Breaking News--Major
Road Construction Planned for 2010. Info Meeting 10/26/09. See article below.
Important Neighborhood News
2010 Road Construction Update By Jeremy Kautza; RNA Webmaster October 23, 2009
Two major road construction projects will snarl traffic next spring
and summer in our neighborhood. Crews are currently scheduled to reconstruct the "PDQ intersection"
and also replace the bridges carrying I-39, 90, 94 traffic over Lien Rd.
These projects may force
the closure of the entire stretch of Lien Road from N. Thompson to Fellend for the entire construction period.
This could force traffic to be diverted throughout our neighborhood causing increased traffic, risks, and nuisance.
The City of Madison will be holding an informational meeting on Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30pm at the
Streets East Operations Facility at 4602 Sycamore Avenue. There are 5 topics of discussion planned.
1. Replacement of the interstate bridges over Lien Rd. 2. Reconstruction of
the "PDQ intersection" (roundabout) 3. Railroad crossing upgrades
4. Utility updgrades 5. Proposals for improving traffic flow on N. Thompson Dr.
Neighborhood residents are encouraged to attend to voice their concerns and to have their questions answered.
For more information on these projects please see the related article further down the page.
--Joe Campana,
RNA Co-Chair contributed to this article
New Hy-Vee Grocery Story Finally Opens By Jeremy Kautza;
RNA Webmaster October 23, 2009
On Tuesday, October 27, Wisconsin's first Hy-Vee grocery story will open
its doors at 6 a.m. with about 400 new employees. The 90,000-square-foot store signals that a new player has entered the Madison
and Wisconsin grocery market.
"It's a historic thing in our company to add another state," Hy-Vee
CEO Ric Jurgens said in a visit to the store on Friday.
This is the 226th store and the eighth state in the company's
portfolio. Another Hy-Vee store is being built at Westgate for possible opening next year.
Hy-Vee, based in West
Des Moines, IA, may be coming from out of state, but the company tweaked its store for this market. It has the largest
cheese selection of any Hy-Vee store, manager Rob Budd said, with a special section set aside just for Wisconsin artisanal
cheeses. The wine and spirits department had to change its usual design because of the number of local beers the store
could stock. "We had to move the imports and just fill that section with Wisconsin and regional beers," Budd
said.
The produce department will have photos of growers whose food is sold. Budd and other store staff met with
the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and the Something Special From Wisconsin program, which indicates what items on the shelves
are local. There are five aisles of organic and natural foods, included a gluten-free food section.
Madison
also was the perfect location for the company to create a store that aims to earn certification for Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design, Jurgens said. The site development, flooring, lighting, plumbing and waste management are all aimed
at getting LEED certification. "We thought Madison would be a great place to try this," Jurgens said. "You
want to go somewhere where people have the passion for it and understand it."
Hy-Vee plans to do more than
sell groceries. There is a large selection of prepared foods, including Chinese and Italian sections. Breakfast and other
food can be made to order and there is a 178-seat dine-in area. There also is a Caribou Coffee shop, dry cleaning through
Klinke, a flower shop with delivery in Madison and a community room for meetings or cooking classes. The store will have a
pharmacy and a staff dietitian.
Even without opening its doors, the store has made a difference in the area, alderman
Joe Clausius said. The landscaped parking area is a contrast to the vast open lot that was the ire of many in the city even
when Kmart was open from 1969 to 2003. "It's going to jump-start that area that has been a dead zone since Kmart
closed," Clausius said.
If nothing else, the Hy-Vee jingle will soon be in the heads of Wisconsinites, its
lyric of "a helpful smile in every aisle" as familiar to Iowans as the Oscar Mayer wiener song is everywhere else.
Click on the picture below to be taken to Hy-Vee's website for more information.
--Information
for this article was taken from an article that originally appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Who Are We?
The Ridgewood Neighborhood Association is an active organization that is a strong voice in the shaping
of issues that confront not only our east side neighborhood, but also the entire city of Madison. We successfully stopped
the unwanted Lockwood development in our neighborhood and worked closely with Gold Leaf, on a mixed-residential
community, known as Autumnwood III on the north side of Lien Road.
We are also
working on both short-term and longer-term transportation issues. These include studying the High Speed Rail Initiative
and working in conjunction with state, county and city governments to find solutions to traffic problems that plague our area.
Recent efforts that have been successful include the reconfiguration of two intersections in the Hwy. 30 and Thompson
Dr corridor that plagued our residents. Of current concern are improvements to the Lien Rd corridor and the "PDQ
intersection."
We are also working closely with the Department of Transportation
on the Stoughton Road (Hwy. 51) Needs Assessment and have successfully lobbied the City of Madison to install traffic calming
devices at several areas in our neighborhood, including traffic circles on Glacier Hill Dr. and stop lights at the corner
of N. Thompson Dr. and Sycamore Ave.
