Madison Reporter

Biking holds significant importance in Madison, Wisconsin. The city's extensive cycling network and the community's enthusiasm for biking are well-known. Renee Callaway, Assistant Director of the Traffic Engineering Division, plays a crucial role in this infrastructure.

"I love working with all the people across the city in this infrastructure realm," Callaway expressed.

Callaway is recognized for her contributions to city agencies and her impact on local biking projects, such as the innovative bike lane on South Basset Street.

"My role with this project was actually from concept to evaluation," she explained. "I worked on project engagement, project design, taking it through our approval process with our boards, committees, commissions."

She also detailed her involvement in detours, marking and signing decisions, signal timing coordination, and evaluating the protected bike lane—the first of its kind in Madison—to determine future actions.

Callaway's journey began in Yuba, Wisconsin's smallest municipality. Despite not knowing how to ride a bike initially, she eventually embraced biking during college at the University of Wisconsin-Richland. She later earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"Some people who take adult education might work in health care more traditionally... but I was taking classes related to transportation planning – but with an underpinning idea of education," Callaway noted.

Her career progressed from being a bike pedestrian coordinator at UW to roles at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organization before becoming Bike and Pedestrian Administrator at Madison's Traffic Engineering Division—a field often dominated by men.

"I'm very lucky to be at a time that there are a lot more women in construction," Callaway remarked. "That doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges."

As Assistant Director now, she serves as a link between various stakeholders involved in projects like Bassett Street's development.

"The difference now is that I get involved with a lot of different things... we have some plastic delineators... how can we maintain our markings?" she said about learning from field staff experiences.

Learning plays an essential part in improving travel experiences within Madison. "You’re all playing a role in our city’s infrastructure—and we’re trying to build and maintain it at a high standard," Callaway emphasized.

The City of Madison is celebrating five women's contributions during National Women in Construction Week from March 2-8, 2025.