On February 17 the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced their plans to expand I-94 by reducing lane size and eliminating shoulders, despite the fact that traffic continues to decrease in the corridor. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and tell them this decision benefits the road-building lobby, not the residents of Wisconsin. Though this proposal isn't the $1.2 BILLION double-decker project that was originally proposed, it will still cost taxpayers a whopping $850 MILLION! This announcement comes weeks after Governor Walker suggested borrowing $1.3 billion to pay for highway projects that have been proposed in the Transportation Budget. Spending so much on a unnecessary project when borrowing is required to pay for it is irresponsible, especially considering that a cheaper, safer transit alternative was proposed that would allow everyone to access the community in the area and would create economic opportunity in the region.
Write to your local paper and tell them $850 million can better be spent on local road improvements and transit.
Here are some talking points that may be helpful:
- Wisconsinites are driving less as millennials prefer transit over car ownership, seniors are outliving their ability to drive, and others are choosing to drive less or not at all. We should be investing in transit and other transportation alternatives, not unnecessary highway expansions.
- Transit, biking, and walking projects promote local development, create jobs, improve the quality of life for local residents, and allow for all to connect to medical appointments, grocery shopping, entertainment, etc.
- The proposed budget irresponsibly bonds more and increases highway funding, but cuts biking and walking and doesn't give transit funding the increase it desperately needs.
- Our local roads and transit systems are crumbling while the state expands highways that aren't being used
Once you've submitted a letter-to-the-editor, make sure to let us know so we can be on the look out!