The Lane That Kept Bringing Crashes

The Lane That Kept Bringing Crashes

From The Bottom-Up Revolution by Strong Towns

June 9, 2026 · 22 min · Episode 256

About this episode

Josh Olson discusses the successful push for traffic safety changes on Willie Street after multiple crashes at a local coffee shop.

A car had crashed into the same Madison coffee shop three times. That was enough for Josh Olson and Strong Towns Madison to push for a change on Willie Street — a dense, locally-owned corridor that doubles as a commuter shortcut during rush hour. The intervention they proposed cost a fraction of what the city had budgeted, took two weeks to implement, and ran as a two-month trial. Josh breaks down what made the argument land with city staff and commissioners, and what happened after the results came in. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns Madison (Site, Instagram) Josh Olson (LinkedIn) Counting Cranes (Substack) Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here. This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.

People in this episode

Host: Strong Towns

Guest: Josh Olson

Topics covered

  • traffic safety
  • urban planning
  • community engagement
  • local business
  • city intervention

Keywords

  • traffic crashes
  • urban intervention
  • Madison
  • Willie Street
  • community safety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Strong Towns Madison, Counting Cranes

Places: Madison, Willie Street

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