John Coleman has been working to improve Madison for residents, bicyclists and pedestrians for more than a decade. Perhaps his most monumental effort and the one he is most proud of, is transforming his vision for the “missing link” bike path into a reality– the Southwest Bike path. He gathered maps, used his GIS skills to map a likely corridor for a bike path, plotted ownership information, built a website and started his crusade to fill in the link.
In April, 2000, he presented his plans to the UW-Madison bike ped committee. Over the next few years, he attended every meeting he could to present his plans, held signature drives, and met with officials. The path was built in 2005 and is now a critical bike transportation artery for Madison.