Biking With The Mayors

Monday was the start of the 2014 Bike to Work Week and as usual Mayor Tom Barrett got things started with his group bike ride. The route takes riders from his neighborhood, Washington Heights, to the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building, 841 N. Broadway, in downtown Milwaukee.

The crowd gathered at the corner of N. 51st St. and Washington Blvd and awaited the mayor’s arrival. Numerous bike enthusiasts and advocates as well as local politicians and city staffers joined the ride, including: Keith Holt, Dave Steele, Dave Schlabowske, aka the Bike Czar, city engineer Jeff Polenski, Michael Loughran, Bunky Miller, Pat Murphy, Ald. Nik Kovac, and former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who now serves at executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Cieslewicz fired up the riders, kidding that with just a chance of rain a similar ride was cancelled in Madison, while here in Milwaukee the threat of rain didn’t deter this hardy crowd from riding to work.

Along the way the ride had support from the mayor’s security staff and members of the Milwaukee Police Department.  So much support that at a couple of intersections the group received a “mayoral corking,” by MPD (Corking is a bike term for blocking an intersection to allow a group ride to get through the light).

Last year, Barrett rode one of Trek’s B-cycle bikes to promote a future rollout of bike-sharing in Milwaukee.

During the post-ride press conference Barrett noted that the city has a $1.6 million CMAQ grant for the proposed bike-sharing system, but he stated that it won’t be rolling out until 2015, rather than this summer as had been previously reported. Despite the delay, Barrett told the crowd, bike-sharing “is on its way.”

UPDATE May 13 10:26 pm: It turns out we won’t have to wait till 2015 for more bike sharing. Kevin Hardman, of Midwest Bikeshare, Inc., in an email to Urban Milwaukee wrote, “We’re hoping to get 5-10 additional stations on the ground this summer. These stations are not CMAQ-funded but will use other sources we’ve raised.”

Photos from the Ride

Other Bike to Work Week Events

For some of us it is always Bike to Work Week, but if you haven’t tried yet, it’s time to get the bike out of the garage. Here are just a few of the fun events left to take in this week:

Wednesday

• 7:30 am: The Great Milwaukee 2014 “Rider vs. Driver” Commuter Challenge at Colectivo in Shorewood, 4500 N. Oakland Ave. Learn from a panel of riders and drivers whether biking or driving is faster, cheaper, or more environmentally friendly. And where to get a great cup of coffee in the morning.

Thursday

• 7:30 am: Bike to Work with the Milwaukee Parks Department. The ride leaves from the Estabrook Park South Parking Lot, 4400 Estabrook Parkway..

Friday

• 5-9 pm: Art for Bike’s Sake at Anodyne Coffee, 224 W. Bruce St. in Walker’s Point. The fundraiser will benefit Vulture Space and feature bicycle-themed artwork. RSVP on Facebook.

Quick Hits

• On Thursday, May 15th from 5-6:30 p.m., the first in a series of “Streetcar Socials,” informal events held along the route for people who are looking forward to riding the streetcar, will be held at Residence, 612 N. Broadway, in downtown Milwaukee.  For more information check out the Facebook event page.
• The redevelopment of MPS’ Dover Street School, which was once thought headed for the waste basket due to “too much density projects,” is alive and well. Katherine Keller, of the Bay View Compass, reported that, “District 14 Ald. Tony Zielinski said he reached a compromise solution today with developers Maures Development Group and CommonBond Communities concerning the scale and scope of the plan for the redevelopment of the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Dover Street School building and land, 619 E. Dover St.”
• Colectivo’s new Third Ward location, 225 E. St Paul Ave., opens tomorrow, and they’ll be serving beer. Along with plenty of coffee, of course.