You wouldn’t think that one temporary change to one street would generate a lot of conversation. But not when the street in question is Williamson Street, which has been plagued by a series of car crashes in recent years, including one in May that damaged Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse (and not for the first time!)
In response to an outcry from residents and business owners, city officials are testing the removal of the rush hour lanes from Willy Street. The hope is that by cutting traffic down to one lane in each direction 24/7, it will cause drivers to slow down and reduce the number of accidents.
On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin talks to Mike Tarby, co-chair of the Marquette Neighborhood Association’s Transportation and Safety Committee, which helped drive the effort to test removing the lanes.
Since people clearly have a lot of opinions on this test, we asked City Cast Madison listeners and Madison Minutes readers what they thought. Will eliminating the rush hour lanes make Willy Street safer? Or does something else need to be done? Here are some of your responses:
“I regularly commute down Willy Street to go home at night and I cannot imagine going back to not having the fast lane. It’s been so much more convenient when you get stuck behind somebody that’s trying to make a left hand turn, you could be there for a very long time. And the bikers just do whatever the hell they want.
“I really think that if we go back to taking away both lanes and allowing parking again that biking should be restricted. It’s just too much of a cluster. It’s too dangerous.” – Lori, via voicemail
“I think the cause of crashes into the coffee shop are due to drivers heading east passing to the right of a vehicle waiting to turn left while a vehicle heading west, causes the eastbound vehicle to swerve into the coffee shop.” – Wayne H.
“Honestly, the removal of rush hour lanes on Willy Street is coming several years too late. As is, Willy Street feels inappropriately auto-centric. It's a charming mix of residential and commercial properties where most people are getting around on foot or by bike. But the sidewalks are narrow and there are four lanes of traffic (two of which are usually street parking) running through the middle. The fact that the city has thus far treated it like a thoroughfare when ‘The Monstrosity’ (aka East Washington Avenue) runs parallel to it has always puzzled me.” – Danny G.
“I am thrilled the city is going to discourage commuters from using Willy Street as an east/west thoroughfare. Years ago I stopped using Willy Street as a through street, and instead use East Washington if I have to drive. Willy Street will be much improved when not choked with cars.” – Janet M.
“What a classic example of Madison overreaction. To penalize the huge number of rush hour commuters by taking away a lane, all because of a handful of inattentive and likely impaired drivers is ludicrous. So predictable that lower speed limits and all other traffic ‘calming’ measures will not prevent the very small number of negligent drivers. Enough car lanes have been taken away across the city already, please stop.” – David P.
“I live on Willy Street and honestly hope to see the rush hour lanes disappear! It feels unsafe walking my dogs on the sidewalk during those times because of how close the traffic is.” – @creatrixbynature on Instagram
“Closing the lanes is a start but we need traffic calming infrastructure to really stop this from happening. Very glad the city is trying something.” – @madcitycyclist on Instagram
If you have thoughts on this experiment, the city wants to hear from you! Take the Williamson Street Safety Study Survey to share your takes.
