If you pay a visit to the Madison Visitors Bureau's website, you'll find a link to a page dedicated to all the awards the city has won over the past few years. Year in and year out, Prevention magazine consistently names it one of the best cities, for of all things, walking. I beg to differ.
It's becoming apparent that when the sun goes down, downtown Madison becomes a different sort of place. You don't have to be the brainiest person in the fourth brainiest medium-sized city (thank you www.bizjournal.com) to know that unless you're traveling with a well-armed phalanx of bodyguards, walking around this city at night isn't a good idea.
People are afraid to go out alone at night for fear of becoming a name on the list of victims of nighttime crime in downtown Madison. Instead, they occupy the couches of friends, where they wait out the night, until it's safe to walk home again. Hardly the sort of thing you'd expect in the Friendliest City in the Midwest (""Midwest Living"" 2003).
It's strange how you can almost feel the fear in the air when you walk around at night. Stand outside College Library and you'll see it. Some solo walkers seem to equate speed with safety. They burst out of the doors and onto the street with the gait of a highly-trained Olympic speed walker. This is not surprising, considering Madison is one of the best places to ""Live the Athletic Life"" (""GeezerJock"" 2005).
Now some will say, it's the individual's prerogative to stay safe. The means of doing so—SAFEWalk and SAFERide services, for example—are readily available. I won't disagree with that. But all the SAFEWalkers in the world, even with their fancy new jackets, aren't going to change the existing perception that the streets of Madison are no longer safe.
The word from city hall says the Madison Police Department is committed to changing that. But putting 10 officers on State Street at night isn't exactly a slam-dunk solution. That stuff might work in Middleton or Fitchburg, but I'd expect a little more from the police force in the top ""small-sized city for creativity"" (""The Washington Monthly"" 2002). We've got mounted police, that's a start. Now let's attach some laser guns to their knees and get those horses out on the street. That's sure to do something.
I doubt the MPD will take my advice though, as it's already proven to be a bit stubborn. When the Guardian Angels said they wanted to set up a unit in Madison, the MPD acted like the parent in the grocery store who can't get their kid to stop ripping open the bags of Malt-o-Meal. ""We're fine, but thanks for asking,"" the MPD told the visiting vigilantes.
But the fact of the matter is, we're not fine. If we were, the Guardian Angels wouldn't have brought their silly little berets to town in the first place. And judging by the amount of leather they wear, they certainly didn't come here because ""Vegetarian Times"" rated Madison one of the greenest cities in the nation.
Now, I'm not saying the Angels are the answer. In fact, I'm not sure what the answer is. I just know that if Madison ever wants to get back on etiquette expert Marjabelle Young Stewart's list of the nation's most mannerly cities, it better act quickly.
