Madison plans to connect 2 major bike paths to improve safety

Madison is well known for being a bike-friendly city. It’s set to get even friendlier with a new plan to connect two major bike routes on the city’s south side. 

Under the plan, the Cannonball and Wingra Creek Paths would be linked by creating a median-separated lane along Fish Hatchery Road. The changes are meant to increase bike safety on a road that sees about 30,000 cars a day.

Aaron Canton, an engineer with the city of Madison and the project’s manager and designer, said connecting the two paths has been a longstanding goal.

“It technically would be the completion of the Cannonball Path corridor, which starts as an extension of the Military Ridge (State Trail),” Canton said. “This would connect from there all the way to the Wingra path. It’s been in the plan for quite a while … and exciting that it’s finally happening.”

The Wingra Creek Path also connects to the Capital City State Trail, making the reach go even farther. In 2024, the Wingra path and Cap City Trail combined saw roughly 612,000 bikers.

And recent path improvements at Cottage Grove Road and Dempsey Road — including a new bike signal — have led to a 208 percent increase in bike traffic.

It’s a welcome change for self-described “crazy bike commuter” Angela Kita. She commutes four miles each way to work — rain or shine, snow or ice.

“One of the things I love so much about Madison is there are all these beautiful bike paths, and a lot of them are really well connected,” Kita said. “Then there are some places … where a bike path just kind of ends, or you have to hop on a dangerous road.”

As an experienced biker, Kita said she can handle it, but she worries about less experienced riders or children navigating those interstitial spaces. 

She said biking connects riders to the world around them, and she hopes the path improvements encourage more people to travel on two wheels.

“I hope more people are able to feel comfortable and safe to do it and realize how much more fun it is,” she said.

The plan needs to be approved by the city’s Transportation Commission, Board of Public Works and Common Council. Canton expects those votes to go through early this year, with hope to begin construction in the summer.

This is the city’s second attempt to connect the paths.

The original plan was to run the path along a railroad track through a wooden area between Fish Hatchery and Park Street. But it was scrapped after the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad contested it because it would have crossed the tracks. It went to the state Office of the Commissioner who sided with the railroad and denied the crossing request.

And while the new plan is underway, the city isn’t completely abandoning its original plan.

“The potential for that other route to come in the future, if changes happen with the railroad track or redevelopment, is still on the table one day,” Canton said. “But in order to make this connection now, we are using the city right-of-way and the route that we have.”