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Stage 1 of Phase 1 will begin late next summer (2009) and consist primarily of adding temporary pavement to be ready for the pavement work in the spring of 2010, building a retaining wall for some 770' along the east side, and reconstructing parking lots on each side.
Phase 2 is scheduled for 2011. The first public information meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 8, 2009 from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Media Room in the Library.
A bit of possible good news on funding: Assuming the new President and Congress pass a stimulus package it is quite possible that current projects, such as Monona Drive, will see increased federal funding. Phase 1 is currently at about 72% federal funding and could be boosted to 80% or higher. Phase 2 is currently at 50%, but is less likely to be affected by the stimulus package.
Apparently, idle talk is again rattling around town about 'why don't we just repave the Drive and leave it as is.' I hate to even engage in adiscussion for fear that it might give the false impression that this is still an open question. First off, this decision has been made and we are several hundred thousand dollars down the road in engineering costs. The ad hoc committee has seriously evaluated this possibility at least twice, including as recently as July 2007.
Rebuilding as is:
- will not improve safety (Monona Drive has a crash rate three times the state average);
- will not address future severe traffic congestion;
- will eliminate federal funding; and
- will not save money for the city of Monona (because we lose federal funding and still have to do the utilities the costs to the city are very nearly the same - estimated $100,000 difference).
Doug:
ReplyDeleteWhat assurances can you provide to the citizens of the city that proper (and properly financed) oversight of this project -- perhaps the largest public works project in the city's history -- will occur?
Recent history with high profile city projects -- the Winnequah Park shelter, the Winnequah Road reconstruction (not the design, but redos on the road less than two years after completion), even 2008 road projects -- provide little assurance that city staff is up to the task of providing the aggressive and day-to-day oversight needed for such a project. Is the city considering hiring out these responsibilities, or falling back on its traditional "cheaper-must-be-better" method of making sure that projects are done correctly?
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteThe city has done a number of other projects reasonably well.
Nonetheless, I would note that this is a federal-aid project, so there will be DOT involvement and more rigorous federal standards. A different critter from our run-of-the-mill road project. Everyone involved recognizes it is a high profile project. Day-to-day oversight will be by Strand, the city's design engineer and construction manager.
The people you mention have no incentive whatsoever to care about how the business owners are treated and informed. I hope the council and mayor make it abundantly clear to those who represent us on this project that you do not want to hear from mal-treated business owners during this project, particularly when they are not informed in a timely manner about driveway closures, changes on the fly with construction design, etc. You know that I know from personal experience that this was a problem with road projects this summer. Certainly you can't please everyone all the time, but keeping Monona Drive property owners aware of what is happening has to be on someone's radar, every day.
ReplyDeleteRebuilding will GET us a Monona Drive that is driveable during the Winter months sooner.
ReplyDeleteHi, a quick question about the upcoming project on Monona Drive: What exactly will the bicycle / bicycle lane situation be? Monona Drive is atrocious right now, and it's embarrassing that we're such a progressive city, next to one of the best cities in the country to ride a bike, and we can't even ride to the establishments along Monona Drive.
ReplyDeleteAre there plans to offer a bike lane, and is it going to be separated from traffic? The best bike lanes I've seen were in Montreal.
http://alwaysintransit.typepad.com/hyde_park_urbanist/2008/07/montreal-bike-p.html
Thanks,
Travis
There will be 4'-wide bike lanes outside of the traffic lanes set off by white lane marker - standard set up.
ReplyDelete