June updates and events

LATA Leaders will meet on Wednesday, June 12 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss upcoming events, ongoing projects, new ideas, Ride with a Guide updates and Week Without Driving. Please email or call (LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me or 608-315-2693) if you would like to join the meeting online (and possibly in person).

The Forward La Crosse Bike/Ped Master Plan update process is nearing completion. You can view and comment on the final draft here: https://forwardlacrosse.org. We encourage all transit riders and advocates to continue providing input; public transportation is pedestrian infrastructure, just like sidewalks and stop lights. Is there enough about transit in this plan? Feed back by TOMORROW!! Monday, June 3!

On June 7 at 11 a.m., the Labor Network for Sustainability will host an online talk by Anna Zivarts, author of the new book, “When Driving is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency.” This book gives an insight to how to redesign our transportation systems to meet the needs of nondrivers - many of whom have a disability or are out of the qualifications of a driver’s license. Use this link to view on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/LNS-ZivartsTalk

On Monday, June 10 at 7 p.m. the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance (WTRA) will hold its “at large” meeting – an informal gathering of members and transit riders from around the state. Ruth Rosas, America Walks, will join us at the start of the meeting to talk about Week Without Driving (September 30 through October 6) and what transit advocate groups can do to promote the event and use it to highlight transit issues. All members of LATA are automatically members of WTRA, though you do not need to be a member to attend the meeting. Please reply to this email for Zoom access information.

On Thursday, June 20, the MTU will host a “Talking Transit” event at the Southside Neighborhood Center from 4 to 7 p.m. This is a chance for us to talk with MTU staff about our experiences and ideas for improving service, bus stop amenities (seating!), mobility, ADA compliance issues, paratransit and more. LATA will join several other organizations tabling at this event. Please plan to attend!

LATA hosted a SMRT ride to Viroqua on May 1 and we were joined on the ride by former La Crosse County Board Chair Tara Johnson, currently a candidate for the 96th District State Assembly district. We talked transit, including funding, the state's prohibition on Regional Transit Authorities, how development siting affects family and governmental finances and climate action, and more. As a result of our conversations and experiences on this ride and previous rides, we reached out to the LAPC about ideas for improving SMRT service, communications, and marketing. We are hoping to tell you about public input opportunities later this summer. Stay tuned!

The Coulee Region Sierra Club hosted a Transit 2 Trails event on Saturday, June 1, National Trails Day. The original plan had to be modified because of rain, but participants ended up having a great time, and it was an excellent way to highlight acces to some public trails via 

public transportation. LATA may host one or more Transit 2 Trails events in the future.

Can you help us table at the June 20 Talking Transit event and at the July 20 Disability Pride Fest event hosted by the Disability Action Network at Central High School? If you would be interested in helping out for an hour or so, please reply to this email. No experience needed – just a love of transit and desire to spread the word about how great it is!

We are also working on getting our Ride with a Guide program back up and running stronger. LATA leader Liz Fryseth has set up a Ride Guide training at a local service agency and we'll use that experience to fine tune similar events in the future. By fall, we hope to offer training for individuals and organizations wishing to learn how to ride the bus and learn how to teach others to ride the bus. If you would like to be a Ride Guide or know of a group, business, agency, or organization that would like training, please connect! LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me or 608-315-2693.

Please consider formally joining LATA using this link: https://tinyurl.com/JoinLATA!