MONROE - The Monroe Main Street Design Committee is asking how Monroe can be more biker friendly.
"How do we direct bicyclists back to the trail from the Square?" committee chairman Donna Glynn asked during the committee's meeting Monday.
Directing bikers from the Badger State Trail in Twining Park to downtown Monroe is the easy part; getting them back is more difficult, she said.
Bikers would be directed along with the normal flow of traffic, on southbound 16th Avenue, to the Square. A traffic light provides a safe crossing of Ninth Street, but northbound bikers heading back to the trail on 17th Avenue have no such safety measure. And the next available traffic light is on 20th Avenue, a high traffic street.
"Things can be done to set a community apart as friendly or unfriendly," committee member Ryan Wilson said. "Right now, the Square is not biker friendly."
Members decided to research other communities recognized as "biker friendly" to find out what attributes make them so.
One step the committee has taken toward welcoming bikers is the presence of bike racks.
Last night, Marilyn Pfarr, representing the Woman's Club of Monroe, presented the Design Committee a check for $500 for the purchase of new bike racks for the downtown redevelopment plan.
One project moved up on the Downtown ... and Beyond master plan schedule is wayfinding signs.
Wilson said he will return next month with some design suggestions for Historic Downtown wayfinding signage. The signs' color most likely will be brown, he said, to distinguish them from other information signs.
• Two projects, the Badger State trailhead and the downtown streetscape design, have been taken up by the city and will be taken off the committee agenda. The downtown streetscape design proposal, once completed, most likely will be seen by the committee for its input.
• Jean Tullett reported that artists who have picked up templates and forms to submit designs for new downtown banners have been slow to return them. The deadline is March 15. Barb Nelson, director of Monroe Main Street, said the project has been announced in the newspaper and on her radio show, and all the artists' groups have been notified. Tullett said she may extend the deadline, and will look into speaking to schools about student artists' participation.
• A store sign ordinance for downtown businesses is being reviewed by City Administrator Mark Vahlsing. New dimension restrictions of two square feet per linear foot of store frontage was suggested at the last meeting.
"How do we direct bicyclists back to the trail from the Square?" committee chairman Donna Glynn asked during the committee's meeting Monday.
Directing bikers from the Badger State Trail in Twining Park to downtown Monroe is the easy part; getting them back is more difficult, she said.
Bikers would be directed along with the normal flow of traffic, on southbound 16th Avenue, to the Square. A traffic light provides a safe crossing of Ninth Street, but northbound bikers heading back to the trail on 17th Avenue have no such safety measure. And the next available traffic light is on 20th Avenue, a high traffic street.
"Things can be done to set a community apart as friendly or unfriendly," committee member Ryan Wilson said. "Right now, the Square is not biker friendly."
Members decided to research other communities recognized as "biker friendly" to find out what attributes make them so.
One step the committee has taken toward welcoming bikers is the presence of bike racks.
Last night, Marilyn Pfarr, representing the Woman's Club of Monroe, presented the Design Committee a check for $500 for the purchase of new bike racks for the downtown redevelopment plan.
One project moved up on the Downtown ... and Beyond master plan schedule is wayfinding signs.
Wilson said he will return next month with some design suggestions for Historic Downtown wayfinding signage. The signs' color most likely will be brown, he said, to distinguish them from other information signs.
• Two projects, the Badger State trailhead and the downtown streetscape design, have been taken up by the city and will be taken off the committee agenda. The downtown streetscape design proposal, once completed, most likely will be seen by the committee for its input.
• Jean Tullett reported that artists who have picked up templates and forms to submit designs for new downtown banners have been slow to return them. The deadline is March 15. Barb Nelson, director of Monroe Main Street, said the project has been announced in the newspaper and on her radio show, and all the artists' groups have been notified. Tullett said she may extend the deadline, and will look into speaking to schools about student artists' participation.
• A store sign ordinance for downtown businesses is being reviewed by City Administrator Mark Vahlsing. New dimension restrictions of two square feet per linear foot of store frontage was suggested at the last meeting.