Where Do We Go

From Here?

Wisconsin Transportation
at the Crossroads

2005 Legislative Briefing Book • 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

Place matters.

So does how you get there.

2005 Legislative Briefing Book • 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

W here we choose to live, work, and
play is one of the most important
choices we make. Increasing numbers of
people are considering a broader range of
places to move to, especially those who
make up the future workforce and the next
generation of leaders. Competition between
cities, regions, and states for human capital
is the name of the game and will be for
decades to come.
A city’s, region’s or state’s transportation system is funda-
mental to success in this competition. People expect to live in a
vibrant community that is convenient and affordable to get
around. Commute times are important but so are lively down-
towns, bus routes, inter-city rail connections, commuter rail lines,
urban systems such as streetcars or guided buses, and neighbor-
hoods within walking or biking distance of workplaces, natural
areas, and social life.
Every resident, every business, every government official
has a stake in the future of Wisconsin’s transportation system.
Without a balanced transportation system that anticipates and
meets the needs of our children’s and grandchildren’s genera-
tions, Wisconsin’s future will not meet our expectations or its
potential.
Wisconsin has been caught for too long in an undertow of
prioritizing state highways, particularly the expansion of them,
above other needs. On the upside, Wisconsin now has, for all
. . . in small towns
2
Transportation choices . . .
practical purposes, a fully built-out system of state highway facil-
ities. On the downside, consider the following:
• Local governments have been forced to
spend a disproportionate amount of revenue
to simply maintain existing roads—meaning
that attempts to improve local transportation
systems, where most trips are made, have
required property tax increases.
• Even as demand increases, transit systems
have been forced to cut service and raise
fares, instead of expanding service and
reducing fares to meet expanding demand—
demand that generates substantial eco-
nomic, social and environmental returns for
the state.
• High return investments such as the devel-
opment of local, commuter, and high speed
rail have been nearly impossible to move
forward due to lack of funding or political
commitment.
• Wisconsin’s debt service payments for
highway expansion are skyrocketing—
meaning less funding will be available for
future investments.
The grounds for a major shift in transportation priorities
include not only these mounting problems but also inno-
vative bright spots of opportunity that can be capital-
ized on. In the face of overwhelming political odds over
the last two decades, meaningful steps forward have been
made toward a balanced transportation system that truly
meets the needs of all Wisconsin’s citizens.

