Madison Transportation Commission backs buffered bike lanes on Midvale Boulevard, asks staff to pursue adjoining low-stress routes

The Madison Transportation Commission voted 5–3 to recommend moving forward with staff’s option to add buffered bike lanes on Midvale Boulevard and to ask staff to pursue safety improvements on Owen Drive and Seagull (sometimes spelled Seago) Road through the Safe Streets Madison program.

The decision came after city Traffic Engineering presented background, parking counts and three alternatives for the corridor between Mineral Point Road and University Avenue. Tom Moore of Traffic Engineering summarized a multi-stage outreach process: two public information meetings, a large January meeting with more than 100 attendees, and an online survey that received more than 2,000 responses. Moore said the initial staff design would be a 7-foot bike lane with a 3-foot buffer alongside narrowed travel lanes and removal of on-street parking in the narrower sections.

Why it matters: Midvale is classified in city guidance as near the boulevard type in the Complete Green Streets guide and appears in local planning documents, but the corridor lacks continuous bike facilities. Commissioners and the public framed a key tradeoff: add bike space now through a…