A majority of neighborhood residents have voted to retain the current temporary diverters and to request the Madison Common Council to authorize construction of permanent diverters at two intersections on Coldspring Avenue. Of the 76 confirmed responses, 54 voted in favor, or 71.1%. Passage of this resolution will end the longstanding concern of residents who live on adjacent streets about the increasing number of drivers who view local neighborhood streets as viable alternatives to major arterial streets, such as Monona Drive.

One resident responded, “Please keep the diverters in place; this is not an attempt to separate Madison and Monona, but rather to detour the traffic which, historically, has been unsafe to the surrounding neighborhood and the children of Frank Allis Elementary.”

Since July, the City of Madison has been testing two diverters, one at the south end of Jerome Street and the other at the east end of Coldspring Avenue. This has effectively made Coldspring Avenue a dead end street serving as an entrance to the student parking lot and playing field of Monona Grove High School and to the three houses located on Coldspring Avenue. During the tests, the closure reduced average weekday traffic volume on Jerome Street from 760 vehicles to 160 and on Coldspring Avenue from 850 to 310. This is a reduction in traffic volume on these streets of 80% and 64%, respectively.

Madison Alder Larry Palm, who represents the district, said, “City of Madison Police, Fire and EMS will continue to respond to calls from Monona Grove High School and residents of the neighborhood as first responders. Our test shows there is little evidence to suggest that this closure has a negative effect on safety at Monona Grove High School.”

The Madison Common Council will vote on this issue in the next few weeks.

Background Information may be found at:

http://www.cityofmadison.com/council/District15/index.html

http://www.cityofmadison.com/transp/coldspring.htm