On December 3, State Senator Tim Carpenter, State Rep. Daniel Riemer, State Rep. Mandela Barnes and Milwaukee Alder Bob Bauman joined a broad coalition of community leaders to call on the Wisconsin Department of Transportation(WisDOT) to reject both highway expansion options presented at the first of two public hearings on the future of I-94's East-West Corridor between N. 16th Street and 70th Street (between Marquette and Zoo Interchanges).
This expansion is projected to cost over a billion dollars, and it will bisect neighborhoods, desecrate cemeteries, and disrupt local businesses. There are real questions about the traffic data WisDOT is using to justify this billion dollar, double-decker highway boondoggle, especially as growing transit needs and local road maintenance continue to be neglected.
"The proposed options presented by WISDOT Secretary Gottlieb and Gov. Walker's administration are wasteful, unnecessary and irresponsible," said Juan Carlos Ruiz from the Cleaner Milwaukee Coalition. "What's worse, they want to raise taxes and fees to pay for this boondoggle project. WISDOT should go back to the drawing board and give the community options that will enhance mobility in Milwaukee, not waste taxpayer money on an unnecessary expansion."
In fact, WISDOT’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) disregards data showing that traffic volumes in the Corridor are declining and call into question the need for this costly expansion. A 2014 1000 Friends of Wisconsin report found that traffic counts on this stretch of highway decreased 8% from 2000-2012. There is a better, cheaper way to meet our transportation needs and expand mobility options for all Wisconsin citizens. Dr. Mark Stout, former Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Development at the NJ DOT, developed a reasonable alternative to WISDOT’s proposal would instead repair I-94 and create a rapid transit system along the Corridor. Please tell WisDOT that you support this "repair and transit option" rather than another costly, unnecessary highway expansion today. Take action through our alert or send written comments to Jason Lynch, Wisconsin
Department of Transportation, Southeast Region, 141 NW Barstow St., P.O. Box 798, Waukesha, WI 53187-0798. Comments must be postmarked no later than January 13, 2015. After you take action, like the Coalition for More Responsible Transportation at www.facebook.com/CMRTWI. Thanks!!