Metro Transit announces receipt of $5 million grant

Thursday, October 20, 2011

From a post on Madison Metro's Web site:

Metro Transit is excited to announce that it will receive $5 million dollars as part of a $920 million federal grant announced today by U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood intended to put Americans back to work repairing, rebuilding and modernizing the nation's transit infrastructure. These federal funds were awarded to more than 300 public transportation projects in urban, suburban and rural areas.

Mayor Paul Soglin called Metro Transit officials today to inform staff of this major announcement.

"I am very pleased that Department of Transportation officials listened to the City of Madison as they awarded this $5 million dollar grant," Soglin said. "At a time when Madison Metro ridership is increasing and state funds are decreasing, this additional funding will mean a lot to the citizens of Madison and surrounding communities."

Soglin is currently on his second trip to Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers and U.S. Department of Transportation officials to stress the importance of additional federal transit funding and its need in continuing the success of transit in the Madison area.

Metro Transit will use this money to add 14 new diesel buses to its fleet, upgrade aging farebox equipment on every bus, and to purchase 25 new transit shelters.

According to Metro Transit General Manager Chuck Kamp, this funding is especially important in order to continue Metro's yearly replacement of approximately 15 buses in its fleet.

"Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic decrease in federal capital funding," Kamp said. "Federal funding is not automatic for these capital purchases. This grant will allow us to continue with our yearly improvements to our fleet."

Let's get new RTA bill done

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

From an editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The same Republicans who just killed the Dane County Regional Transit Authority say they're willing to allow RTAs in Wisconsin if they're more consistent and accountable.

OK, then let's get moving on just such a bill.

Dane County needs an RTA to encourage regional cooperation on transportation planning to avoid gridlock.

Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, and Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, played key roles during the recent state budget process in nixing the legal status of several RTAs including Dane County's.

Yet they told the State Journal editorial board recently that they'll encourage more study and a compromise bill that can be approved as early as next year or by 2013.

We intend to hold them to that pledge.

Southeastern Wisconsin leaders ask state to restore mass transit funding

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

From an article in BizTimes Daily:

A coalition of southeastern Wisconsin civic, educational and business leaders is asking the state Legislature to restore state funding for mass transit in the region.

The coalition sent a letter to state senators and Assembly members Monday, calling on legislators to refrain from making the cuts outlined in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. The letter said mass transit is vital to the economic future of southeastern Wisconsin economy.

The letter was co-signed by Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman; Cudahy Mayor Anthony Day; St. Francis Mayor Al Richards; South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki; Racine Mayor John Dickert; Oak Creek Mayor Richard Bolander; Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele; Greater Milwaukee Committee President Julia Taylor; Racine Area Chamber of Commerce President Michael Kobylka; South Suburban Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Wesener; KenoshaArea Business Alliance President Todd Battle; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Michael Lovell; University of Wisconsin-Parkside Chancellor Deborah Ford; Milwaukee Downtown Executive Director Beth Nicols; Devin Sutherland of Downtown Racine Corp. BID #1; Mike Fabishak of Associated General Contractors Greater Milwaukee; and Tom Rave of The Gateway to Milwaukee.

The letter stated:
“In the current economy, creating, maintaining, and connecting people to private sector jobs is a top priority. The state budget proposal to drastically reduce state funding for already severely strained transit systems in SE Wisconsin would threaten economic growth by making it harder or impossible for workers to get to jobs and discourage employers from locating or expanding in Wisconsin. . . .

Beyond the Bus-vs.-Rail Debate

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Beyond the Bus-vs.-Rail Debate: Cultivating Transit Discussions that Take Us Where We Need to Go

A talk by Jarrett Walker, international transit consultant and author of the weblog HumanTransit.org

Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
UW Pyle Center, Room 313
702 Langdon St., Madison, WI

Like many cities, Madison has spent years debating rail and other ideas for improving area transit. Yet few of these proposals have moved forward, and new threats to transit funding could undo what progress has been made.

Why are debates over transit often so frustrating and contentious? Can we frame them differently to foster more productive conversations and stronger consensus, both about the kinds of transit systems we want and about the value and benefits of transit to our communities?

Jarrett Walker, international transit consultant and author of the popular transit policy weblog HumanTransit.org, thinks we can, and will discuss how in a talk on Tuesday evening, May 31, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 313 of the UW Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. in Madison.

A fundamental problem, he maintains, is that heated quarrels over transit technologies have made it harder to think and talk clearly about what we really want for our communities and which choices best achieve those goals. The relationship between transit technology and transit outcomes is not always as clear as it seems, and categorical opinions about any technology, rail or bus, can blind us to many other ways to improve our transit systems and thereby enrich our communities and our lives. Approaching transit issues from a different point of view may make them easier to resolve.

