Your Urgent Action Needed to Fix Madison Road

After months of delays, Cincinnati's Department of Transportation and Engineering is making a decision RIGHT NOW about whether or not they are going to include bike lanes on a critical stretch of Madison Road.

We have learned that some opponents of making the city bicycle friendly are quietly working to stop this!

We urgently need as many people as we can to send an e-mail immediately to Tim Jamison, the Acting City Engineer, and copying Mayor Mallory and the City Council, explaining why it is important to them personally -- and to the city and region -- to start making these much-needed improvements to Madison right away.

A copy of my message and the correct e-mail addresses are below. I am sharing this to help you draft your own message. If you already ride Madison or live in an adjacent neighborhood, let them know! If you would start to ride if their were bike lanes there, let them know that, too!

The affected section of Madison Road is between Grandin Road and Dana Avenue. The City of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) originally proposed a change in the lane striping in order to make it a complete street. You can view their original proposed changes here: www.cincinnati-oh.gov/madisonroad.

The result would be two travel lanes in each direction, a center two-way left turn lane, and bicycle lanes. DOTE believes this will calm traffic and improve Madison Road for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. These proposed bike lanes would connect to the sharrows through O'Bryonville, and the new bike lanes on Dana Avenue.

We believe DOTE may be wavering in their commitment. That's why they and your elected officials need to hear from you right away!

Thank you for your help!

Gary Wright

PS Be sure to ask Mr. Jamison for a response in your message!

DRAFT E-MAIL MESSAGE TEXT FOR YOUR PERSONALIZATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TO: tim.jamison@cincinnati-oh.gov

CC:
mayor.mallory@cincinnati-oh.gov,roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov, jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov, leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov,laure.quinlivan@cincinnati-oh.gov, wendell.young@cincinnati-oh.gov, cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov, chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov, chris.monzel@cincinnati-oh.gov, charlie.winburn@cincinnati-oh.gov

Tim Jamison, Acting City Engineer
Department of Transportation and Engineering
City of Cincinnati

Dear Mr Jamison,

I am writing to urge you to follow through on plans to put bike lanes in both directions on Madison Road between Grandin and Observatory when it is repaved and restriped in the next few weeks.

Madison Road is the essential link for bicyclists traveling between Hyde Park, Oakley, and Madisonville to the east, and Walnut Hills, Evanston, Avondale, Clifton, and Downtown to the west. The Bicycle Master Plan enacted by City Council just a few months ago recognizes this by calling for bike lanes along most of its length.

Increasing ridership significantly is a specific objective of the City's environmental plan in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will not be able to achieve that objective without implementing the Bicycle Master Plan's recommendations for Madison, a major commuting route to and from the city's two major employment centers in Downtown and Uptown.

I personally ride this route frequently from Walnut Hills to Hyde Park on business and to go shopping. Bike lanes on this stretch will make my journey easier, and will encourage more people to use their bicycles for shorter trips. They will also directly benefit the neighborhood business districts along the route by getting more people out of their cars and onto the street.

The most cost effective way of getting started and increasing bicycle ridership immediately is to add these lanes now. As part of a road diet, this will also calm traffic and enhance the livability of neighborhoods along this corridor.

Can you confirm for me that bike lanes are included in your plans for immediate action?

Sincerely,

Gary Wright
Walnut Hills

cc: Mayor Mallory and City Council Members