Tell us your thoughts and issues with this project
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Jim Lyne
Apr 1, 2010, 4:22:34 PM4/1/10
to Verona Road Justice Coalition
We want to put together an information sheet to highlight issues with
this project. This sheet can can be used to show people how they can
voice their concerns and what other people and groups are doing to
make sure their concerns are being heard.
this project. This sheet can can be used to show people how they can
voice their concerns and what other people and groups are doing to
make sure their concerns are being heard.
So please tell us your issues and concerns - big and small.
mary
May 13, 2010, 4:29:34 AM5/13/10
to Verona Road Justice Coalition
These are my concerns, issues, and complaints about Phase 1 of this
project:
1. Poor planning
1A. It is short-sighted and 19th century. Present-day planners for
other states and cities in the US and other countries place their
"beltlines" and major intersections far away from the cities rather
than funneling everything to a congested area. I've been on some so
distant from the cities that I couldn't even see the city or a settled
area from it. DOT recognizes this in a backhanded way by showing how
small this intersection is compared to other intersections that handle
the same amount of traffic. They should realize that the small amount
of right of way available is an indication that through traffic needs
to be put elsewhere such as on a "South Reliever."
1B. Highway 18/151 bypasses all the cities and villages west of
Madison. It should bypass Madison as well! It is unconscionable
to give outlying municipalities a better deal than they are giving our
neighborhoods. This is a definite environmental justice point.
2. Water quality impacts
2A.Regardless of the fact that back in the 1970s Madison acquired
Dunn's Marsh as a sink for storm water and areas that were not
naturally in the Dunn's Marsh basin are now piped to it (from the Home
Depot and other areas), these days the rules are different. Storm
water should be held on the property where it falls. If any part of
this project comes to be, all storm water, even that currently
generated by the highway complex should be kept out of Dunn's Marsh.
Anything other than that is a crime against the environment.
2B. DOT's plan to put a wet pond in the forest land below Allied Drive
will destroy the forest in the area of the pond. As mentioned above,
water should be handled where it originates, not piped out of the
basin to degrade one of the few deep water marshes in Dane County. We
have a lot of wet ponds on parkland already in the Dunn's Marsh
neighborhood and new ones planned. They take away from park land, and
they don't usually don't have a secondary recreational use. Often
they are cloudy, stinky ponds, not an asset to the community at all.
Check out the one in Arrowhead Park just below Chalet Gardens or the
one on the Capital City Trail in the valley a little way before you
get to Fish Hatchery Road.
2C. It seems to me that raising the Beltline will cause additional
damage to the Arboretum since the road slopes downhill. There's a
tremendous amount of damage to the flume that takes the water to the
wet pond on Greene Prairie north of the Beltline. The concrete
drainageway that once was about 4 feet deep has been totally torn up
by the runoff and is now a 20-foot deep eroded ditch that is truly
frightening to contemplate. Several ponds like the one this ditch
drains to have been "blown out" by excess water from the Beltline and
surrounding developed properties, turning this supposedly protected
place into a degraded wasteland.
3. Traffic Noise
3A. Raising Verona Road - about 11 feet (according to DOT's Larry
Barta) - to allow the "jughandle" to pass under it and raising the
Beltline about 5 feet to allow more lanes to pass under it will only
project more traffic noise into my neighborhood and into my own home.
Although I live about 3 blocks from the Beltline, I'm already
bombarded by traffic noise and vibration.
3B. The only area to be protected by sound walls is the area north of
the Beltline. The Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood and all the other
neighborhoods will be left totally unprotected. The noise is bad
now. Raising both highways, adding 2 lanes of traffic to both Verona
Road and the Beltline, and allowing it to go faster because it is
unimpeded will exacerbate the problem.
3C. Even with sound barriers, noise will loop over to more distant
properties since I've been told that sound walls only protect the
adjacent properties, not people living above the first floor or back a
few blocks.
4. Pedestrian overpass issues
4A. Raising the Beltline and widening it is also wasteful because the
pedestrian overpass will have be taken down. This is a relatively new
facility with many years of life left, AND the new one will require
demolition of buildings on both sides of the Beltline.
4B. During reconstruction of the new pedestrian overpass, children now
walking or riding bikes to school will either be driven there by their
parents or will be shuffled to more dangerous routes: Verona Road/
Midvale or Seminole Highway. Both are out of the way for students
going to Cherokee or Thoreau Schools. Adults using the overpass will
suffer the same problem.