The neighborhood also received a Planning Grant (NPG)
from the city in the amount of $10,000 to help identify goals for the area concerning development, parks, traffic and safety,
and public infrastructure. This grant led to the production of a land-use document which will guide future developments
in the area.
As Madison's far-east side continues to expand and develop it will be critical
for our neighborhood to make its wants and desires known to the larger community via our neighborhood association. With
your continued support through your comments, attendance at meetings, and community service and involvement, we can continue
to strengthen the Ridgewood Neighborhood and ensure the needs of its members are met.
What's New?
2010 Road Construction Update (See story on left)
Hy-Vee Grocery
Opens
(See story on left)
Where Are We?
Update from Ald. Clausius
March
2009
Springtime greetings to all Ridgewood area residents!! I would be amiss if I did not take this opportunity
to say Thanks for the overwhelming support that I received in the February primary election.As stated
previously, I will continue to work with residents in getting things done for our district rather than making headlines.
Before totally leaving behind the deliberations
for the 2009 city budget, I would like to mention the Madison Metro bus fare increase.At a recent 2:00
AM city council meeting, it was voted to increase the cash bus fare from 1.50 to 2.00.The fare increase
was necessary for several reason including:
150,000 will now be available for bus service expansion, without the increase service
would need to be reduced.
More security will now be added at transfer points, especially at peak transfer times.
Providing a new program
for low-income riders, existing passes now costing 48.00 monthly will be reduced to 27.50 for low-income riders.
Metro
will now be able to start rebuilding its cash reserves and stave off another round of fare increases in the near future.
As many of you have already
noticed, Segment 4 of the East Washington Avenue (EWA) Reconstruction Project is now underway.This will
be the final and most extensive segment of the five-year reconstruction project.It will include not only
the EWA/HWY 30 bridge interchange but also the Fair Oaks /HWY 30 interchange.The major construction is
slated for completion in December, 2009 with the landscaping portion of the project scheduled for 2010.
When completed the new changes will
include:
A reconfigured interchange at EWA/HWY 30 that will allow for all turning movements
on/off EWA.
Traffic signals will be added at the ramp intersections with EWA.
Bike lanes and decorative lighting will
be added on EWA.
The new EWA/HWY 30 bridges will have prairie style architecture features matching the new pedestrian bridge at Marquette
Street.
I am also pleased to report that construction
is continuing on the new HyVee grocery store in the former K-Mart building and the drive up Starbucks in the former Frame
Workshop building.Both projects will be of benefit to area residents and eliminate a couple of vacant
buildings on the “Wash”.
In
closing, I have sincerely enjoyed serving as your alder the past two years and ask for your support in the April 7th
election.If anyone has a question regarding our district or city, please contact me at district17@cityofmadison.com or 244-5066.
Lien Rd Overpass to be Replaced in 2010
By Jeremy Kautza; RNA Webmaster August 18, 2008; (Project Map Added on December 8, 2008)
The I-39/90/94 bridges passing over Lien Rd will be replaced in 2010 and plans for construction were outlined at a
public meeting held on August 13. Improvements to Lien Rd from Glacier Hill Dr to City View Dr will also be part of
the project.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is responsible for the project. According to information
released by them, the main goal is to replace the deficient bridges with wider and longer bridges to meet traffic capacity
needs. Currently, the bridges create a "choke point" for traffic merging onto and off of the interstate.
In addition, Lien Rd will need to be widened under the bridges as traffic volumes indicate the need for 4 future lanes of
traffic and for bicycle and pedestrial accomodations. The new bridges will accomodate these future needs. The
current bridges do not.
Project design is expected to be completed by May, 2009 with construction beginning in
the spring of 2010. Construction will last through the summer and should be complete by late 2010. When complete,
the interstate will have 4 lanes of traffic in each direction along with a longer ramp for drivers merging onto north I-39
from west I-94. In addition, Lien Rd will be widened to 4 lanes complementing the recent Lien Rd improvements from Thomspon
Dr to Glacier Hill Rd.
To see a summary of the August 13 meeting, click on the first link below.
The second link shows a cross-section of how the finished roadways will be constructed. The final link shows the DOT's
recommended detour for drivers. While not the most direct route available the DOT was committed to not suggesting a
route that would potentially increase traffic throughout the neighborhood. Of course, neighborhood residents can find
and use routes that are more convenient to their needs.
While the RNA is no longer an "active" organization, we continue to work on issues that impact our neighborhood
and our residents. If you are interested in helping shape the future of the neighborhood, or if there is an issue that
you feel passionately about, please contact Joe Campana (past Association President) or Jeremy Kautza (webmaster).
As our webmaster, when news that affects our neighborhood surfaces, I will do my best to keep you informed. In addition,
if anyone provides any information relevant to the neighborhood I will include it on this website.
This website was created and is maintained by our webmaster Jeremy Kautza. Several people, most notably Joe Campana, have also contributed content appearing on this site.
