How we plow bike lanes and paths
Arterial bike paths
We plow arterial bike paths as needed after any snow event. We will plow arterial bike paths when a general plowing is underway. Our goal is to clear these paths for commuters as soon as is practical on weekdays.
Because we often have to plow major streets three or four times during a given snow event, windrows at the intersections of bike paths and streets are inevitable. We instruct our plow operators to try to minimize the windrows. We also send a plow back on the bike paths once we are finished with our plowing to clear the windrows. Bicyclists should be prepared to encounter windrows at intersections.
On-Street Bike Lanes
Because on-street bike lanes are located on the edge of streets, they will get snow accumulations. Parking is allowed on almost all on-street bike lanes. This means that plows are not able to access the entire bike lane due to the proximity of parked cars. Bike lanes are rarely cleared down to the bare pavement.
Even though most on-street bike lanes are on salt routes, they are rarely clear during winter. Salt's effectiveness is limited due to its dependency on traffic volume to distribute the salt and stir the snow and ice accumulations to promote the melting action. Given the lack of volume and small tire size of bicycles, few bike lanes will be as clear as the adjacent vehicle lanes.
During general plowing, we usually plow streets as close to the curb line as possible. We rely on drivers following alternate side parking rules. If cars are moved to follow these parking rules, we can clear most streets very close to the curb line over a two-night period.
Our ability to plow on-street bike routes to the curb is limited by two factors:
- Parking rules do not apply on streets where parking is allowed on only one side. This includes large sections of E. Gorham, E. Johnson, and Jenifer Street. Due to the large volume of cars parked on these streets, we are never able to get to the curb during regular operations.
- Compliance with the parking rules. When a car remains parked in violation of the rules, we must plow around it. This action creates a space of approximately three car lengths where snow remains on the street.
Another cause of snow accumulation along the curb line is significant amounts of snow. During the last 10 years, Madison has experienced some of its largest snowfalls on record. This results in large piles of snow on the terraces which eventually end up along the curb line and onto the street.
These circumstances lead to snow accumulating along the curb line and into the parking lane. This forces parked cars further from the curb so they encroach on the bike lane. This gradual narrowing of the on-street bike lane forces bicyclists into the traffic lane.
Because snow removal operations are expensive and our places to store removed snow are limited, we only clear on-street bike lanes when we get significant narrowing of a street. We do not remove snow strictly to clear on-street bike lanes. When plows clear salt routes, they will attempt to plow back snow on bike lanes on their final run. Clearing bike lanes with parked cars will remain difficult.
To get on-street bike lanes as open as possible, our plow operators will make a final pass on all salt route streets as close to the curb as possible. This will maximize the clearance of the bike lanes.