Jarrett Walker, PhD, has been a consulting transit planner for 20 years, and has worked on a wide range of projects, from small-city bus re-structurings to major transit corridor studies. He has written HumanTransit.org since 2009 and his book Human Transit, expanding on themes from that writing, is forthcoming this fall from Island Press.

The talk is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the UW Center on Wisconsin Strategy’s State Smart Transportation Initiative, the Dane Alliance for Rational Transportation, the DaneTransit coalition, and the Madison Peak Oil Group. For further information contact Fred Bartol at (608) 251-6126.

Boneheaded move on transit

Monday, May 09, 2011

From an editorial in The Journal Times, Racine:

In a lamentable vote last week, state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, led the state’s Joint Finance Committee to vote 12-4 along party lines to do away with recently authorized regional transit authorities in southeastern Wisconsin and four other areas of the state.

It is a boneheaded and short-sighted maneuver that could well ring the death knell for commuter rail linking Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Unlike the high-speed rail proposed for Milwaukee to Madison by former Democratic Gov. James Doyle, KRM would connect a corridor of highly populated areas in the southeastern corner of the state. It would give businesses access to willing workers through the region, provide those workers with the means to get to jobs, give residents a car-free alternative to taking in the sights, recreational and entertainment offerings of Chicago and Milwaukee — and it would lessen the reliance on the Interstate highway system.

It was perhaps prophetic that the Vos-led vote last week came as gasoline pump prices roared well past $4 per gallon.

For good measure, the Joint Finance Committee also threw state funding for bike and pedestrian paths under the bus as well, eliminating $5 million in spending over the next two years.

Vos said the transit authorities were unpopular, unelected “abomominations” as he guided the vote for disbandonment.

Unlike during the Gov. Tommy Thompson era, in recent years Republicans have taken a Goldilocks and the Three Bears approach toward mass transit, complaining that plans — whatever plans — were too hot, too cold, too this, too that. The unelected “abomination” criticism from Vos that transit authorities would spend tax money, even though their boards were not elected, feeds into the recent rise in anti-taxing frenzy — including an advisory referendum in Racine County on “new taxes” for transit or rail that was defeated by a large margin.

In fact, Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget would have preserved transit authorities, but required a binding referendum before an authority could levy a tax.

That’s a more reasoned approach . . .

The solution isn’t to INCREASE subsidies for rush-hour drivers and freight trucking!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Fellow Rail & Transit Advocates:

The following is a transcript of my comments before the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee budget hearing in West Allis on 11 April 2011. Feel free to share, plagiarize, etc.!

Hans Noeldner
Oregon, Wisconsin
608-444-6190


We don’t have worsening congestion on Wisconsin’s roads because of people who van-pool and ride transit to work.

And our interstate highways are not crumbling because of freight that is being moved on railroads.

No, our highway funding system is broke because rush-hour motorists aren’t paying the real costs for all the capacity they demand. And freight truckers don’t begin to pay for all the damages they cause.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s counties and municipalities are digging deeper and deeper into property owners’ pockets because motorists aren’t paying the real costs of local roads and streets…and all the plowing, patching, policing, and EMS services motorists demand.

We have very serious budget problems in this state. The solution isn’t to INCREASE subsidies for rush-hour drivers and freight trucking!

No, we need to do everything possible to REDUCE the costs of moving freight and people. Wisconsin should work closely with rail companies to shift interstate freight from highways to rail. And we need to EXPAND transit, not cripple it.

But budgets aren’t just about money – they are about people.

If you are a person who is accustomed to driving whenever, wherever, and as much as you want, you have no idea what life is like for people who cannot drive…people who SHOULD not drive…families which can’t afford a car…people who would rather not depend on a car for everything.

These people deserve your representation no less than people who are like you.

I will close by challenging you to experience life on the other side of the windshield.

Walk to your grocery store a few times a month.

Pedal your bicycle to your place of worship.

Ride the bus when you go out for drinks on Friday night.

There is no better way for you to learn what you need to know – as servants of the people – than to walk in the other guy’s shoes.

Madison Metro general manager expresses concern over state budget changes

Monday, April 04, 2011

Road builders to see quick return on donations to Walker

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

From a commentary in The Capital Times by Rod Clark, who recently retired after almost 37 years with the state, 33 of them with DOT:

Anyone who followed Gov. Scott Walker’s election campaign last fall was aware that Wisconsin’s road builders were at the top of the list of his contributors. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that about 150 individual employees of road-building firms contributed $128,859 to Walker’s campaign, along with the $25,000 given by their state association to the Republican Governors’ Association, presumably to help cover the $5 million in anti-Barrett ads run by the RGA.