4C. The proposed newly aligned pedestrian overpass will require
walkers and bike riders from the Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood to cross a
busy (4000-5000 cars a day) realigned frontage road (at Britta) to
access it. Presently, users of the overpass do not have to cross the
frontage road. Bikers tend NOT to stop when they come off such a ramp
even though are supposed to. This plan will create a danger that we
don't have now.
5. Frontage Road at Britta
Looping the Frontage Road south to align with Britta not only brings
the Frontage Road closer to residences, but destroys several apartment
buildings, the Montessori School which is best asset in our
neighborhood, and part of a vibrant business - the Vinery stained
glass business. Keeping the Frontage Road adjacent to the Beltline
means demolition of additional properties.
Through traffic coming onto the Beltline from Verona Road needs to be
diverted before it gets to this intersection. A South Reliever needs
to be built so that the Beltline doesn't need to be widened and the
Frontage Road does not need to be moved and businesses and homes don't
have to be destroyed.
6.Carling Drive Extension issues.
6A. This extension may bring traffic into the neighborhood that might
never have come in otherwise.
6B. The extension will put traffic on 2 sides of the apartment
building at the end of Carling and also next to the end apartment on
the west side of Allied Drive.
6C. The extension is on a downhill slope and will also create a blind
intersection where it will meet up with the bike path and the proposed
new Freeport Road that will go under Verona. It will be blind because
of the earth that forms the side of Verona Road. Presumably the
Frontage Road won't have a stop on it, but no matter which road does,
this will be a new place for accidents to happen.
6D. Because of the slope, it will tend to become a raceway going
downhill.
7. Jughandle issues
7A. The Jughandle will whirl traffic right up against Avalon Village
and the roller rink, making the new low-income Avalon Village less
safe and less desireable.
7B. It creates 3 traffic lights where there is now only one traffic
light to get across Verona Road to Home Depot, very probably causing a
longer time to get on or off Verona Raod or from one side of Verona to
the other. Currently, I find it extremely easy to drive across Verona
Road at "Summit" - no delays other than one traffic signal. The
jughandle will restrict my access rather than enhance it.
7C. The jughandle makes for a longer route for me as a walker or biker
coming from Milford Road if I want to go to Home Depot, and it may
cause me to chose Seminole Highway to go west on Verona just in order
to avoid the jughandle mess.
7D. As mentioned before, raising Verona Road in order to accommodate
the jughandle underpass, will broadcast Verona Road traffic noise and
air pollution into the Dunn's Marsh neighborhood.
7E. My guess is that this jughandle "improvement" will remove the big
cottonwood tree from the Summit area. This tree was saved during the
previous reconstruction upheaval.
8. Bike facilities/pedestrian facilities.
8A DOT constantly says how great this reconstruction will be for
bikers. DOT or the City could easily add painted bike lanes on the
frontage road from Seminole all the way to Summit or Allied. It does
not have to wait for reconstruction to lay down a little paint.
8B. It is no favor to bikers or walkers to add 5 more traffic lanes to
cross than we have now. Adding bigger islands to stand on just adds
more space to walk across. When walking, distance is a big deal. The
improved intersection at the Beltline looks like a bowl of spaghetti
for a walker. It's laughable that DOT would say that this
intersection will be more pedestrian or biker friendly.
8C. From my part of the neighborhood - Milford Road - or from the
Crawford area this "improvement" just makes it longer and harder to
get across Verona Road whether on foot, on a bike, or in a car. We
will have a longer distance and more intersections to negotiate. The
jughandle moves the crossover a few hundred feet further away than it
is now.
9. Freeport Road is a road to nowhere. It will empty traffic into a
residental area of small homes as well as the commercial area that
will already be served by the jughandle underpass w just a short
distance away. I don't think it is necessary.
10. Air pollution causes a myriad of health problems especially for
children. This traffic should be dispersed and diverted, not
accommodated. Even if it is mainly trucks that would be diverted,
each truck is equal to 10 cars. It's worth it.
11. Phase 1 is mainly preparation for the even more horrendous Phase
3.