. . . and big cities
• The state Legislature finally exerted common
sense fiscal discipline in its 2003-2004 ses-
sion by passing the 2004 Act 217, banning
the oft-used practice of enumerating Major
Highway Projects, the largest expansion proj-
ects, when there is no money to fund them.
• Planning, environmental and/or engineering
studies have been completed or are
underway for high speed rail service from
Milwaukee to Madison; commuter rail service
from Kenosha to Milwaukee; a downtown
connector in Milwaukee; and a regional trans-
portation system in Dane County.
3
• State residents rank “well-main-
tained roads, highways, and
bridges” and “safe sidewalks and
pedestrian crossings” as top
transportation priorities, while
“reducing commute times” and
“reducing travel times” ranked
lowest. These findings from a
2004 WisDOT survey show sup-
port for a change in transporta-
tion priorities.
• Growing commitments in the
business, health, environmental
and political communities will
ensure that our transportation system meets
the mobility needs of Wisconsin’s citizens
and businesses by enhancing, rather than
degrading, the health of our economy, resi-
dents, landscapes and communities.
Decisions about transportation funding made by the Legis-
lature, Governor and officials at the Wisconsin Department of
Transportation over the next five years will have profound eco-
nomic, fiscal, social, and environmental implications for the next
half century, if not longer. If leaders do not ensure a decisive break
from the priorities set over the last two decades, Wisconsin will
lose an essential competitive advantage.
The challenge laid out for us is clear:
we must ‘Fix-it-First’ and preserve our
existing investments, as well as diver-
sify our transportation portfolio by
building a “Balanced Transportation
System.” Now is the time for decisive
leadership and action.
Fix-it-First
Maintaining investments
H
ighways function best for moving
people between communities.
Since the interstate system was built in the
1950’s, however, sprawling development pat-
terns have changed the common usage of
highways.
Instead of principally serving to move people and com-
merce between communities in different regions or states, they are
increasingly used as super-sized local roads—to simply get
around on trips of just a few miles. Yet building highways through
neighborhoods and commercial areas to facilitate sprawling
development makes about as much sense as using sewer pipes to
drain kitchen sinks. The scale is all wrong. It is unsightly, unhealthy
and, in the end, makes the space unproductive and unlivable.
Unfortunately, as is seen in plans such as the Southeastern
Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s (SEWRPC) Regional
Freeway Plan that calls for 127 miles of freeway expansion in
southeastern Wisconsin, highways are still promoted as solutions
for problems they do not solve. Instead they exacerbate sprawl,
congestion and air pollution. Nonetheless, one positive product
of the historically overwhelming focus on highway construction is
that for all intents and purposes Wisconsin’s highway system is
fully built out. And, many miles of Wisconsin’s highways do
exactly what they were originally conceived and designed to
do—move people between communities. Those valuable invest-
ments must be preserved. The best way to do that is Fix-it-First.
4
Fix-it-First is a concept with wide applicability. Simply put,
Fix-it-First means making reinvestment in what already exists the
top priority. Expansion, growth, and new purchases come only
after existing infrastructure has been taken care of properly.
Think of the average household and its home. There are
often many improvements the family would like to make: put in a
Jacuzzi, build a rec-room in the basement, redo the kitchen and
so on. However, appliances have to be maintained, plumbing
leaks have to be fixed and shingles need to be replaced. Tough
decisions are constantly made.
When it comes to roads and highways, Fix-it-First means
making sure that maintenance and repair are adequately funded
before funding expansion. Regular maintenance such as filling pot-
holes, applying protective coatings, and snowplowing all ensure
a longer life span for roads. Similarly, regular repair, more intensive
resurfacing, reconditioning, or reconstruction of a roadway ensure
that little problems that can be handled in a cost-effective manner
are not neglected and allowed to become expensive major proj-
ects. According to the Transportation Development Association
and the Surface Transportation Policy Project, for every $1 invested
in maintenance, $4 to $5 of expensive repairs later can be
avoided.
Each year, the State of Wisconsin invests more than $1 bil-
lion in our state highways alone—it makes sense to take care of
those investments. Over the last 20 years, Wisconsin has budgeted
for transportation akin to a family that hires a plumber to fix a
leaking toilet and asks him to go ahead and put in a Jacuzzi as long
as he is in there, never mind the leaking roof.
The time has come to reprioritize for the long-term viability
of the system and Wisconsin’s fiscal future. The time has come for
Fix-it-First budgeting.
The following section outlines the historic funding
of state highways, the debt crisis on the horizon, and
one of the key factors in both of these problems, pork-
barrel politics.
Issue 1. Out of Control Spending—The last two
decades of highway funding
Issue 2. Pork-Barrel Politics and Fiscal Imprudence—
Money, the political process, and
highway spending
Issue 3. Looming Crisis—Mounting highway debt
 Issue Out-of-Control State Highway Spending
1
Wisconsin’s spending on state highways
is sky-rocketing. Every dollar spent to over-
build highways is a dollar not spent on
growing the economy by building a balanced
transportation system.
Historically, Wisconsin has not employed balanced and
prudent budgeting for state highways and expansion projects
Endless construction
have not had to share the pain in tough fiscal times.