But what no one knew, or could even guess, until the governor unveiled his biennial budget on March 1 was how quickly and dramatically the road construction interests would see a return on their investments. Or how clearly this would highlight the governor’s true priorities.

In a budget that has drawn national attention for a proposed $834 million cut to K-12 education funding in Wisconsin, and that is being used to justify the need for significant teacher layoffs, salary reductions and an end to public sector collective bargaining, Walker has made his priorities clear for everyone to see. Walker has proposed making cuts to education at least $144 million greater than otherwise needed in order to increase funds for road construction. . . .

While claiming “Wisconsin is broke” -- a charge disputed by many -- Walker proposes in his budget to move the cost for public transit from the Transportation Fund into the General Fund, making the General Fund hole $107 million deeper and freeing up the same amount in the Transportation Fund.

At the same time, Walker’s proposal phases in a diversion of vehicle sales tax revenue out of the General Fund and into the Transportation Fund, eventually resulting in 50 percent of all vehicle sales tax going into the Transportation Fund. This amount starts at around $37 million in 2013 and grows to an estimated $200 million when completely phased in.

Further, Walker’s budget proposes bonding authority for another couple hundred million of road-building money, with the debt repayment coming from the General Fund instead of the Transportation Fund. The impact of this is as yet unknown.

Busting bus systems

Monday, March 07, 2011

From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Even if you never use a bus and would never think of getting on a commuter train, the current bleak prospects for mass transit systems in Wisconsin should matter to you.

Transit moves people to jobs, it eases congestion on city streets and freeways and it gives people another transportation option. That's important, especially now as drivers are faced with rising gasoline prices and roadwork that is shutting down lanes on freeways and major highways.

The Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker need to rethink their approach to transit and make sure that Wisconsin's systems remain healthy, especially for those who need it for work, school and shopping. Businesses such as Bucyrus International and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. rely on transit. New businesses and young professionals look to modern transit as the sign of a healthy and vibrant community.

What's in the works moves Wisconsin in the opposite direction and could damage transit systems across the state beyond repair.

Consider:

• Walker's budget would slice transit aids in the first year of the biennium and provide no alternative dedicated local funding source to help meet already financially troubled systems.

• The budget shifts transit aids from the segregated and protected transportation fund to the general fund, where transit systems would have to compete with myriad services for scarce dollars. Walker argues that the gasoline tax that largely supplies the transportation fund is a user fee paid for by drivers and should be used only on those roads that drivers use.

But mass transit helps ease pressure on those roads and gives drivers other choices, as Steve Hiniker of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, points out. Buses are a vital form of transportation.

• Because Walker's budget-repair bill would eliminate most collective bargaining with public employees, federal aid, which is dependent on workers being able to bargain, would be jeopardized for mid-size transit systems such as Appleton's.

• A separate bill in the Legislature would kill regional transit authorities that were created in recent years to help regions strengthen and support local transit systems. Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester), a co-sponsor of the bill, told us the RTAs were put together badly and he'd like to repeal them and start over with an honest policy debate. We'd prefer leaving them in place and making adjustments where needed so that regions can start now to build what they need.

• Walker's budget bill freezes local tax levy increases, meaning that even if a community wanted to spend more on transit, it couldn't.

RTA approves plan for expanded bus service outside Madison

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Fronm an article by Devin Rose in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The county's Regional Transit Authority Board is seeking public comment on a proposed plan they approved Wednesday that would improve and extend bus services to areas outside Madison — but the plan's full implementation is contingent on approval of a transit sales tax.

Among the proposed improvements — which could be funded by up to a half cent sales tax for people within the boundaries of the RTA — are regional express bus service, expanded service to other Dane County communities, additional park and ride lots and improved services for the elderly and disabled. The RTA board would have to vote on whether to place an advisory referendum for the tax on the April 5 election ballot before Feb. 22.

RTA Chairman Dick Wagner said the next step for the board is to listen to people's opinions about the plan, which will be released in full next week. The plan includes about $9.7 million to $13 million in new and improved services. Wagner said Tuesday he has heard little or no support for a half cent sales tax, but there is some backing for one-fourth of a cent, which would yield $15 million to $17 million annually.

Madison's train station would cost at least $12 million, have four stories

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

From an article by Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The state Department of Transportation estimates a Madison passenger rail station next to Monona Terrace will cost about $12 million, though city officials are already contemplating additions that could drive up the local share of the cost.

