Bike boxes in Madison

Since Tuesday, Madison has been all abuzz about painted bike boxes that are being installed at a major downtown intersection.

What are bike boxes? The Bike Fed's lead planner, Kevin Luecke, explains them this way:

"A bike box is a street marking at an intersection with a traffic signal that requires motorists to stop a short distance before the crosswalk and encourages cyclists to stop in the area between the cars and the crosswalk. The boxes allow cyclists to use the full lane when waiting at a light rather than lining up in the bike lane, which can create issues with traffic turning right. Bike boxes encourage cyclists to wait for the signal in a highly visible position and also gives them priority when the light turns green. After moving through the intersection, cyclists can then merge back into the bike lane."

You can find the City of Madison news release explaining the bike box project here. Wisconsin State Journal reporter Patricia Simms filed this article and video and Chris Murphy of The Capital Times had this commentary.

Thanks to Jenn Jackson at Downtown Madison Inc. for the photo. Additional pics of the construction process are on our Flickr page.

The Today Show takes the National Commuter Bike Challenge

You can take the Wisconsin Commuter Bike Challenge Jun 6-11.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bike racks on buses around Wisconsin

We've updated information about bike racks around Wisconsin and the new program in Milwaukee on our Web site. We answer:

• How many transit systems in Wisconsin allow bikes on buses?
• What are the benefits of bike racks on buses?
• How do I use the bike rack on my bus?
• When did Milwaukee County begin to offer bike racks on buses?
• How many people use the Milwaukee bike racks?
• How much did it cost for Milwaukee County to purchase and install bike racks on its buses?
• How much does it cost Milwaukee County to maintain the bike racks?
• How many people need to use the bike racks on Milwaukee buses each year for the program to break even?

Enjoy, and let us know if you have additional questions.

U.S. Transplant Games looking for cycling course volunteers

Madison will host the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games. The U.S. Transplant Games happen every two years and to raise money and awareness for transplant programs across the country by giving living donors and organ recipients a chance to show off their quality of life. The games are expected to attract 8,000 competitors and visitors to Madison. They will feature athletes of all abilities, from those who just want some fun to those who want to crush the competition (the latter go on to represent the United States in the World Summer Transplant Games).

The Games are looking for volunteer course marshals for the 5K Time Trial and 20K Road Race on Sunday, August 1 on a shut down John Nolen Drive. Volunteers should have prior experience marshaling cycling events, must attend one volunteer training in Madison, and will be on or near John Nolen Drive from 8am-2pm the day of the event to help with course management. The Games are looking for people who aren’t timid and are willing to open their mouth to people infringing on the course if need be.

Questions? Contact Jocelyn Vande Velde, education product manager, Saris Cycling Group.

Ride the Drive Volunteer Opportunities Now Available!

Ride the Drive on June 6 is a community event that invites all citizens to leave their cars behind to experience some of Madison's most scenic byways from a whole new perspective - by riding, walking, skating or strolling. Volunteering for Ride the Drive is a great way to help make this a successful event and have a lot of fun at the same time.

More than 250 volunteers are needed for Ride the Drive. As a volunteer you will receive a really cool Ride the Drive t-shirt, an informational training, snacks and so many smiles, it will make your summer!

Thousands of people will be out enjoying walking, biking, running and rolling in the traffic-free streets. Sign-up to volunteer here.

Contact RidetheDrive@cityofmadison.com" with questions.

Andy Clarke at the Wisconsin Bike Summit

Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists:

Wi summit bfc

View more presentations from bikefed.

One constituent's perspective on 2010 Bike Lobby Day

Dana Johnson, Waukesha resident and owner of Open Leaf Excursions, participated in the Bike Fed's 2010 Lobby Day and had this to say about it on her blog:

I had the privilege to be part of the second annual Wisconsin Bike Summit, hosted in Madison by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. This two-day event included speakers from all different facets of the cycling community as well as open-forum brain-storming sessions about safer routes to schools and off-road mountain biking through public and private lands. The second day culminated in an opportunity to lobby at the capitol for bicycling in Wisconsin.

While I can be very opinionated about issues and have been known to write my fair share of government officials, I can’t say that I have ever actively sought their attention on their turf. For that matter, I have never even stepped inside of the capitol building—partied a fair amount in the surrounding neighborhoods in my college days, but never went inside the actual capitol. Wow, what an experience.

