DOT reconsiders biking / walking lane on the Hoan Bridge

The long-standing "no" has softened to a "maybe" for the addition of a bike and walking lane on the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge, according to a report by Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Daykin.

Reporting from a meeting of the Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee, Daykin writes that a regional director for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced plans to study the potential of accommodating nonmotorized traffic on the 2.5-mile span over the Port of Milwaukee.

Cycling advocates have long sought a bike lane on span, with little success. In 2002, the DOT rejected a proposal to turn one of the three northbound traffic lanes and create a two-way path for bikers and walkers. Instead, the DOT authorized a Bay View to Downtown bikeway built on surface streets.

Gov. Scott Walker has maintained a firm stance against turning a portion of the Hoan over to the self-propelled types, but he did back closing the Hoan for the Miller Lite Ride for the Performing Arts.

His spokesman said late Thursday morning that Walker has not changed his mind. He still opposes the installation of a bike and pedestrian lane on the bridge.

Thousands of cyclists successfully negotiated the 3% grade up and over the bridge, which tops out 120 feet over the harbor entrance.

On Sunday, more than 6,000 participants in the Summerfest Rock 'n Sole also traveled over the bridge, with mixed results.

Kevin Hardman, executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, called the shift in the DOT's position "great news."

A bike path on the Hoan would connect the lakefront segment of the Milwaukee County Oak Leaf Trail, from Veteran's Park to South Shore Park, he said. A path over the Hoan also would serve cyclists who travel from the west on the Hank Aaron State Trail.

Riding over the bridge would be a tourist draw, similar to the paths on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Hardman said.