The estimate, along with more detailed design sketches, were showcased Tuesday evening at the state's Department of Administration building, 101 E. Wilson St., where the train station will be located. About 150 people attended.

State and city officials still have to negotiate a final cost-sharing arrangement for the station, DOT Divisions Operations Director Paul Trombino said. The state plans to own and operate the station, he said.

The state had budgeted $24 million for station development — including $9 million for Madison and $5 million each for Watertown, Oconomowoc and Brookfield — but has since dropped plans for an Oconomowoc station. Some of the money for Oconomowoc could go toward the Madison station, but the cost of other stations remains unknown, Trombino said.

Madison has already committed to building a 1,200-stall underground parking structure on the site of the dilapidated Government East parking ramp across Wilson Street from the DOA building. An already-planned 800-stall structure was anticipated to cost $23.5 million, and the train station will require 400 of its own stalls.

Though the DOT concept includes locating an intercity bus boarding area on Pinckney Street next to the parking ramp, the city anticipates locating a public market and bicycle parking facility on the ground floor.

Mass transit just a matter of time

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

From a column by Dave Zweifel in The Capital Times:

The times they keep a-changin’.

For the first time ever, the venerable Chicago Tribune/WGN poll shows that a majority of residents in the suburbs have joined their city brethren in believing that expanding mass transit is preferable to spending more on roads and highways.

For 30 years now, the poll has been asking the question: “Which should have greater priority, improving/adding to expressways and tollways, or to the public transit system?”

This year, 76 percent of city residents, most of whom forgo cars to ride commuter rail or the buses, answered “public transportation,” while 15 percent picked roads. (The remainder weren’t sure.)

What surprised the pollsters this year, though, is that suburban dwellers, who have typically relied on cars to get back and forth to work, also said they favored investing in public transportation over roads, although by a closer margin, 52 percent to 32 percent. In the past, suburbanites have strenuously objected to having their tax dollars go for improving what was once thought to be an expensive perk only for city residents.

Many of the respondents who would put public transit ahead of highways pointed to the growing stress that comes from highway congestion and high gasoline prices. Some identified the impact on the environment and health. The poll indicated that more and more people are concerned that sitting in traffic breathing exhaust fumes isn’t conducive to one’s well-being. Some 17 percent of the people polled said they had switched this past year from driving to using public transit.

According to the Tribune, the director of a Chicagoland civic organization called the results “phenomenal.”

“People are seeing that a car-oriented culture is limiting economic development and quality of life in the region,” said Frank Beal, executive director of Chicago Metropolis 2020.

County Clerk Bob Ohlsen: Why all-RTA vote nearly impossible this fall

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

From a column by Dane Co. Clerk Bob Ohlsen in The Capital Times:

There has been a great deal of talk, including in The Capital Times, about why the RTA referendum question will more than likely not be on the November ballot, mostly pointing at me, the county clerk, for saying it was nearly impossible to do so. Here is my response:

Only the RTA board has the authority to call for a binding referendum at a regularly scheduled election. Two conversations with the chair of the RTA board, one in February and one in July, indicated that the question would probably not be ready for the November election. With the difficulty in making sure only the people within the RTA boundaries could vote, work had been started to set up the voting boundaries. For the cities, towns and villages entirely within the RTA district, that wasn’t a problem -- everyone could vote on the issue. The concern lay in the municipalities that are only partially within the district.

Meetings were held with each of the local clerks, going over maps to identify those addresses that are in the district. Because the RTA boundaries do not follow political boundaries, the district combos for the voters (combinations of the political districts: Senate/Assembly, county supervisory, school, utility districts, wards) would be affected, along with the address ranges (addresses on each street within the district combos) set up in the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). Many of the current address ranges would have to be changed, taking voters out of one range and putting them in another.

When the SVRS system was created, RTA districts were not included, so there were changes to the system that would be necessary. Because it is essential for election inspectors to correctly identify the voters who are allowed to vote on the referendum, it was felt that a different set of numbers should appear on the poll list. By adding a dash and an extra number, the voter’s district combo would appear differently, and at first glance, the inspector would be absolutely sure the voter was getting the correct ballot. The SVRS staff was skeptical whether this change would work in the system. After some preliminary testing, however, it was determined that it was possible and they began to write scripts for the system and do the extensive testing that was necessary. The hope was to get it done by July 1, giving the clerk’s staff time to verify the information and make all the necessary changes (a time-consuming, complex process) in the system, along with the SVRS staff, to be ready just in case a November referendum was called.

Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. The go-ahead has yet to be received. The July 1 date would have made it difficult to get the necessary work done, but at this late date, it is truly nearly impossible.