Bicyclists are a common sight on Madison's isthmus. In our city, people bike for a variety of reasons from getting exercise, to traveling to and from class. People bike on the Lakeshore Path to Picnic Point or near the Capitol and Lake Monona.
Bicycling Magazine, in its March 2006 issue, even named Madison the best bicycle city with a population between 200,000 and 500,000. We have more than 110 miles of bike paths and various destinations to bike to.
To keep up Madison's number one record as a bicycle friendly town, the city needs to make sure it continues to improve bike safety.
One important facet of bike safety is the inclusion of bike lanes on more streets where necessary. In Madison, 50 miles of the streets have bike lanes, but the city needs more to help improve the travel ability and safety of cyclists. Johnson Street does not have a bike lane and this leads to many cyclists using the sidewalks. Congestion of cyclists, cars and pedestrians routinely creates close encounters with accidents.
There is also an onus on the cyclist to be safe. Cyclists are under the same obligation to follow traffic laws as those driving cars. This includes stopping at traffic lights and stop signs, and yielding to pedestrians.
In order to ensure that cyclists follow the rules, the city must take a few important steps. First, police officers need to write more tickets for cyclists who violate the laws. Second, cycling laws need to be more transparent. Often cyclists are unaware of the laws they need to follow. Since bicycle registration is required every four years and costs $10, the law must be clearly explained.
It is also important that pedestrians help encourage a community that is cyclist-friendly. This includes not walking down bike lanes on city streets and being able to hear if a cyclist is behind you over the volume on your mp3 player.
Using a bike to commute to work is on the rise in Madison and has increased 7.6 percent from the 1990 census to the 2000 census. With all these new cyclists riding every day during rush hours, it is necessary that Madison continue to improve aspects of cycling.