All of the bike summit attendees were grouped into their senate districts and then coached on the issues at hand. Appointments were made with each official and then the lobbying began. Because it was the last day of the assembly, most of us did not see our actual representative, but rather spoke with their aides. I was the only person from Waukesha to attend the lobbying portion of the summit and thus was left to my own devices to meet with these officials. I met two very nice aides who were very attentive to my discussion and took thorough notes on the points that I wanted the legislator to hear. Each gave me about a half an hour of time and shared bits and pieces of information about my legislator that would help me when approaching him/her again.

For the first time ever, when dealing with a politician, I felt heard. Maybe it was because I was dealing with an aide who was more of a down-to-earth average schmoe like me, or maybe it was because I was taking the effort to meet with them face to face. Either way, I felt really empowered to have spoken on behalf of the cyclists of Waukesha.

So, what did we talk about? Well, I shared with them some really great information about our fine state of WI. Did you know that WI is the second most bike-friendly state? Did you know that Madison is our most bike-friendly city? Did you know that bicycling in WI provides 13,200 jobs annually and that our state is loaded with nationally and internationally renowned bicycle businesses? Have you ever heard of Cannondale and Trek? Those are only two of ten major bike businesses located on our turf. Have you ever participated in an organized group ride? Did you know that each of those riders contribute $64-$87 per day to our economy?

Don’t even get me started on the health benefits of riding a bike. If just 20% of urban short car trips (5 miles or less) were replaced in the cities of Milwaukee and Madison, we would save $85 million in health care costs associated with poor air quality. If in those same two cities, every resident got their required exercise, a savings of over $319 million would be found in health care costs. All of these savings and just imagine how much happier and healthier everyone would be.

As an avid cyclist who owns a company that promotes outdoor excursions, I can’t help but get fired up about making our streets more bicycle-friendly. Let’s face it, biking is fun. Who doesn’t smile when hopping on a bike with a flower basket on the front or when riding a bike down a hill? It is SO important that we SHOW our children how to incorporate physical activities into their daily lives. This up and coming generation is in big trouble. Childhood diabetes is growing at an astronomical rate. The military is worried there won’t be enough qualified recruits in upcoming years because the physical abilities of our children are too poor to pass their standard requirements. It’s being projected that this next generation will be the first to not out-live the average age of their parents.

Come on parents, let’s do something about this. Let’s all make a point this weekend to dust off the family bikes (or go out and buy some bikes) and go for a family ride. You don’t have to do Tour De France distances or intensities, just get in the saddle and ride for 30 minutes. If you haven’t done it in a while, I promise you the goofy grin will be hard to wipe off your family’s face when you’re done. And if your butt is really sore from hitting all of the pot holes on our unfixed streets, then take a trip to Madison and see your legislator.

The Bike Fed is a radio star

Amanda White, director of the Bike Fed's Madison office, was on WORT 89.9 FM in Madison today to speak with Stacy Harbaugh, host of A Public Affair on Tuesdays. They spoke about the Wisconsin Bike Summit coming up tomorrow and steps we can take in Wisconsin to make it easier for people to bike. You can listen to the interview here. It starts about 5 minutes into the program, after some non-bike related news and opinion.

German television features Madison bike trip

Westdeutscher Rundfunk, a television network in western Germany, recently featured a news segment on a group of Madison civic and business leaders who have been touring Muenster, Germany, to learn how the city makes it so easy for residents to get around by bike. (35% of Muenster residents commute by bike.)

You can read a partial translation of the news segment at 20 by 2020, the delegation's Web site.

Muenster, Germany: Bicycling paradise

The Bike Fed's executive director, Kevin Hardman, is visiting some of Europe's best biking cities with Dane County business and government leaders. Here are some of his photos of bicycles and bicycle infrastructure in the city.



The goal of the trip is to learn from these cities so that Madison can raise the number of people who use bicycles and other alternative transportation means - 20% of the population by 2020. You can find out more about the trip here.

Participants in the trip will be speaking at the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin's Annual Bicycle Summit on April 21 at the Madison Concourse Hotel, 1 West Dayton Street.