So, where is this Silicon Prairie Parkway anyways?
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz attends a groundbreaking (hard hats, shiney shovels, dusty wingtips) ceremony for Full Compass on this "street" Monday at noon. But how do you even get there?
Well, start by taking Mineral Point Road west, past the Beltline and something Google Maps calls "Middleton Junction" (perhaps better known as the nightmare intersection near Target), past the gigantic "candelabra" tower, hang a left on South Point Road and, apparently, you'll find yourself on the Silicon Prairie.
Expect more companies like Full Compass to be building in the vicinity of UW Research Park II in the coming years. Think traffic volume is brutal in that area now? Just wait.
As juiced as some are by the prospect of commuter rail running between Middleton and downtown Madison, others think creative transit options will be more necessary for this part of Madison, and points south. It's why the amateur urban planners who gather at strip mall coffee shops and suburban taverns opposed Mayor Dave's downtown streetcar plan a couple years ago. They're not against light rail, per se. They'd just rather see it serve the Mineral Point or Verona Road corridors instead of ferrying people around downtown.
While Madison Metro certainly serves these neighborhoods, travel times often clock in at over an hour each way for commuters, making bus transit impractical for people with kids.
MAYOR CIESLEWICZ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Monday, August 4, 2008
8:30 a.m. Filming of Troy Gardens video (Mayor's Office) 10:00 a.m. Policy Staff Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room) 12:00 p.m. Full Compass Systems Groundbreaking Event (9710 Silicon Prairie Parkway) 1:30 p.m. The Dane County Coalition to Fight Homelessness and End Poverty (Mayor's Conf. Room) 2:30 p.m. Common Council Leadership Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room) 3:30 p.m. Mayors' Innovation Project Steering Committee conference call (Mayor's Office) 5:00 p.m. Northside Planning Council Quarterly Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
9:30 a.m. Jeff Rosenberg, Brian Munson, Brad Murphy, Rick Roll, Ray Harmon (Mayor's Conf. Room)
10:30 a.m. Mayor's Management Team Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
12:30 p.m. Visit La Petite Academy during "Champions of Change" unit (5574 Lacy Rd)
2:00 p.m. Capital Budget Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
4:30 p.m. Bill White, Todd McGrath, Lance McGrath, Don Marx, Anne Zellhoefer, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Conf. Room)
6:30 p.m. Common Council meeting (CCB 201)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
8:00 a.m. Office/work time 10:00 a.m. Staff Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room) 2:00 p.m. Jennifer Alexander, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Office) 3:00 p.m. Office/work time 6:00 p.m. Mayor's Public Hearing on the Budget (Ashman Library)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
9:00 a.m. David Haug, Brad Murphy, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Conf. Room)
12:00 p.m. Lunch with Chancellor John Wiley, Casey Nagy, Dawn Crim, Janet Piraino, Mario Mendoza, Katherine Plominski
2:00 p.m. Office/work time
Friday, August 8, 2008
Morning Office/work time
Afternoon Vacation