Roadways

The arterial roadway system in the Madison area consists primarily of high-volume traffic roadways leading into the central Isthmus area in a radial pattern from a circumferential Beltline and Interstate route system. The system also includes several north-south roadways, completing the grid network of arterial roadways in the area.

The growth of major employment and commercial retail centers on the periphery of the Madison area—most of them located outside the Beltline and Interstate system—has led to a more dispersed travel pattern with a lower percentage of trips destined for the central area. It is estimated that just 5% of the 1.7 million daily trips in the county in 2001 were destined to the Central Business District, based on a special county add-on sample to the National Household Transportation Survey (NHTS) taken that year. Around 19% and 13% were destined to the Near West (east of Whitney Way) and Far West/Middleton areas respectively.

The combination of development growth and increased trip making and daily vehicle miles of travel (VMT) per person has led to increasing congestion on metropolitan area roadways. The map below shows the roadway segments that were congested during peak periods in 2006 in the metropolitan area.

The increase in traffic volumes has been especially large on the Beltline and Interstate route system and on radial arterials beyond this system that lead into the Madison area, such as USH 151, Verona Road (USH 18/151), USH 12/18, USH 14, and Mineral Point Road (CTH S). From 1980 to 2008, average traffic volumes on the Beltline and Interstate system increased 199% from 29,500 to 88,100. From 1980 to 2008, average traffic volume on the above-mentioned radial arterials increased 211% from 12,900 to 40,100. In both cases, the rate of traffic growth was the fastest during the 1980s. The circumferential Beltline and Interstate system has helped to alleviate traffic growth on cross-Isthmus arterials, such as the Johnson/Gorham and Atwood/Williamson Street corridors, Monroe Street, and University Avenue. Average traffic volume on cross-Isthmus arterials increased only 13% from 21,400 to 24,200 from 1980 to 1990 and has remained essentially unchanged since then, dropping back down to 24,400 in 2008 after reaching 27,700 in 2000. However, these roadways remain congested during peak periods (See tables below showing traffic counts at selected locations on the arterial roadway system from 1970 to 2008). It should be noted that traffic volumes on Park Street and East Washington Avenue have been affected by construction in recent years.

Vehicle Ownership
The ratio of motor vehicle registrations to persons of driving age (16+) has increased from 0.50 in 1970 to 0.90 in 2005. The fastest growth in motor vehicle ownership occurred during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1980, new vehicle registrations increased 72,900 (59%), far outpacing the growth in population, which increased 7,700 (11.5%). This boosted the ratio of vehicle registrations to persons of driving age from 0.50 to 0.77. Since 1980, new vehicle registrations have continued to increase at a faster rate than the growth in population of driving age (See graph below).