COMING EVENTS
On June 10, LATA will host a SMRT ride from La Crosse to Viroqua. We'll leave La Crosse mid-morning and arrive in Viroqua at about 11 a.m. Lunch and return trip are on your own. Vernon County Over 50 will host filmmakers (and LATA leaders) Obbie King and Rozie Brooks at noon who will show and talk about their video, Transportation Liberation. Everyone is welcome to this free event. Bring your own lunch or get a catered lunch ($5 on site). RSVP (by June 5 if you want a VCO50-catered lunch) at https://tinyurl.com/SMRT-TransLib-June10.
On June 2, the Wisconsin Chapter Sierra Club will discuss Paved Paradise – How Parking Explains the World, a book about the high cost of car dependency, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. online. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/WISC-PavedBook
On June 4, the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance will host an at-large meeting online at 6:30 p.m. Please email for a link to join.
The MTU Board will meet in person and online on June 16 at 4 p.m. The May meeting was postponed due to a schedule conflict. When it's available, the agenda and link to join will be posted at their legistar page: https://tinyurl.com/MTUBoard. The MTU ADA Advisory Committee meeting from May was canceled due to schedule conflicts.
On June 25, the High Speed Rail Alliance will host Thinking Big About Wisconsin Passenger Rail - A Conference Advancing a Generational Opportunity for Economic Growth from 1:30 to 4:30 at the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee. “This is the launch of a statewide effort to develop strong intercity rail connections throughout Wisconsin. Attendees will be equipped with actionable steps and a community of stakeholders to set these projects up for success.” Learn more and register here: https://www.hsrail.org/events/thinking-big-about-wisconsin-passenger-rail/
LATA Leaders will meet on June 30 at 6:30 p.m. rather than June 16 to accommodate vacation schedules. Please email for the link to join.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We are looking for volunteers for an MTU event for La Crosse School District students on Wednesday, July 8. We don't have all the details yet, but if you might be available to help, please email us at LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@proton.me.
RECENT EVENTS
On May 14, LATA members Alex McDonough, Obbie King, Rozie Brooks, and Cathy Van Maren met and rode the bus with about 60 Logan Middle School students and teachers. With their North side Library closing, the students visited the Main Street Library to get familiar with resources there and took a ride on the circulator to get more comfortable riding the bus. We shared our own bus experiences and some information about the costs of taking the bus versus the cost of owning and driving a car. The MTU provided students with free passes for their next trip.
On May 21, Hintgen School students rode the MTU for a field trip to Trane Park. LATA Leader Liz Fryseth has been doing outreach to public schools to encourage them to use the bus more. Liz and Cathy Van Maren talked with the Hintgen class earlier in the year and Cathy was able to ride with the group during their May field trip. LATA paid the field trip bus fares for the group and the MTU provided free passes for students' next MTU trips.
Also on May 21, several LATA members had lunch with Nick DeMarsh of Forward Together Wisconsin who is a Milwaukee and Madison area bus and rail advocate to talk about public transit advocacy and opportunities for expanding transit as part of rail expansion.
ADVOCACY
We still have not heard anything about what might replace the SMRT bus next year or about any opportunities for public input. Our post-SMRT group hasn't been able to meet since April. We hope to come together in June to look at how we can advocate for something other than nothing. Transit champion Barbara Cline, who single-handedly built a public transit system in her rural South Dakota community, spoke during a recent call with the National Campaign for Transit Justice. Her story might provide an example.
You might run into a county board member or state elected official at a community event this month. Please bring up the importance of the SMRT to them and ask them what they are doing to ensure we don't lose our regional public transit. Let them know how important this is for students, workers, elders, and others who may not be able to drive or be able to afford to drive.
Does anyone want to build some simple bus stop benches? In the past few weeks, How inviting is it to see people sitting on street curbs or in the grass waiting for a bus. We have examples and plans from activists in many other communities. Interested? Contact us.
We are still seeking co-sponsors for Week Without Driving, October 1-8. Co-sponsors help spread the word and encourage their contacts to participate. If they wish, they can donate a WWD Bingo prize and/or host a WWD event or activity. Please ask your fav business, your faith group, your neighborhood association, workplace, school, or club to fill out the co-sponsor form at https://tinyurl.com/wwdlax-cosponsor.
The LAPC has released its RTA study. LATA hopes to host an information and discussion session some time during the next few months. Their announcement and more information is shown below.
The Coalition for More Responsible Transportation is working on an initiative to gather input and ideas from transit agencies, governmental bodies, and transit advocates in preparation for another round of advocacy for Regional Transit Authority enabling legislation that we can all enthusiastically support. A survey should be out in July or August along with guidance for advocates. Dave Steele of MobiliSE in Milwaukee talked about RTAs at the May 26 Great Waters Group Wisconsin Sierra Club action hour. We hope to find a link to the program soon!
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LAPC Announces RTA Feasibility Study
We're happy to finally share with everyone the finished products of the RTA Feasibility Study that was started late last year with our consultant SRF. All three technical memos and the executive summary can be found on our Modal Planning page of our website. Additionally, we'll be developing a one-pager document to capture the brief highlights and purpose of this study, which will be available by the end of this month.
Next steps for this effort are to continue engaging the community and elected officials about this study and advocating for enabling Regional Transit Authority legislation in Wisconsin. We're thankful for all the interest and support we've received throughout the study and are excited to continue supporting regional transit.
Please reach out if you'd like to discuss further or schedule a meeting with your respective organization.
Travis Key (He/Him)
Associate Transportation Planner
La Crosse Area Planning Committee, MPO
(608)-789-8548
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