Recent announcements about Madison Parks next steps with
the MadBAT system have prompted some questions about its implementation. Answers to many questions can be found in last summer's Concept Plan, attached below.
Answers to some of the common questions:
Parks is definitely aware that the North and East sides are underserved in terms of mountain bike infrastructure, and are keen to remedy that. You'll notice that Warner and Sycamore Parks are both on the short list for development, hopefully we'll see one or both of those move forward in the next year or two.
If you have a park in your neighborhood that you believe would be a good place for trails,
let Parks know. It is helpful if the park in question is on the list of identified possibilities in the attached document; a great deal of work went into the creation of that list, with consideration given to terrain, access, and current use, so there is likely a good reason parks not on the list are not there.
Do not start building trail in a city park (or any land that is not your own) in the hope that it will speed things along. It makes the mountain bike community look bad, creates headaches for the Parks Department, and will, more than likely, result in your work being undone. The city of Madison is a large bureaucracy and it takes a while for things to happen, but there are good people who are very supportive of building trail and facilities, let's try to be patient and stay on their good side.
