Amtrak sale

For a Limited Time: Book a Roomette, Bring a Companion for Free

Looking to upgrade your travel experience? Now through October 31, book an elevated, First Class experience in a Roomette and bring a friend along on the journey for free.

For those seeking extra space, privacy and comfort, Roomettes feature two comfortable seats that transform into upper and lower beds by night and include a big picture window, newly upgraded bedding, pillows, towels, and linens. A dedicated First Class attendant provides turndown service, assists with meals, and helps with luggage. All customers in private rooms receive complimentary lounge access at major stations, priority boarding, and complimentary meals onboard.

This flash sale is available for travel aboard several world-famous routes including: Northbound Auto Train, California Zephyr, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Empire Builder, Floridian, Lake Shore Limited, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle.

Book by October 31, 2024 for travel November 1, 2024 - January 31, 2025. Enter code C104 on the Amtrak app. 

More details here: https://www.amtrak.com/roomsale

Bus 2 VOTE!

If you would like to bus to vote this year but aren't sure how to ride, please contact LATA (LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me or 608-315-2693) and we will send a Ride Guide to help you learn how to schedule a ride, read the maps, use the apps, and ride the bus.

In person absentee (AIP) voting begins on Tuesday, October 22. Any eligible voter may vote during hours and at locations designated by city clerks. And, what better way to get there than by bike or bus!

Here is the chart of voting times and places for City of La Crosse. If you live in a different municipality, check this La Crosse County page or contact your municipal clerk. When you vote AIP, anyone from any district may vote at the designated sites.

Your AIP ballot will be stored by your clerk, along with other absentee ballots returned in person or by mail, to be counted on election day. So, technically, this is not early voting because no votes are counted until November 5. Get more information about registering, what kind of ID to bring when you vote in person, how to request an absentee ballot, and more at https://myvote.wi.gov.

More and more voters are choosing to vote absentee in person before election day. If you work, AIP voting lets you schedule a time that works better for your schedule. You don't have to worry about not having time to get to the polls or a last minute work emergency. Some AIP voters like to go when weather is good in case weather is bad on election day. Some people get together with a group of friends for brunch and voting. Those who volunteer at the polls or in local Get Out the Vote efforts take care of their voting early so they can devote full time and attention to ensuring as many as possible vote.

Again, please contact LATA if you would like to take the bus to vote any time between October 22 and November 5.

Coulee Region Liz Fryseth!

Super activist  and LATA leader Liz Fryseth is featured in Coulee Region Women this month! Check out the article at their site!

https://www.crwmagazine.com/

More updates

Thanks to all who participated in some way in the Week Without Driving as co-sponsors or participants. Remember to turn in your WWD bingo card by October 13 to a bus driver, at the transit center, or at the city park & rec window. If anyone would like to help plan Transit Equity Days events this winter (around February 4) or next year's WWD OR if you have feedback, ideas, or suggestions, please contact us.

 

Review your WWD experience or share your ideas and complaints at https://tinyurl.com/laxwwd24Review.

LATA Leaders will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m. Please contact us for access information. We will NOT meet in November but will meet on Wednesday, December 11 at 5:30 p.m. to plan Transit Equity Days.

And, please support this important event organized by Liz Fryseth, White Cane Safety Day, on October 15 at 8:30 a.m. at the LA Crosse City Hall Council Chambers:

White Cane Safety day was introduced by congress on October 6th 1964 designated into law on October 15th. Blindness and severe visual impairment affect approximately 109,000 Wisconsin residents and the majority of these people use travel aids. These travel aids include a white cane or service animal to get around public streets, sidewalks, and places of public accommodation. These travel aids are universally recognized as symbols representing vision loss. 

Wisconsin’s White Cane Law requires that motorists come to a full stop before approaching closer then 10 feet to a pedestrian who is using a white cane or service animal.

Greater awareness of the White Cane Law leads to safer, more attentive driving in general. Enhancing the safety of all pedestrians, including children, elders, and people with disabilities.

 

Join and support our local B/VI (Blind and Visually Impaired) community and elevate the importance of White Cane Safety Day as well as pedestrian safety year-round.

Event Details

October 15th at 8:30 a.m. at the  La Crosse City Hall Council Chambers.

Proclamation read promptly at 8:30 am by Mayor Mitch Reynolds

October updates

Take a few minutes to complete the La Crosse Area Planning Committee Transportation Survey. Take the Survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LAPC_MTP To learn more, visit the APC Website or reach out to Erin Duffer at 608-785-5597 or eduffer@lacrossecounty.org.

LATA leaders will meet on Wednesday, October 9 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. online. We are hoping Leo Strand, the city's new sustainability coordinator, will hop on for a few minutes. His job is to help the city actualize its climate action plan action steps, many related to transit. If you would like to join in, please contact us for the link to join.

