Policies are made. Routines are set. Time goes by. Things change. Policies need to be rethought. I'm sure that most Madison residents can think of something that they'd like changed about the way that the city manages their neighborhood services. And with almost every issue brought up, some would take one side and some would take the other. Some may not give it much thought. A large number of residents in the Tenney Park area are now working to have the buses that run on North Baldwin Street rerouted to Fordem Avenue.

Since WPS closed its Tenney park office building, there are no longer enough riders along this route to warrant having buses run through an already busy residential street that is home to many young children.

Bus drivers that navigate this route have said that they feel it is dangerous. Cars backing out of driveways have trouble seeing oncoming traffic because the view is blocked by the cars parked along both sides of the street. Many of the driveways on North Baldwin are shared between two homes, keeping the drive from being used for parking space. During the winter months, snow builds up at the curbs causing the cars parking on the street to encroach more and more into the driving lanes. Eventually there is not enough room left for cars and buses to pass each other. This sets up unevenly matched games of chicken, forcing cars to duck into openings to the side of the road to allow the buses to pass.

Going between North Sherman Avenue and Johnson Street, Fordem Avenue is shorter, wider, less congested, and quicker. Anyone who presently catches the bus along the Baldwin Street route has only two blocks at most to walk to Fordem or Johnson Street. For those who can't walk, Metro Plus and paratransit are available.

To some, the buses may be a symbol of urban convenience. The bus picks them up near their doorstep, whisks them through the city landscape to the front door of their workplace to fulfill eight hours of duty before shuttling back home for the evening. Wouldn't it be great, they think, to have everyone take the bus and get rid of all of these cars causing congestion on the isthmus?

But to others of us the buses have their drawbacks. They're noisy, smoky, and shake our houses when they pass by. One house on Baldwin Street with a bus stop in front of it has an unusually high owner turnover rate. Buyers have gone to the open houses on Sundays when it's quieter than usual. They saw the bus stop, but didn't think that it would be much of a problem. After moving in they soon found that they would have to put up with trespassing, garbage in their yard, vandalism, and foul language on a regular basis. Persons waiting for buses have asked to use the phone and toilet. Some very nice families have moved into and out of that house.

Many have tried using the buses out of a sense of obligation to the environment. But, after meandering through neighborhoods on their way to some transfer point before catching another bus and meandering through more neighborhoods before finally getting to where they wanted to go, most soon realized that the bus just doesn't work out for them. We don't drive our cars out of spite for the environment, or ignorance, but because it's what works.

And for those who have found the bus system useful, are a couple of blocks too far to walk to catch a bus? If the buses' routes were simplified a bit then maybe they'd get around a little quicker and more of us would find them useful. Keep the buses on the bigger streets, and maybe even cut down the number of stops on those routes. If there were fewer stops with more people using each stop then maybe someone could actually get around the city in a reasonable amount of time, and the bus system would be less expensive to operate.

What's wrong with someone having to walk a couple of blocks? Only in America could someone feel more environmental than thou while at the same time demanding that they be picked up and dropped off within their own block. Most of us could use the exercise.

My wife takes the bus to and from work each day. She often takes the bus from work to our daughter's school and walks with her about six blocks to home. They have done this through rain, sleet, and snow, but they just bring umbrellas or dress warmly if necessary. They found that they actually enjoy it.

I drive a car each day, dropping our four-year-old at daycare on the way to work and picking him up on the way home. I also need the car for work during the day. Our family does rely on the bus system, as do many other supporters of this viewpoint. We really do hope to make things better for everyone in our neighborhood.

We know that there are many others in the neighborhood fighting to improve our situation in other ways, including increased enforcement of traffic laws, cleaning up the lakes and parks, sprucing up the Johnson Street business district, etc. This is a great neighborhood, and we all want to do everything we can to keep it that way, or to make it even better.

We all have our own opinion of what "quality of life" means. We understand that living in a city means dealing with quite a bit of noise and congestion. But we see an opportunity for less noise and congestion, and for more safety, simplicity and peace of mind.

Please support us in getting the buses off of our street!

- Mike & Kelley Cory


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