• Funding for repair and maintenance work
has not kept pace with funding for expan-
sion work—not even close. Between 1990
and 2005, spending on Major Highway Pro-
jects rose 57% above inflation. Incredibly,
debt service on revenue bonds to pay for
Major Highway Projects increased 180%.
Meanwhile, spending on Rehabilitation
projects increased 31%, and spending on
Maintenance decreased 6%.
• The most recent state budget slashed main-
tenance and repair funding but only cut
expansion project funding slightly. As a result
of the 2003-2005 state budget and the $3.2
billion deficit that it had to correct, Mainte-
nance funding decreased 12.2% from the
2001-2003 budget to the 2003-2005 budget
and Rehabilitation funding decreased 7.5%.
Major Highway Project funding was only
reduced 2.3%.
• These spending patterns have led to one of the
highest gas taxes in the country—more than 32
cents a gallon and increasing every year—and
a series of registration fee increases of over
200% over the last 25 years.
Future state highway plans do not exhibit more prudence or
better balance.

• In its State Highway Plan 2020,

Increase in State Highway Funding 1990-2005 WisDOT predicts a $5.1 billion
funding shortfall between 2000
Debt Service and 2020 out of the total $20.4
200%
180% billion in planned spending. Of
the $20.4 billion in planned
spending, more than $7 billion
will go to Major Highway Projects.

100%
Major Highway
Projects

Rehabilitation 57%

31%
Maintenance

-6%

5
 2003-2005 Budget Change to Major Program

Rehabilitation Major Highway Maintenance

Projects
-0% • In 2003, SEWRPC amended the Regional
Transportation Plan 2020 to include a
-2.3%
-10% $6.25 billion highway plan with 127 miles
-7.5% of freeway expansion. Due to the fact that it
ignores fiscal reality, this plan pits all of the
-15% -12.2% much needed parts of the previous Regional
Transportation Plan against each other
for funding.

• In 1988, 16% of State Highway Program Percent of State Highway Spending on Expansion
spending went to Major Highway Projects. By
2000, that percentage had grown to 23%.
The State Highway Plan 2020 calls for the 35%
percentage to increase to 35%.
30%
23%
• In 1997, SEWRPC published its Regional
Transportation Plan 2020, which included a 20% 16%
balance of local road improvements, com-
muter rail lines, a downtown connector in 10%
Milwaukee, and limited capacity expansion.

1988 2000 2020

✓ Solution:

Wisconsin must adopt a Fix-it-

First policy requiring the state
to fully fund repair and mainte-
nance needs before funding
expansion projects and then
implement that policy in its
budgeting.

6
 Issue Pork-Barrel Politics & Fiscal Imprudence
2
Highway expansion projects equal big
profits and big campaign contributions—so
big in fact that perspective has been lost on
fiscal responsibility and the needs of the
people and communities that our transporta-
tion system serves.
Over the last 20 years there has been little to no political
willpower to exert fiscal restraint in highway expansion funding.
• An immense amount of raw political power is
controlled by the road-building industry.
Between 1993 and 2003, the road-building
industry contributed $1.7 million dollars to
statewide political candidates—40% of the con-
tributions went to the last three Governors.
Additionally, in 2003 alone, the road-builders
spent over $200,000 on their lobbying efforts.
• The process designed to introduce fiscal
responsibility has resulted in the opposite
effect. Since its formation in 1983, the Trans-
The biggest project: Marquette Interchange
7
portation Projects Commission (TPC) recom-
mended for approval every project that has
come to it for consideration except those in
1988, 1998 and 2002, when there was insuf-
ficient funding for the projects. In each of
those years, however, the Legislature and
Governor approved the projects anyway. In
the 2003–2005 budget alone, they included
four projects with a projected cost
of $500 million.
• The road-building industry has secured a
pipeline of projects to last more than another
decade. Between 1989 and 2003, 32 Major
Highway Projects were enumerated, with a
total cost of at least $3.2 billion. Of those 32
projects, ten projects, with an estimated cost
of $1.25 billion, were not recommended by
WisDOT, eight of which were not recom-
mended by the TPC either. At least 14 of the
projects are not even under construction at
this point, and the average expected comple-
tion time for the 18 projects already under
construction or completed is 13 years from
the time of enumeration.
ELPC
 • The lack of fiscal restraint has led to hun-
dreds of millions of dollars of wasteful cost
overruns. A 2003 Legislative Audit Bureau Since 1983, the Major Highway Projects
analysis of the Major Highway Projects pro- approval process has included project
gram identified cost overruns of $381 million
on just 7 of those 18 projects already
development by WisDOT, a review and
underway or completed—mostly enumerated recommendation for or against approval
in the early 1990’s. by the Transportation Projects Commis-
Significant movements away from political back-
sion (TPC), and then approval by the Leg-
scratching towards fiscal responsibility have been made that islature and Governor.
can be built upon.