Also on Oct. 9, from 5 to 6 pm, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin is hosting a FREE webinar with Daniel Herriges of the Parking Reform Network. Daniel is a guest speaker for the Kenosha Transportation Academy, and they are opening this session up to the public. Register here for the Zoom call.

We are seeking RIDE GUIDES, volunteers who can help new MTU riders learn how to use the schedule and ride the bus. We'll provide simple training. If you are interested, please sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/LATARideGuideApp

Week Without Driving. Sign up for the WWD Challenge! Even if you know you will need to drive during the week, the purpose of the exercise is to spend that time being mindful of our transportation practices and considering how non-drivers deal with similar situations. If you participate and share your WWD experience, you will be entered in a prize drawing the national organizers. https://weekwithoutdriving.org/join

Please visit the local event page to get more information about what's happening in La Crosse, download a WWD Bingo card to print (you can also get them at the Transit Center, the Libraries, and the UWL Student Union desk), and find more information about this event. https://tinyurl.com/LaXWWD24.

Free fares on MTU all week. On Tuesday, October 1 only, free fares on the SMRT buses if you have a WWD Bingo Card! And one hour free during WWD on a Drift Cycle with the special code: wwddrift.

• Monday, Sept. 30 – noon press event at city hall (please come if you can!) and at 6:30 p.m., an online book chat with bicycling and disability rights advocate, Anna Zivarts, author of “When Driving is Not an Option” and two local advocates. Register at the library's website: https://www.lacrosselibrary.org/event/hold-week-without-driving-book-talk-38097 or call 608-789-7122.

• Tuesday, Oct. 1 – 10 to 2, tabling at UWL clock tower and 3 p.m. campus area walk audit

• Wednesday, Oct. 2 – SMRT trip to Prairie du Chien (sign up at tinyurl.com/SMRT2PdCRSVP and two evening bike rides – Hear Here starts at Pearl Street Brewery at 5 p.m. and Drift Cycles ride starting at 6 p.m. at The Nature Place

• Friday, Oct. 4 – Informal Transit Talk, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., with LATA at the Cameron Park Farmers Market

• Saturday, Oct. 5 – Transit to Trails event from 9:30 (new time) to 11:40 a.m. with Coulee Region Sierra Club (register at tinyurl.com/CRSC-T2TRegister) and, at 12:30 p.m., Teaching Safe Bicycling clinic hosted by Wisconsin Bike Fed at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center (free)

Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers (WisARP) will hold its fall meeting in La Crosse on Saturday, October 26. LAPC's Erin Duffer is one of the featured speakers! You may attend in person or online. There will be more information about the Borealis and about other rail connections being planned in our state and region. Learn more at https://wisarp.wordpress.com/category/events/

While the Minnesota DOT survey about regional rail is closed, you are still able to submit comments with a letter or email to MnDOT (MNRailPlan@state.mn.gov). Read more about it at https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2024/09/regional-rail-could-transform-minnesotas-cities-now-is-the-time-to-act/

Early (absentee in person) voting for the November 5 election begins in La Crosse on October 22. Find out when and where you can vote in the city at https://www.cityoflacrosse.org/your-government/departments/city-clerk/elections-and-voting/vote-absentee and check your registration and other voting details at https://myvote.wi.gov Check out this discussion about Project 2025 and public transit with Beth Osborne of Transportation for America. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/07/23/podcast-gops-project-2025-is-a-wreck-for-sustainable-transportation

Sign up for the WWD Challenge!

Week Without Driving starts on September 30! Be sure to sign up for the challenge at https://weekwithoutdriving.org/join

Then, check out and participate in local WWD events! Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/laxwwd24

WisARP fall Meeting in La Crosse

 

The Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers (WisARP) will hold their fall meeting at the Radisson in La Crosse on October 26, 2024. The meeting includes speakers and election of Officers and Board of Directors.

Agenda:

• 9:00 a.m. Coffee, Pastries
• 10:00 a.m. - Noon Speakers
• Noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Speakers
• 2:45 p.m. Elections
• 3:00 p.m. Adjournment

Speakers:

• Lisa Stern, Chief of Railroads and Harbors, WisDOT
• Brian Sawyer, Inspector of Passenger Trains, State of Virginia
• John Parkyn, WisARP President
• Susan Foote-Martin, WisARP VP-Public Relations

Registration:

In-Person Attendance - $30 until October 20, $40 after. $5 for youth ages 22 and younger. Register and pay  online or by mail/check

Virtual Attendance is free.

Learn more and register at https://wisarp.wordpress.com/2024/09/14/wisarp-fall-2024-general-membership-meeting-and-elections/

The Weird Way WI Transit is Funded

September 20 at NOON. Online. Hosted by MobilSE.

