the mountain of honeysuckle and buckthorn removed by
hardworking and persistent volunteers recruited by neighbors, the Tenney Lapham
Neighborhood Association, and the Friends of the Yahara River Parkway. We will
be getting some help with the preparation work from Mick Kennedy of Wisconsin
Landscapes in Mount Horeb, so sometime between now and spring you’ll see Mick
and his crew out there bringing in additional topsoil and regrading the area
around the historic bathroom. We haven’t set the planting dates yet, so look
for those in the next addition of the TLNA Newsletter, or subscribe to the
email list serve of the Friends of the Yahara River Parkway at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friendsofyaharariverparkway/
Bob Shaw is responsible for this wonderful new
design, and deserves kudos for his calm and steadfast stewardship of this
project from fundraising through fruition. Thanks, Bob!
Another major planting event
will occur this spring in the woods in Tenney Park. If you are familiar with
this area you may have noticed that this woodland is not in very good shape.
Most of the larger trees are box elders, notorious for their short lives, soft
wood, susceptibility to storm damage and prolific breeding. This winter, city
foresters will help prepare some of this area for replanting by removing some
of those trees, which will be replaced by species like swamp white oak. Some of
these trees may be installed by contractors due to their size, but there will
be plenty of opportunities for volunteers to do some of the planting
themselves. Ed Jepson, a longtime champion of this project, is hard at work
finalizing these plans. Again,. look to the next newsletter for dates, or sign
up for online notification
Tim Olsen is still busy
networking on behalf of neighborhood parks. In November he put us in contact
with a DNR representative who is interested in doing shoreline restoration
project in Filene Park, on the north side of the Tenney Locks boat landing. This
would serve as a demonstration of some of the plants and techniques shoreline
landowners can use on their own properties to create habitat and reduce runoff
and erosion. I have some helpful publications from the DNR and the UW-Extension
on tips and techniques you can use in your own yards to help clean up the
lakes: call me at 257-5718 or email me at mmb@chorus.net
if you would like a copy. As of this writing the DNR is still reviewing the
Filene Park site and other locations. I am hoping we will have a positive
decision and a schedule for planting by the next newsletter deadline.
The Yahara River Bike
Path, East Rail Corridor and East Washington Reconstruction
While the Tenney Lapham
Neighborhood does not include the East Rail Corridor, changes in land use,
rail, roads and bike paths in the corridor certainly impact the Tenney Lapham
neighborhood.. (See John Steinies’ article on page 6) Meanwhile, the
reconstruction of East Washington Avenue and the bridges over the Yahara River
at East Washington, Johnson and Sherman are all proceeding according to their
various time schedules. With all
the road reconfiguration planned for the next few years, this would be an
excellent time to work again on the completion of bike and pedestrian paths
along the river, as called for in our neighborhood plan and the Yahara River
Parkway Master Plan. The goal is twofold: to make it safe for bikers, walkers
and wheelers of all ages and abilities to cross the Isthmus safely; and to
reestablish the sense of the Yahara River Parkway as an integrated whole.
Interested in getting involved in these efforts? Give me a call at 257-5718 or
drop me a line at mmb@chorus.net.
All the projects above take
two things: money and volunteer labor. If you’ve got the time, and see a way to
enhance a public park, median, bus stop, or other public place, there are a
variety of sources of funding available to help make your dream a reality. Here
are a few opportunities available now.
Some matching funds are
available via the City Parks Division for the planting of medians and
boulevards. For medians in major arterials like East Washington Avenue, funding
is available for plants and for contractors to install the plants. (This so
that volunteers aren’t subjected to the risks of working in the middle of a
busy street.) On calmer streets and other more protected areas, volunteers are
permitted to do the planting and the Parks Division will assist with the cost
of plants. The Parks Division would like these requests to be channeled through
the neighborhood association, so if you are interested in funding for a new or
ongoing median project, give me a call at 257-5718 or drop me a line at mmb@chorus.net.
Madison Metro administers a
federally-funded Transit Enhancement Grant program. Money from this grant,
which must be matched locally, can be used for the following purposes:
1.
Historic preservation,
rehabilitation, and operation of historic mass transportation buildings,
structures, and facilities (including historic bus and railroad facilities);
2.
Bus shelters;
3.
Landscaping and other
scenic beautification, including tables, benches, trash receptacles, and street
lights;
4.
Public art;
5.
Pedestrian access and
walkways;
6.
Bicycle access,
including bicycle storage facilities and installing equipment for transporting
bicycles on mass transportation vehicles;
7.
Transit connections to
parks within the recipient's transit service area;
8.
Signage;
9.
Enhanced access to mass
transportation for people with disabilities;
For more information on this
program, go to http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/metro/MR/Transit%20Enhancement.htm
.
The deadline for applications
for 2002 funding is January 15, 2002. For an application send an E-mail to
metrobus@ci.madison.wi.us or contact Metro’s Customer Service Center at
266-4466 (267-1143).
-Margaret
Bergamini