Making all these changes just prepares the way for Phase 3 by causing
demolition of about 40 residential and business units. It will
degrade the adjacent neighborhoods, making them weaker and less able
to prevent the even more destructive final solution. It makes the
Dunn's Marsh neighborhood a throw-away neighborhood.
Phase 3 issues in general (since I haven't studied it as much
Phase 3 will totally destroy the neighborhood by taking out all the
businesses on the Beltline Frontage Road and putting Frontage Road
traffic up against apartments. Shutting off access to the Beltline at
Seminole will add congestion to the Verona Road access or the access
at Todd Drive. Neither access is easy. The Todd Drive intersection
is very narrow.
(That's all I can think of right now.)
project:
1. Poor planning
1A. It is short-sighted and 19th century. Present-day planners for
other states and cities in the US and other countries place their
"beltlines" and major intersections far away from the cities rather
than funneling everything to a congested area. I've been on some so
distant from the cities that I couldn't even see the city or a settled
area from it. DOT recognizes this in a backhanded way by showing how
small this intersection is compared to other intersections that handle
the same amount of traffic. They should realize that the small amount
of right of way available is an indication that through traffic needs
to be put elsewhere such as on a "South Reliever."
1B. Highway 18/151 bypasses all the cities and villages west of
Madison. It should bypass Madison as well! It is unconscionable
to give outlying municipalities a better deal than they are giving our
neighborhoods. This is a definite environmental justice point.
2. Water quality impacts
2A.Regardless of the fact that back in the 1970s Madison acquired
Dunn's Marsh as a sink for storm water and areas that were not
naturally in the Dunn's Marsh basin are now piped to it (from the Home
Depot and other areas), these days the rules are different. Storm
water should be held on the property where it falls. If any part of
this project comes to be, all storm water, even that currently
generated by the highway complex should be kept out of Dunn's Marsh.
Anything other than that is a crime against the environment.
2B. DOT's plan to put a wet pond in the forest land below Allied Drive
will destroy the forest in the area of the pond. As mentioned above,
water should be handled where it originates, not piped out of the
basin to degrade one of the few deep water marshes in Dane County. We
have a lot of wet ponds on parkland already in the Dunn's Marsh
neighborhood and new ones planned. They take away from park land, and
they don't usually don't have a secondary recreational use. Often
they are cloudy, stinky ponds, not an asset to the community at all.
Check out the one in Arrowhead Park just below Chalet Gardens or the
one on the Capital City Trail in the valley a little way before you
get to Fish Hatchery Road.
2C. It seems to me that raising the Beltline will cause additional
damage to the Arboretum since the road slopes downhill. There's a
tremendous amount of damage to the flume that takes the water to the
wet pond on Greene Prairie north of the Beltline. The concrete
drainageway that once was about 4 feet deep has been totally torn up
by the runoff and is now a 20-foot deep eroded ditch that is truly
frightening to contemplate. Several ponds like the one this ditch
drains to have been "blown out" by excess water from the Beltline and
surrounding developed properties, turning this supposedly protected
place into a degraded wasteland.
3. Traffic Noise
3A. Raising Verona Road - about 11 feet (according to DOT's Larry
Barta) - to allow the "jughandle" to pass under it and raising the
Beltline about 5 feet to allow more lanes to pass under it will only
project more traffic noise into my neighborhood and into my own home.
Although I live about 3 blocks from the Beltline, I'm already
bombarded by traffic noise and vibration.
3B. The only area to be protected by sound walls is the area north of
the Beltline. The Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood and all the other
neighborhoods will be left totally unprotected. The noise is bad
now. Raising both highways, adding 2 lanes of traffic to both Verona
Road and the Beltline, and allowing it to go faster because it is
unimpeded will exacerbate the problem.
3C. Even with sound barriers, noise will loop over to more distant
properties since I've been told that sound walls only protect the
adjacent properties, not people living above the first floor or back a
few blocks.
4. Pedestrian overpass issues
4A. Raising the Beltline and widening it is also wasteful because the
pedestrian overpass will have be taken down. This is a relatively new
facility with many years of life left, AND the new one will require
demolition of buildings on both sides of the Beltline.
4B. During reconstruction of the new pedestrian overpass, children now
walking or riding bikes to school will either be driven there by their
parents or will be shuffled to more dangerous routes: Verona Road/
Midvale or Seminole Highway. Both are out of the way for students
going to Cherokee or Thoreau Schools. Adults using the overpass will
suffer the same problem.