The "Weird" Way Wisconsin Funds Transportation and Why it Matters

Learn how the transportation "sausage is made" and gain tools for how to effectively advocate for multimodal transportation choices in the near term, while building long term change. Featuring panelists from Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and TDA Wisconsin.

Register now for this virtual event.

Week Without Driving!

Find local updates at: https://lacrosseata.blogspot.com/p/week-without-driving.html

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SMRT 2 FAIR Cancelled!

Due to lack of sign ups, we will not be taking the SMRT to the Vernon County Fair as a group ride on Friday. If you forgot to sign up and want to go on your own, please text or call 608-315-2693 as soon as possible to get a SMRT pass.

We still plan to do the SMRT 2 Prairie du Chien ride on Wednesday, October 2 during Week Without Driving. Sign up for that ride at https://tinyurl.com/SMRT2PdC

SMRT 2 Fair FRIDAY!

We've pushed back the deadline to sign up for our SMRT 2 Fair ride. Please sign up by THURSDAY EVENING if you plan to ride with us on Friday morning to the Vernon County Fair. SMRT fares will be free or reduced depending upon the number of riders. We'll ride together to the fairgrounds, then you're on your own at the fair and coming back, with several scheduled return buses. If you have questions, please email us LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me or call 608-315-2693.

September updates

We are looking forward to our SMRT 2 Vernon County Fair ride on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 (note new date). SMRT fares will be free or reduced for the first 12 riders but fair admission will be charged. We'll catch the mid-morning SMRT Yellow #2 in La Crosse and stop just across the street from the fairgrounds at about 11 a.m. Come back on your own on one of the Blue or Yellow routes buses. Find the time tables here: https://ridesmrt.com/  

Please sign up at https://tinyurl.com/SMRT2VCFair by September 9 if possible.

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LATA leaders will meet on September 18 at 5:30 online to continue planning for Week Without Driving and other transit-related activities. If you would like to join the conversation, please contact LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me for access information. 

The La Crosse Area Planning Committee's Committee on Transit and Active Transportation will meet on Thursday, September 12 at 3:30 p.m. The meeting, online and in-person, is open to the public. Email eduffer@lacrossecounty.org or call 608-785-5597 for (online) access info. The CTAT website is at https://www.lacrossecounty.org/metropolitan-planning-organization/committees/committee-on-transit-and-active-transportation

Also on September 12, at 6:30 p.m., the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance will meet online to share news and information about what's happening with transit from around the state. If you would like to attend, please email us for access information.

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The Borealis is blowing past all rider number expectations and there's talk of adding a third daily train. In addition, new routes are under consideration, including Milwaukee to Green Bay and a train that would serve Madison and Eau Claire. The Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers (WisARP) will hold its fall meeting in La Crosse on Saturday, October 26. Find more information at https://wisarp.wordpress.com.

MNDOT has a State Rail Plan Passenger Rail Priorities Survey | Let's Talk Transportation - MnDOT. Per Carl Glasemeyer at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, "The survey allows for responses outside of Minnesota. A couple early questions inquire if the respondent has used the Empire Builder and Borealis service, I know a lot of Wisconsinites value these and would like to see more frequency added. Near the end of the survey, respondents can list city pairs they want to passenger rail service. This provides an opportunity to list desired connections between Wisconsin and Minnesota, a chance to support advocacy work to get passenger rail service to Eau Claire, Madison, and Superior." He also recommends requesting the option to stop in Minneapolis. Currently, you have to take the Amtrak to St. Paul and then double back.

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LATA is tabling at student back-to-school events. Thanks to Liz for getting the registration information! We were at the Viterbo Welcome Back Bash on August 29 and will be at Western Technical College's Resource Block Party on September 3 and UW-La Crosse's Sample the City event on September 4. Thank you Avery, Liz, Cathy, and Rozie for helping set up and table!

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Please participate in Week Without Driving, September 30 through October 6, and encourage others to sign up, too. This is an important opportunity to advocate for better transit and walking and biking infrastructure in order to move away from car dependency. Local events are still being finalized, but we know that there will be a noon press event on Monday, September 30 at City Hall to kick off the week. If you can, please plan to attend.

You can learn more about the La Crosse area WWD, including co-sponsors and events, at https://tinyurl.com/laxwwd24. This page will be updated as events and resources are finalized.

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We have learned that there's a delay in transferring from the DoubleMap app, which is no longer supported, to a new one that would combine fare sales (currently GenFare) and bus tracking. The original plan was to have the replacement ready by now, but it looks like this won't happen until early next year. This may mean real time bus tracking won't be available for a while! We hope the MTU will find a temporary solution to this.

The MTU again has some bus driver and maintenance openings. Lack of drivers is dangerous - Appleton recently drastically reduced their service because of a severe driver shortage. This is a problem all over the country. There is also a major shortage of school bus drivers. Get more information about the MTU openings at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacrossewi?keywords=transit