• The Legislative Audit Bureau findings of

wasteful cost overruns resulted in the passage
of the most significant transportation
reform legislation in recent memory. Joint
Audit Committee co-chairs, Senator Roessler
and Representative Jeskewitz, introduced leg-
islation stemming from the audit findings
that included increased reporting on Major
Highway Projects and removed the Legisla-
ture’s power to enumerate projects without
TPC approval. Governor Doyle signed Act 217
in April 2004.

• More fiscally responsible budgeting is on

“Highway projects blow out budgets”
—11-26-2003, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“Audit raises flags on highway projects”
—11-26-2003, The Daily Reporter
“Legislators, WisDOT must share blame”
—12-2-2003, Eau Claire Leader Telegram
“Who’s Minding the Store?”
—11-29-2003 Editorial, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
the horizon. As the 2005-2007 budget
approaches, WisDOT has indicated that there
are 8 potential Major Highway Projects on the
docket. However, at an August 2004 hearing
of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee fol-
lowing up on Act 217, Secretary Frank
Busalacchi unequivocally indicated that there
is “no way” the state can afford any of those
projects in the 2005-2007 budget.

News Coverage of 2003 Audit Report

✓ Solution:

Wisconsin must put fiscal man-

agement before political expedi-
ency and abide by Act 217 by
not enumerating overdesigned
and unaffordable projects.

8
 Issue Looming Crisis
3
Wisconsin’s bonding to pay for trans-
portation, particularly highway expansion
projects, has skyrocketed over the last 20
years, leading to a perilous situation in which
the state’s debt service payments are spi-
raling out of control.
Bonding levels for state highways have fluctuated over the
last two decades, but debt service payments have skyrocketed.
• State debt owed by Wisconsin grew from $7.3
billion in 1992 to $14.9 billion in 2002—12th
highest in the nation. Annual interest owed by
the State of Wisconsin on its debt grew 48%
from $499 million to $736.9 million between
1992 and 2002. A large portion of this debt is
Department of Transportation debt, mostly
owed on state highway projects.
• The amount of money needed each year to
pay off transportation debt has more than
tripled in the last 15 years. Between 1990
and 2005, the amount of transportation
bonding debt service, the overwhelming bulk
Registration Fees 1980-2005
$60
$40
$20
1980 1985 1990 1995
A long road ahead
of which pays off past Major Highway Pro-
jects, increased from $44 million to $184 mil-
lion. This increase is more than 180% above
the rate of inflation between 1990 and 2005.
• Increases to registration fees have been nec-
essary to pay off state debt. Since 1980, reg-
istration fees, which are used to pay off most
transportation bonding debt service, have
increased from $18 to $55 to meet the rising
debt costs; further increases are being consid-
ered in the 2005-2007 budget as well.
• Wisconsin is driving itself into debt to pay for
basic repair needs. In the 2003-2005 budget
bonding was used to pay for repair
projects for the first time—to the
tune of $483 million over the bien-
nium for Rehabilitation.
2000 2005
9
 ?
Bonding Debt Service 1990-2005
$200 million

$150 million

$100 million

$50 million

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

• Continuing the bonding 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

trends of the past decades sets

the state up for fiscal crisis. If the
rate of increase in debt service pay-
ments experienced over the last 15
years continues over the next fifteen
years, Wisconsin will pay more than $300
million annually (in 2003 dollars) in transporta-
tion debt service, nearly triple 2003 levels.

✓ Solution:

Wisconsin must not increase

bonding levels to pay for Major
Highway Projects until debt
service payments are brought
under control and the state has
adopted a Fix-it-First policy.

10
 Balanced Transportation System
EyeWire
Drive
O ver the last few years, Wisconsin
officials have begun to move
away from the out-of-control spending pat-
terns of the past. As the state continues to
take greater steps towards Fix-it-First budg-
eting and increased transparency, it is time
to take a step back and ask this question:
are we building a transportation system as
an end unto itself, or a transportation system
that serves as a means to help communities
meet the economic, social and environ-
mental needs of Wisconsin’s citizens?
While many of the nation’s communities, large and small,
have lost their character to the march of sprawling development
across the landscape, many Wisconsin communities have main-
tained much of their unique charm and sense of community. Along
with our people and natural resources, our communities are what
makes Wisconsin a great place to live, work and play.
Yet, many of these communities are in danger as pressure
builds to succumb to sprawling development patterns built
around the goal of moving cars, not people. This danger must be
understood in its rightful terms. Just as a forest or farm that is
turned into new subdivisions rarely goes back to its earlier use,
neighborhoods, main streets and downtowns that are widened to
accommodate ever-increasing through-traffic rarely return to their
11
original state. Wisconsin must meet the needs of local and regional
mobility without harming or destroying its communities to do so.
Key initiatives, such as comprehensive planning, are ensuring that
Wisconsin communities will be less sprawling and more vibrant
and sustainable. However, these planning efforts must be comple-
mented by the development of a truly balanced transportation
system with a wide range of automobile, bus, rail, bicycling and
pedestrian transportation options to meet the needs of all Wis-
consin’s citizens.
Bike
Just as the state’s historic spending on highways can be
compared to home investments, the state’s overall transportation
spending can be compared to household financial management.
Financial planners emphasize diversification—don’t put all your
eggs in one basket. Neglecting to diversify a portfolio exposes a
household to unnecessary risk.
In terms of transportation spending, Wisconsin has invested
deeply in our highway system, largely at the expense of other
modes. While that investment has meant that Wisconsin has an
extensive network of 12,000 miles of state highways, it has also
exposed the state to a number of risks that are increasingly coming
to fruition:
• Significant portions of the state’s population
have few, if any, mobility options—reducing
their access to jobs, health care, education,
and other necessities.
• The proportion of the state’s population
in need of transportation options beyond
driving is increasing dramatically as the elder
population explodes and, as more and more
Transit Now

because of the lack of integrated, efficient

transit service—particularly across municipal
or county lines.

These challenges are formidable. However, attainable and

affordable solutions exist. Wisconsin can diversify its transporta-
tion portfolio by increasing investment in public transportation, rail
projects, local transportation aids, and bicycle and pedestrian
projects.

This section details the components of a balanced

transportation system that exist, and those still needed, to
complement the state’s system of highways and roads.

Rail Issue 4. A Valuable Cornerstone—Public transporta-

tion in Wisconsin

young people expect a modern, efficient and Issue 5. Under-funded Potential—The last two
affordable, public transportation system in decades of state funding of public
any community they consider moving to. transportation

• Automobile and truck emissions are degrading
air quality, particularly along the shores of
Lake Michigan, where ten counties do not
meet federal healthy air quality standards.
• Development patterns across the state
exhibit less and less density, meaning that
valuable natural areas and farmland are lost
to sprawl and more and more time and
money must be spent on driving.
Issue 6. Economic Engine Revving Up—The eco-
nomic benefits of public transportation
investment
Issue 7. 21st Century Transportation Investments—
Projects to move Wisconsin forward
Issue 8. Moving People, Not Just Cars and Trucks—
Local transportation options

• Employers face shortages of workers while

the unemployed cannot get to available jobs

Walk

12
 Issue A Valuable Cornerstone
4
Public transportation systems in
Wisconsin provide efficient, cost-effective
service to communities statewide with
numerous economic, social and environ-
mental benefits.
Wisconsin’s public transportation systems—where they
exist—provide indispensable economic, social, and environ-
mental benefits to Wisconsin communities.
• Wisconsin has 68 public transportation sys-
tems providing indispensable service to more
than 100 communities statewide. There are
26 bus systems and 42 shared-ride taxis. Yet,
more than 500,000 Wisconsin residents live in
counties with no public transit service. Thou-
sands more residents live in communities with
no service, or limited service.
Madison Metro
Madison’s Mayor is on the bus
13
Madison Metro
Transportation for all citizens
• An increasing number of Wisconsin’s resi-
dents demand and use public transportation
out of a desire to reduce the negative impacts
of driving on the environment, their neigh-
borhoods and their communities. This group
includes people of all ages, professions and
backgrounds. Between 1997 and 2001,
national public transportation usage grew
21%—nearly twice the increase in driving
over the same period.
• Large segments of Wisconsin’s population
cannot drive, or only feel comfortable driving
under certain conditions. Public transporta-
tion provides vital access to health care,
shopping, and social opportunities to sen-
iors, people with disabilities, children, and
low-income populations.
• Each year, Wisconsin’s public transportation
systems provide more than 99 million rides
essential to residents across Wisconsin.
48 million trips (48.4%) are work-related—
meaning more working resident and eco-
nomic growth.
23 million trips (22.9%) are for educational
purposes—meaning better trained workers.

Madison Metro
Family-friendly transportation
10 million trips (10.5%) are to reach medical
care—meaning healthier children and adults.
18 million trips (18.2%) are to meet shopping,
tourism and recreation needs—meaning more
access to goods for residents and more eco-
nomic activity for businesses.
• In addition to the 68 public transportation
systems, every county provides trans-
portation services targeted specifically for
the elderly and people with disabilities,
also known as paratransit. However, because
of underfunding, service is limited.
• Public transportation plays a key role in
reducing congestion. Ironically, the benefits of
congestion reduction do not accrue to those
who ride the bus, but to those who continue to
drive their own vehicles.
• 84.9 million less Vehicle Miles Traveled
(VMT) in the Milwaukee region
• 20.2 million less VMT in Madison
• $22 billion in congestion savings
nationally
14
Purpose of Public Transportation Trips
Recreation,
Health Shopping,
11% Tourism
18%
Education Work
23% 48%
• One of the largest problems facing both
employers and employees is access—job
centers are distant from residential areas with
potential workers, often termed “spatial mis-
match.” This problem is most prevalent in
metropolitan areas with urban low-income
populations and suburban job centers. Public
transportation plays a key role linking low-
income residents with jobs, but there is
seldom public transit between the suburbs
and central city neighborhoods. A lack of
transit service severely limits employer to
potential employee linkages.
✓ Solution:
Public transportation systems
and the benefits they provide
must be better publicized and
promoted.
 Issue Under-funded Potential
5

Madison Metro
While public transportation plays a vital
role in maintaining healthy communities, over
the last two decades state funding of public
transportation has been insufficient, particu-
larly in comparison to the funding of state
highways and state highways debt service.
More short-sighted cuts?
Funding for public transportation has increased over the
last two decades; however, on a dollar basis, those gains have
been paltry compared to highway funding, especially for Elderly 12 routes, cut service on 10 more, and raise
and Disabled Transportation. fares 17% due to insufficient funding.

• State funding is an important component • Wisconsin’s spending on elderly and dis-

of public transportation funding. It covers
40%, or $99 million out of $250 million,
spent statewide on public transportation
operating costs.
• Investment in public transportation has
increased, but it has not kept up with
highway subsidies. From 1990 to 2005, state
spending on transit aids increased $76 mil-
lion. The $76 million increase is less than
14% of the $536 million increase to State
Highways subsidies over the same period and
45% less than the increase in debt service of
$139.31 million.
• Overall spending on public transportation
and elderly and disabled transportation pales
in comparison to state highway spending.
abled transportation increased 1/100th as
much as spending on state highways. Yet
Elderly and Disabled Transportation aids
increased just $6 million between 1990 and
2005 while State Highway spending
increased $536 million. There are more than
700,000 people in Wisconsin over 65, which
is 13% of the state population. By 2030 that
number will climb to 1.3 million, and be
more than 21% of Wisconsin’s population.
State Funding 1990-2005
21,000
$20,000
in millions
of dollars