4C. The proposed newly aligned pedestrian overpass will require
walkers and bike riders from the Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood to cross a
busy (4000-5000 cars a day) realigned frontage road (at Britta) to
access it. Presently, users of the overpass do not have to cross the
frontage road. Bikers tend NOT to stop when they come off such a ramp
even though are supposed to. This plan will create a danger that we
don't have now.
5. Frontage Road at Britta
Looping the Frontage Road south to align with Britta not only brings
the Frontage Road closer to residences, but destroys several apartment
buildings, the Montessori School which is best asset in our
neighborhood, and part of a vibrant business - the Vinery stained
glass business. Keeping the Frontage Road adjacent to the Beltline
means demolition of additional properties.
Through traffic coming onto the Beltline from Verona Road needs to be
diverted before it gets to this intersection. A South Reliever needs
to be built so that the Beltline doesn't need to be widened and the
Frontage Road does not need to be moved and businesses and homes don't
have to be destroyed.
6.Carling Drive Extension issues.
6A. This extension may bring traffic into the neighborhood that might
never have come in otherwise.
6B. The extension will put traffic on 2 sides of the apartment
building at the end of Carling and also next to the end apartment on
the west side of Allied Drive.
6C. The extension is on a downhill slope and will also create a blind
intersection where it will meet up with the bike path and the proposed
new Freeport Road that will go under Verona. It will be blind because
of the earth that forms the side of Verona Road. Presumably the
Frontage Road won't have a stop on it, but no matter which road does,
this will be a new place for accidents to happen.
6D. Because of the slope, it will tend to become a raceway going
downhill.
7. Jughandle issues
7A. The Jughandle will whirl traffic right up against Avalon Village
and the roller rink, making the new low-income Avalon Village less
safe and less desireable.
7B. It creates 3 traffic lights where there is now only one traffic
light to get across Verona Road to Home Depot, very probably causing a
longer time to get on or off Verona Raod or from one side of Verona to
the other. Currently, I find it extremely easy to drive across Verona
Road at "Summit" - no delays other than one traffic signal. The
jughandle will restrict my access rather than enhance it.
7C. The jughandle makes for a longer route for me as a walker or biker
coming from Milford Road if I want to go to Home Depot, and it may
cause me to chose Seminole Highway to go west on Verona just in order
to avoid the jughandle mess.
7D. As mentioned before, raising Verona Road in order to accommodate
the jughandle underpass, will broadcast Verona Road traffic noise and
air pollution into the Dunn's Marsh neighborhood.
7E. My guess is that this jughandle "improvement" will remove the big
cottonwood tree from the Summit area. This tree was saved during the
previous reconstruction upheaval.
8. Bike facilities/pedestrian facilities.
8A DOT constantly says how great this reconstruction will be for
bikers. DOT or the City could easily add painted bike lanes on the
frontage road from Seminole all the way to Summit or Allied. It does
not have to wait for reconstruction to lay down a little paint.
8B. It is no favor to bikers or walkers to add 5 more traffic lanes to
cross than we have now. Adding bigger islands to stand on just adds
more space to walk across. When walking, distance is a big deal. The
improved intersection at the Beltline looks like a bowl of spaghetti
for a walker. It's laughable that DOT would say that this
intersection will be more pedestrian or biker friendly.
8C. From my part of the neighborhood - Milford Road - or from the
Crawford area this "improvement" just makes it longer and harder to
get across Verona Road whether on foot, on a bike, or in a car. We
will have a longer distance and more intersections to negotiate. The
jughandle moves the crossover a few hundred feet further away than it
is now.
9. Freeport Road is a road to nowhere. It will empty traffic into a
residental area of small homes as well as the commercial area that
will already be served by the jughandle underpass w just a short
distance away. I don't think it is necessary.
10. Air pollution causes a myriad of health problems especially for
children. This traffic should be dispersed and diverted, not
accommodated. Even if it is mainly trucks that would be diverted,
each truck is equal to 10 cars. It's worth it.
11. Phase 1 is mainly preparation for the even more horrendous Phase
3.
Making all these changes just prepares the way for Phase 3 by causing
demolition of about 40 residential and business units. It will
degrade the adjacent neighborhoods, making them weaker and less able
to prevent the even more destructive final solution. It makes the
Dunn's Marsh neighborhood a throw-away neighborhood.
