Thousands take to the streets upon spring's arrival
Spring has arrived in Madison and along with warmer temperatures, bicycles have returned to the city's sidewalks and bike lanes.
Madison has always had a reputation of being bike-friendly, and along with receiving numerous awards in the past, Madison was named best the bicycle city with a population between 200,000 and 500,000 in the March 2006 issue of Bicycling Magazine.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is a bicycle enthusiast. According to Arthur Ross, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Department of Transportation, Cieslewicz's love of cycling could be a reason for Madison's bike-friendly character. The mayor certainly is enthusiastic about any transportation other than motor vehicles and that helps,\ Ross said. ""However, Madison has been doing things since the 1960s and 1970s to increase bike interest. So, this is not a recent phenomenon, but it's a continuation of a long term one.""
But Ross said UW-Madison students in particular are often unaware of some of the dangers posed by urban cycling.
Local bicycle shops in Madison have also noticed the city's increased interest in bicycling. Roger Charly, owner of Budget Bicycle Center on Regent Street, has noticed that not only do a lot of sales generate from UW-Madison students, but there is a diverse bicycle culture on and around campus, as well.
""There are so many different cultures, and I think its cool that you can express your individuality through biking,"" Charly said. ""We see people with fancy cruiser bikes that cruise up and down State Street which is more of a social thing, to people who bike in the Ironman and everything in between.""
Andrew Muzi, manager of Yellow Jersey bicycles on State Street, echoed Charly's view biking diversity.
""We see a lot of the student population biking, but I think it is also more broadly based,"" Muzi said. ""Cycling is a very small subset of every population group. On any given day, I see undergrads, professional engineers, people from government offices, and the working poor biking next to each other.""
Muzi also said there are many cases when biking in Madison is easier than driving, ""especially if you live downtown. Everything you need is within biking distance.""
UW-Madison sophomore and biking enthusiast Drew Quirk said he enjoys biking in Madison. However, he added, the increased bicycle traffic that comes along with warmer weather can be a headache.
""I have had no problems using the bike lanes, I really like them,"" he said. ""Although there are times when the congestion is not cool.""
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