KCRag Forum

Madison, Wisconsin
City size: 201,000
Metro size: 409,000

The center of Madison is located on an isthmus between two large lakes, Monona and Mendota. At the heart of this area is the state capital building. From this building 4 streets radiate diagonal to the basic grid pattern on the isthmus. One of them, State Street, is the area with the most activity. It is a long strip of Westport-like stores. But also, the Madison Civic center and new performing arts building are lcoated on the street. This area is supported by the 40,000 students at the University of Wisconsin.
This area is very walkable, and Madison has embraced bicycle lanes and paths to the point of constant annoyance for drivers. A lot of activity is surrounds the urban areas that abut the lake. These areas are generally always busy when the weather is nice. In the neighborhoods surrounding the downtown area, there is still a lot of pedestrian activity. There are pockets of retail interspersed throughout the residential neighborhoods.
Overall, this is a very nice city especially considering its size. A lot of its activity is aided by the presence of the college just to the west of downtown. If it wasn't so cold in the winter and full of communists I would consider living there.

Went to Madison once for Summerfest. Its a huge fair with beer, food, beer, concerts, beer, etc. that goes on for about a week. From what I remember, it was a great time. It would be most excellent to have something like this on KC's riverfront.

KCLofts wrote:Went to Madison once for Summerfest. Its a huge fair with beer, food, beer, concerts, beer, etc. that goes on for about a week. From what I remember, it was a great time. It would be most excellent to have something like this on KC's riverfront.

Octoberfest at Riverfront Park was a pretty big success last year.

I drove through Madison at rush hour once, and the traffic was horrible. Even out in the country, past the suburbs, there was near-gridlock. And no accidents that day, just normal congestion. We planned to go downtown but bailed because the traffic sucked so hard.

Oops, guess I had a little too much beer at Summerfest. It was actually in Milwaukee, not Madison.

KCLofts wrote:Oops, guess I had a little too much beer at Summerfest. It was actually in Milwaukee, not Madison.

Aye, jus' got back from that beerfest in Milwaukee. We was also in Madison for a half-day on the way back home. Stopped by the Capitol, lunch and a few shops on State Street and then went to the Henry Villas Zoo. Madison is a great lil' city...seems very liveable, even with the communists.

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