Phase 3 issues in general (since I haven't studied it as much
Phase 3 will totally destroy the neighborhood by taking out all the
businesses on the Beltline Frontage Road and putting Frontage Road
traffic up against apartments. Shutting off access to the Beltline at
Seminole will add congestion to the Verona Road access or the access
at Todd Drive. Neither access is easy. The Todd Drive intersection
is very narrow.
(That's all I can think of right now.)
Connie Mngr
May 13, 2010, 9:19:57 AM5/13/10
to Verona Road Justice Coalition
A Summary of Issues that have been brought to my attention:
Please add to and further discuss any info you have knowledge of
regarding these issues:
• Benefits regional commuters and truck traffic at expense of Madison
residents.
• Further isolates neighborhood – more lanes of traffic to cross for
bikers/pedestrians.
• Less pedestrian friendly in a neighborhood where many do not own
cars
• Increased noise , air and light pollution which is associated with
severe health effects, especially in elderly,
children and certain ethnic groups, including African
Americans. Examples are cancer, cardiovascular disease,
respiratory illnesses which in turn lead to social handicaps
such as decreased performance in learning, reduced
productivity, increased drug use.
• Construction 2 ½ years - includes night time construction near
residential areas.
• Construction will lead to more traffic entering into neighborhoods
to cut around
• Frontage road moving to Britta will be closer to residential housing
w/ 7000 cars/day.
• Extension of Carling will increase traffic posing danger for
pedestrians/children
• Safety of crossing to get to Walgreens and other businesses which
will be surrounded by roads.
• Emergency response time of vehicles traveling to Crawford heights
will be further and longer if they need first travel
south then double back along Allied and Carling.
• Decreased property values.
• Noise barriers not included in project for ALL neighborhoods.
• DOT indicated handles 140% in the favored freeway option proposed.
• Seminole Hwy Ramps removed – loosing connectivity and accesses.
• Unclear where entrance to the bike/pedestrian over-pass is located
on south side of beltline; some models
change the current configuration and show that you must cross
the busy frontage road to get to it. Our
children walk/bike to school during busy traffic times as
well as other bike and pedestrians accessing arboretum,
library, and areas north of the beltline.
• DOT did not do an adequate job publicizing the public meetings…some
neighborhoods affected did not get
mailings.
• Surveys were only given to those that attended the public meetings
eliminating input from those that could not
attend but are still affected.
Please add to and further discuss any info you have knowledge of
regarding these issues:
• Benefits regional commuters and truck traffic at expense of Madison
residents.
• Further isolates neighborhood – more lanes of traffic to cross for
bikers/pedestrians.
• Less pedestrian friendly in a neighborhood where many do not own
cars
• Increased noise , air and light pollution which is associated with
severe health effects, especially in elderly,
children and certain ethnic groups, including African
Americans. Examples are cancer, cardiovascular disease,
respiratory illnesses which in turn lead to social handicaps
such as decreased performance in learning, reduced
productivity, increased drug use.
• Construction 2 ½ years - includes night time construction near
residential areas.
• Construction will lead to more traffic entering into neighborhoods
to cut around
• Frontage road moving to Britta will be closer to residential housing
w/ 7000 cars/day.
• Extension of Carling will increase traffic posing danger for
pedestrians/children
• Safety of crossing to get to Walgreens and other businesses which
will be surrounded by roads.
• Emergency response time of vehicles traveling to Crawford heights
will be further and longer if they need first travel
south then double back along Allied and Carling.
• Decreased property values.
• Noise barriers not included in project for ALL neighborhoods.
• DOT indicated handles 140% in the favored freeway option proposed.
• Seminole Hwy Ramps removed – loosing connectivity and accesses.
• Unclear where entrance to the bike/pedestrian over-pass is located
on south side of beltline; some models
change the current configuration and show that you must cross
the busy frontage road to get to it. Our
children walk/bike to school during busy traffic times as
well as other bike and pedestrians accessing arboretum,
library, and areas north of the beltline.
• DOT did not do an adequate job publicizing the public meetings…some
neighborhoods affected did not get
mailings.
• Surveys were only given to those that attended the public meetings
eliminating input from those that could not
attend but are still affected.
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