Madison Residents, Officials Looking To Stop Traffic Fatalities

MADISON, WI—Amid three fatalities on E. Washington Avenue, public officials and Madison residents are calling for changes to protect walkers and cyclists.

On July 2 a cyclist was killed after being hit by a car, making him the fourth death on E. Washington this year and one of two killed within less than a week including a pedestrian killed in a hit and run.

Now, public officials, including Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, are beginning to prioritize what some have called a “public health crisis.”

“Not a single traffic death is acceptable,” Rhodes-Conway said in a blog post. “The city is committed to improving the safety of all our residents and we will not stop until we eliminate all the traffic fatalities that we are able to with design, education and enforcement."

Vision Zero is an initiative with the goal of eliminating all Madison traffic fatalities by 2030. The concept has been enacted by over 40 cities in the United States including Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

While the plan is still being discussed and is a self-titled “living document,” some of the current strategies in the works include speed reduction, improved street lighting and visibility, follow Vision Zero when planning new projects, as well as educate the community on traffic safety and improve the culture around it, according to an Action Plan draft.

Though, this issue isn’t confined to E. Washington.

Dane County has one of the highest average numbers of traffic fatalities in Wisconsin—behind Milwaukee County. From 2015 to 2019, 100 pedestrians, 37 bikers and 345 drivers were killed or had incapacitated injuries from traffic incidents, according to data from the UW Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory.

While Madison is frequently lauded for being a bike-friendly city, not all cyclists feel safe on the roads. Laura Cash, a Madison resident who bikes to work every day, said she already felt nervous biking before the recent fatalities.

“It's supposed to be this bike friendly, walk friendly city, but I just feel like more people are driving and it's just like an older label,” Cash said.

Cash is happy the city plans to keep a Vision Zero mindset when it comes to new projects. She hopes the city will use measures to control drivers, like reduce speed limits, but also protect bikers by making bike lanes more visible and buffered—especially on busy streets like University and E. Washington.

For now, MPD heightened traffic control on E. Washington. On Tuesday evening, officers made 16 stops within four hours for speeding, according to a police blotter. Patch reached out to MPD for a comment on increased traffic stops and has yet to hear back.

The City has also reduced the speed limit on two sections of E. Washington and made crosswalks more visible, and has plans to install additional signage and flashing beacons to alert drivers of crosswalks and pedestrians.

Dramatic changes will take years and millions of dollars, Rhodes-Conway said. And, city engineers have said a complete remodeling is unlikely, partly because the highway falls under both city and state jurisdiction.

Though, Rhodes-Conway said some changes can be implemented immediately, such as an increased awareness amongst the community.

“If you have friends that regularly speed through town, ask them to stop,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Tell them how awful they would feel if they killed or injured someone. We are in this together, so let’s work together to change our safety culture.”