Club fights to make city bicycle friendly
The Madison Pedals and Feet Alliance is a group of Madison residents who work with city officials to improve infrastructure in Madison for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The Madison Pedals and Feet (MPFA) is doing its best to make the city bicyclist friendly.
The local group has asked city officials to include pathways and bike lanes into existing and future planning projects.
“(The city) has been very receptive to working with MPFA to contribute to making the community more bicycle and walking friendly,” said Peter Engstrom, MPFA member.
Engstrom said it is vital to Madison’s well being and sense of place for citizens to walk and ride bicycles in a safe, efficient and useful manner.
“With gasoline approaching four dollars per gallon, when I ride my bike from County Line road to the public library and back, I have traveled 10 miles round trip and saved two dollars in gas money,” Engstrom said. “I have exercised my body. I have not polluted the air with car exhaust. I have made a conscious decision to help reduce the level of congestion and noise in the environment. Riding or walking also allows the participant to see the city from a different and more realized perspective.”
Kurt Webb, also a member of MPFA, said he’s seen kids confined to their neighborhoods because there’s no connectivity among neighborhoods.
“Everyone’s driven to school. In a sense, if we put in sidewalks and bike paths that allows access to schools, then maybe more people wouldn’t be driving to school,” Webb said. “You look at Slaughter Road and some roads that go throughout the city, they’re very narrow, no shoulders available to ride bikes. We have a city that’s growing by leaps and bounds and there’s no infrastructure.”
Engstrom said the group is working with the public library, the parks and recreation department and the city’s schools to create a plan called Safe Routes to Schools, Parks and Libraries.
This plan is based on the national program called: Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS).
“The purpose of SRTS is to fund infrastructure improvements that make it easier and safer for children to get from home to school by walking or riding their bicycle,” Engstrom said.
