New traffic rules for developments breezes past Madison City Council | #citycouncil


The Madison City Council voted to unanimously adopt a new system of traffic control rules for future developments and those trying to change existing properties, a move aimed at transitioning people away from relying on cars that faced criticism from developers. 

Before dusting off your decorations and hanging you ornaments, the age-old question must be asked: Whether to use a fake or real Christmas tree this holiday season. While a plastic tree may be more convenient, Greg Hann, owner of Hann’s Christmas Tree Farm in Oregon, Wis., helps shed some light on the benefits that a real Christmas tree can bring to not only your home, but the local ecosystem as well.


The city’s new rules for “Transportation Demand Management”, or TDM, would require developers to submit and monitor their plans to reduce traffic going to and from their sites. 

Using a point system, developers would need to implement policies to reduce traffic. Depending on size and available parking, more points would be required. 

The dozens of available options for reducing traffic range from installing bike amenities and giving out complimentary transit passes to charging for parking and offering on-site child care. 

People are also reading…

“The TDM policy ahs the potential to ensure we accommodate the city’s growth in a really smart way, focusing our land growth on people rather than cars,” resident Cailey Jamison told the council. 

Previously, the city did not have a set system of rules for traffic management, leaving officials and planning staff to work out expectations for developments on a case by case basis. 

For those seeking to alter existing properties, an appeals process 

Under current plans, existing properties will be subject to TDM if they want to do the following:

  • Increase total parking on site
  • Structurally expand a building
  • Apply for a use change or change a sub-use from one category to another
  • Change the overall composition of uses on the site

Smart Growth of Greater Madison, a development group, warned that the TDM rules would lead to costs getting passed on to renters and commercial tenants all while discouraging economic investment. 

Voters to decide terms

In other council news, members passed on a 14-4 vote a referendum asking voters if they support staggering alder terms to allow for less turnover on the body following elections. 

The ordinance change would take effect if approved by voters in the April election. 

A previous effort to actually lengthen alder terms to staggered three-year terms went down earlier this year due to lack of votes. In November, the council voted to put the question of lengthened terms in a question to voters but later learned they were one vote shy of being in legal compliance with the change. 

Ald. Erik Paulson, 3rd District, reintroduced the ordinance change but without term-length changes. 

Instead of all council seats going up for election every two years, council members in even-numbered districts will be elected in even-numbered and vice versa with odd-numbered districts. 

To time the change, council members in even-numbered districts will serve a one-year term following the 2025 spring election. 


Click Here For This Articles Original Source.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *