Thank you! Week Without Driving 2026

The display is put away. The Week Without Driving Bingo prizes are starting to be awarded (if you entered, you will WIN - please be patient!) And the follow up emails are being prepared. 

Thanks to everyone who participated in, supported, co-sponsored, and helped spread the word about 2026 Week Without Driving in the La Crosse area.

Nationwide, there were more than 1,200 co-sponsoring agencies, governmental offices, nonprofits, businesses, community groups, faith groups, and individuals! We are still waiting to learn how many people signed up for the WWD experience this year.

Special thanks to local 2026 co-sponsors:

• Coulee Region Sierra Club
• Drift Cycle La Crosse
• Independent Living Resources, Inc. 
• La Crosse Area Planning Committee 
• La Crosse Area Transit Advocates
• La Crosse Bike Ped Advisory Committee 
• La Crosse Climate Action Plan Steering Committee 
• La Crosse MTU
• Smith's Bike Shop 
• Sustainability Institute
• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse
• UW-La Crosse Sustainability
• Wrench and Roll
• YWCA La Crosse

Thanks to those who contributed WWD Bingo prizes: Drift Cycle, La Crosse Area Transit Advocates, La Crosse MTU, Smith's Bike Shop, Sustainability Institute, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, Bridget, and Cathy.

Thanks to those who hosted special WWD events: Drift Cycle, Smith's Bikes, La Crosse Area Planning Committee, City of La Crosse, La Crosse Area Transit Advocates, La Crosse MTU. 

Thanks to elected leaders who participated and supported WWD by

• Proclaiming Oct. 1-8 as Week Without Driving and making a selfie video inviting the community to participate - Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey
• Attending the WWD press event kick-off: La Crosse City Council member Chris Kahlow, La Crosse County Board Supervisor Dillon Mader
• Riding the bus with local non-drivers:  La Crosse City Council member Chris Kahlow
• Participating in the LAPC/City Bike Ride with Elected Leaders: 
• State Senator Brad Pfaff
• La Crosse County Board Supervisor Kathy Allen
• La Crosse City Council member Chris Kahlow
• French Island Village Trustee Mike Stolpa
• Gregg Wavrunek from US Senator Tammy Baldwin's office
• Mary Carney from US Rep. Derrick Van Orden's office
• Guest speaker: Onalaska Mayor Kim Smith who spoke about the importance of funding safe bike infrastructure in rural areas. 

Thanks to the La Crosse MTU/Grand River Station Transit Center for hosting the WWD display from October 1 through 8 and for hosting the October 1 press event. 

Thanks to the La Crosse Public Library for hosting our display from September 23 through 30 and for use of a room for the screening of Cycling Cities (you can watch it online!) 

You can still send us your video or written experiences of Week Without Driving - did you have a pleasant surprise while riding the bus? Did you run into trouble trying to bike commute? Did you notice some hazards on your walk downtown? What insights did you gain by doing WWD bingo activities? Has WWD changed how you think about transportation? equity? non-drivers? siting of public facilities?

Email your story or your suggestions for next year's WWD or use this link to submit something anonymously: https://tinyurl.com/MyWWDExperience. 

If you would like to help plan for Week Without Driving 2027 - September 30 through October 6 - please email us!

WisARP Fall Meeting

The WisARP fall meeting will be held in Oshkosh on November 14th. This will be a hybrid meeting; you can either attend in person or via Zoom.

If you are attending in person, register online at 

https://reg.planetReg.com/E916173715160286 or use this form and pay by check.  Early registration ends November 7th.  The registration fee goes from $40 to $50 on November 7th. 

If you are planning to stay over night In Oshkosh, the Oshkosh Marriott is offering us a special rate until October 20: $140 plus tax and fees.

Tentative Agenda

  9:00 a.m. Coffee, Pastries

10:00 a.m. – Noon Speakers

• Rich Kedzior, Passenger Rail Implementation Manager, WisDOT
• Rep. Lori Palmeri, Chair of the Wisconsin Rail Caucus, Madison
• Amber Miller, Senior Associate Outreach Director, AARP Wisconsin
• Melissa Kraemer-Badtke, Executive Director, East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Noon Lunch

  1:00 p.m. – 2:45p.m. Speakers

  2:45 p.m. Elections

  3:00 p.m. Adjournment

Bingo deadline MONDAY! And input opportunities

 

Thanks to all who participated in Week Without Driving! Remember to get your WWD Bingo cards in by the end ot the day on MONDAY (new date)! You can drop completed cards at the Transit Center or with any MTU bus driver on the bus. OR you can scan or take a photo of your completed card and email it to us at LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me. 

Didn't get a bingo card? Print this one, fill it in, scan it, and email it back right now! Remember, we have PRIZES!

Also, if you had a special experience or delightful surprise or unexpected glitch during your week without driving, please share it with us by emailing or filling out the form at https://tinyurl.com/mywwdexperience. There is no deadline for sharing your story!

Going beyond Week Without Driving, there are a few important public input opportunities coming up!

By the end of TODAY, please take LAPC La Crosse Regional Transportation Safety Plan survey! https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/eaa42a08ed3b43a58f5f45163928955b

AND

The City of La Crosse Board of Estimates will meet on MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 at 4 p.m. at City Hall to discuss the proposed 2027 operating budget for the city. There will be a public hearing at this meeting. Please consider coming to testify and/or emailing council members to support strong public transportation funding given that public transit is an essential service for tens of thousands of La Crosse residents and an important climate action tool. Remember, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that 40% OR MORE city of La Crosse residents are non-drivers and the city's climate action plan calls for improving transit services to reduce vehicle miles traveled and corresponding transportation-related carbon emissions. You can find your council member's contact information here OR consider emailing all using the form at https://cityforms.cityoflacrosse.org/Forms/ContactCityCouncil.

AND 

There will be a public input meeting on OCTOBER 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Southside Neighborhood Center regarding route changes proposed by the MTU.

Details may be found at a map on the city's web site. 

• Tweak Route 2 near Pammel Creek Road to better serve State Road Elementary School
• Make Circulator 1 route less twisty between Green Bay Street and Eagle Crest South
• Expand Route 8 to travel the length of River Valley Drive and along George Street between Clinton and St. James to better serve Schuh Homes.

PLEASE take this opportunity to tell MTU what you think about these proposed updates. If you have other ideas, share those, too.

AND

From 1000 Friends of Wisconsin:

The wait is over! Wisconsin’s DRAFT Active Transportation Plan 2050 is here!

Released by WisDOT on September 24, the plan combines Wisconsin’s previous bicycle and pedestrian plans into one long-range statewide plan for walking, bicycling, and other human-powered transportation. WisDOT's ATP website has links to the plan, comment page, and to sign up for direct updates.

When finalized, the Active Transportation Plan will align with Connect 2050, Wisconsin's statewide long-range transportation plan. This means it will help shape Wisconsin’s active transportation policies and priorities for years to come.

But the window to weigh in is short: public comments are due October 24, 2026.

Now is our chance to speak up! We encourage you to:

• Review the draft plan.
• Submit a public comment and share what you want to see prioritized.
• Multiply your impact. Reach out to at least one person in your network who cares about active transportation and encourage them to review the plan and submit comments, too. The more voices WisDOT hears from, the stronger our message will be.

Week Without Driving

Mark your calendars and plan to join us in recognizing Week Without Driving, October 1-8. This national event highlights the challenges non-drivers have in our car-centric world and encourages all of us to consider what changes in planning, policy, and budgets we can make to help everyone access their lives more safely, conveniently, affordably, and fairly!

How can you participate?

• Check out our display through September 30 at the La Crosse Public Library and from October 1-8 at the Grand River Station Transit Center, 314 Jay St.
• Sign up to do the WWD Experience (try going a week without driving your car!) There are no fails! Only opportunities to consider how those with fewer choices cope.
• Pick up or print off a WWD Bingo Card and maybe win a prize!
• Come to our WWD Kick Off press event on Thursday, October 1 at 10:15 a.m. at the Grand River Station Transit Center, 314 Jay Street! (Let us know if you'd like to speak!) 
• Come to a WWD event! Bring your friends!
• Share our flyer on your social media. Post a flyer at your workplace. Email it to others.
• Let us hear your WWD story by emailing us a few paragraphs or a link to your WWD selfie short!
• Visit our WWD La Crosse event page for details and updates! 

Regional transit update

Thank you to those who wrote, called, and testified at the SMRT bus hearing. There were far fewer people speaking this time, but the reasons we need a regional transit service are as important as ever.

We appreciate those county board supervisors who expressed support for finding a way forward!

At its September 17 meeting, the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors voted to add a new item to its strategic plan as noted in the meeting minutes:

Healthy Infrastructure
• New Outcome Measure - Collaborate with the MPO to investigate “Multi-County Transit Commission,” “Multi-Jurisdictional Transit Commission,” or similar organization structure, as a means to establish fast and reliable public transportation alternatives to meet the needs of all la crosse county residents, including those with mobility barriers. This organization would also gather perspective from municipal partners to act on the investigation’s recommendation. 

If you live outside of La Crosse County, please contact your county board and ask them to participate in an effort to find a SMRT replacement. 

Those who live in the county - please contact your county board member and thank them for adding this important item to the strategic plan and encourage them to be transparent and open to public input as the work proceeds.

TWO DISCONTINUATION HEARINGS NEXT WEEK!

Two area public transportation systems are on the chopping block.

From Abby Vans: Abby Vans has been made aware of a Public Hearing for the residents of the City of Tomah regarding possible discontinuation of the Tomah Transit service effective January 1, 2027. We are sharing this information in case you were not aware. Any interested person, please plan to attend the public hearing on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the City Hall, 819 Superior Avenue, Tomah, Wisconsin.

And, we have learned from a La Crosse County Board member that a public hearing on the discontinuation of the SMRT bus will be held by the La Crosse County Board Executive Committee on Tuesday, September 15 at 4:30 p.m. We have not found the public notice in the La Crosse Tribune, we were told it was published on July 30. 

Here is the notice emailed from the County Planning and Zoning Department:

While testimony at the meeting will likely not change the plan to discontinue the SMRT at the end of this year, it is an opportunity to go on the record about the process and the lack of planning for something to replace this vital service. If you are able to attend, please be polite and keep your comments short (I think the time limit is three minutes but it might be two!)

There is no online option for providing testimony. You can learn more about the County Board Executive Committee, including members' email addresses, here:  https://www.lacrossecounty.org/countyboard/committees/standing-committees-boards-and-commissions/executive-committee

Just as the UN has released a report about the dire climate situation if we do not stop fossil fuel emissions immediately, and as the cost of private car ownership becomes ever more unaffordable, we are losing funding and support for public transportation around the country. Taking every opportunity to remind electeds that public transportation is a vital, essential service is important.

Please spread the word.