One Transit Equity Day related event we failed to report on was a great student project. A State
Road School fourth grade class got a lesson in transit advocacy from
LATA leader Liz Fryseth as they contacted local leaders about getting
a bus stop closer to their school. +In addition to their
letter-writing campaign, the students learned how to ride the bus and
had a tour of the Transit Center. On the following day, they took the
bus for a field trip at the Urban Agriculture greenhouse on 7th
Street. We would love to encourage more classes to become bus
advocates and to use the bus for class trips. We are starting to plan
now for Week Without Driving, a similar but not as transit-specific
event, held every year in the fall. The event focuses on the
challenges faced by non-drivers trying to navigate a car-centric
world. If you would like to help plan or co-sponsor WWD 2025
(September 29 – October 5), please email. See
https://weekwithoutdriving.org
for more information.
On Thursday, March 6, Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance welcomed Patty Kiewiz, Director, Green
Bay Metro Transit, who talked about their integration of on-demand
transit with their fixed route system. Then, we heard from Gary
Goyke, public policy consultant, about what's happening with the
state budget and what opportunities transit advocates have to
advocate for improvements. He shared really useful information. View
the program at https://youtu.be/JnUzTu4df9EOn February 13, Adam Lorentz, MTU
Director, was at the La Crosse Citizens with Disabilities committee
to follow up on plans to improve access and information for those
with disabilities. They are nearly done with putting signs at all bus
stops indicating which routes stop there. They will soon have large
print information available and at the Transit Center along with
Braille materials. They are making some large maps, too, and are
working on a way to have a large map available when the Center is
closed. They have restarted the effort to make official 3-D tactile
maps based off the maps the Fryseth family made in 2023. There was
discussion of improving the website so people needed accessible
information could find it more easily. The MTU ADA Advisory Committee
is seeking more members. The committee meets every other month (see
below).
On February 15, more than 40 transit
advocates from around the state gathered online at the Wisconsin
Transit Summit to get organized for state budget season. The group is
working to settle on top priorities, create messaging and outreach
scripts and talking points, and scheduling opportunities for
advocates to talk to our elected representatives about transit
issues. As we know, the governor has released his budget for
2025-2027 which includes increases in transit funding, state-wide
Regional Transit Authorities, and other positive items. The Joint
Finance Committee will be holding public hearings later in March and
in April as it prepares its own budget. We will probably send another
group notice when the JFC public hearing schedule is available. For
now, please consider calling or emailing our La Crosse area state
legislators (see contact info below) to encourage them to support
increases in funding for public transit, RTAs, better intercity
transit, better support for multi-modal transportation, and a
transportation budget that prioritizes equity and carbon reduction.
We hope the Transit Summit Talking Points will be available soon and we will post them here.
Coming up:
March 11 at 8:30 a.m. the city's Bike
Ped Advisory Committee meets in person with online access. It's a
public meeting. Transit is pedestrian infrastructure. Link to agenda
and online access info: https://tinyurl.com/laxbpac325
March 11 at 5:30 p.m. the MTU ADA
Advisory Committee meets. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR MORE MEMBERS and the
public may attend. Agenda and access information is here:
https://lacrosseata.blogspot.com/p/mtu-ada-advisory-committee.html
March 12 at 5:30 p.m. LATA Leaders
meeting online. We will plan events for the year. Email for the link
to participate.
March 13 at 4:30 p.m. La Crosse Area
Planning Committee – Advisory Committee on Transit and Active
Transportation meets in person and online. Find more information
here: https://tinyurl.com/LAPCCTAT325
Here is a good article in Vox:
Congestion
pricing is good for low-income residents. Why? Because it
improves public transit.
