Today is National Transit Driver Appreciation Day!
While many businesses and organizations have transitioned to working from home to support social distancing practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we know that not everyone is able to do that.
Our transit drivers are still working, getting people where they need to go. In these trying times, we encourage you to send a thank you message to your local transit system and to the drivers especially.
Other transit news: WisDOT allocates $75 million Multimodal Local Supplemental grant
Earlier this month, Governor Evers announced the recipients of the $75 million Multimodal Local Supplement grant program, which was created in an effort to fund local transportation projects around the state. Cities, counties, towns, villages and tribal governments across Wisconsin submitted a total of 1,596 grant applications to WisDOT between November and late January of this year. We sent a petition and a number of public comments urging the grant selection committees to recommend funding for the eleven proposed public transportation projects. Of the 152 projects that were approved for funding, only one was transit-specific. Here’s the breakdown of the projects that were funded by the MLS grant:
Roads and Bridges
-127 projects were funded, receiving 76% of the funding.
Bike and Pedestrian
-4 projects were granted funding, receiving less than 3% of the funding.
Harbors
- 2 projects were funded, receiving 2% of the funding
Transit
-1 project was approved: a bus for Milwaukee county, receiving less than 1% of the funding.
Multi-Modal
- 17 projects include road as well as bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements (17%)
-1 project includes road, bike, pedestrian and transit infrastructure improvements (1%)
We are disappointed by WisDOT’s emphasis on road infrastructure in their allocation of grant money. A number of the road projects that received funding will widen roads and county highways. WisDOT secretary Craig Thompson is quoted in the MLS press release saying the expansion of County Highway M in Brown county promises to reduce rush hour congestion, when in fact road widening has been shown to have little effect on traffic congestion because it encourages more driving. Wisconsin cannot reach its goal of 80% emissions reductions by 2050 if WisDOT continues to encourage car ownership.
This grant program was a great opportunity to fund much-needed transit improvements that have seen little state funding in the past decade. It is unacceptable how few transit projects were funded. Public transportation is essential for economic growth and access to opportunity, and it is critical in the fight against climate change, an issue Governor Evers has made strong commitments to address. Bike and Pedestrian infrastructure can give car users a cheaper, healthier and cleaner transportation alternative, and we are glad these projects were given some recognition by WisDOT, but it is not nearly enough. We remain committed to fighting for public transportation improvements and will continue to push for this to be made a priority.
By Sarah M, Chapter Organizing Project Aide