Between 1990 and 2005, Wisconsin spent $15,000

$21 billion on state highways, $1.5 billion on
public transportation—just 7% of state high- State Highways
ways spending—and $140 million on elderly $10,000

and disabled transportation—less than 1% of

state highway spending.
$5,000
Transit
Elderly/Disabled
• Insufficient funding has led to extreme cuts 1,500 140
to valuable service. Since 2002, Milwaukee
County Transit has been forced to eliminate

15
 Wisconsin has unduly limited its commitment to public
transportation.
• Historically, the state budget has passed
through to municipalities transit capital funds
from the federal government but made few
investments of state funds in transit capital
projects. Only in the 2003-2005 Budget Act
33 did funding for commuter rail projects
become available, and then in the form of a
one-time $400,000 appropriation.
• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation
has produced the following: State Highways
Plan 2020, Airport System Plan 2020, Bicycle
Transportation Plan 2020, and the Wisconsin
Pedestrian Policy Plan 2020. In regard to inter-
city and intra-city public transportation there is
no “Public Transportation Plan 2020”—just a
Wisconsin Rail Issues and Opportunities
Report. Double standards clearly exist.

Planning

State Highways Plan 2020 Completed

Airport System Plan 2020 Completed

Bicycle Transportation Plan 2020 Completed

Pedestrian Policy Plan 2020 Completed

Public Transportation Plan 2020 ???

Rail Issues and Opportunities Completed

✓ Solution:
Wisconsin must increase public
transportation aids to local
communities, increase funding
for elderly and disabled trans-
portation, develop well-defined
plans for expansion of public
transportation service, and
make a large commitment to
capital investments in public
transportation.
Waiting for the bus?

16
 Issue Economic Engine Revving Up
6
Public transportation investment brings
dramatic economic benefits. Wisconsin is
missing the opportunity to maximize its trans-
portation investments. Currently, all public
transportation service is provided by buses,
with the exception of Kenosha’s streetcar line.
Public transportation investment produces competitive
economic benefits and superior job creation.
• Wisconsin receives more than $730 million
in economic benefits statewide from public
transportation from four sectors of the Wis-
consin economy: Health, Employment, Edu-
cation and Service. Other benefits beyond the
four sectors increase the returns beyond
$730 million.
• Economic benefits from public transporta-
tion are at least comparable, and more
likely, superior to those from State High-
ways subsidies—economic returns on
public transportation investment range
from $3 to $6 for every $1 invested, as
compared to $3 returned for every $1
invested in State Highways.
Transportation for the next generation
17
Highway Expansion
43,200
Highway Repairs &
Maintenance
47,000
Transit
51,300
Jobs Created per $1.25 Billion Invested
• Public Transportation in Wisconsin sup-
ports more than 8,000 jobs.
• Investments in public transportation result
in 9% more jobs per dollar than invest-
ments in highway and bridge repair; 51,300
jobs versus 47,000 per $1.25 billion invested.
• Investments in public transportation result
in 19% more jobs per dollar than invest-
ments in highway and bridge repair; 51,300
jobs versus 43,200 per $1.25 billion invested.
• On average nationally, a $10 million invest-
ment in transit capital produces $30 mil-
lion in economic benefits, as well as 300
jobs. A $10 million investment in transit
operations produces $30 million in economic
benefits, as well as 600 jobs. And, every $10
million invested saves $15 million.
MCTS
• While Milwaukee County Transit provides
Economic engine: Milwaukee County Transit
• The successes of the Southeastern Wisconsin
Case Study: Milwaukee County Transit, the state’s
largest public transportation system, is vital to southeastern
Wisconsin’s regional economic health.
• Over $650 million in economic benefits
are attributable to Milwaukee County
Transit annually and for every one dollar
invested in Milwaukee County Transit, $4.72
is returned to the economy.
• Milwaukee County Transit directly employs
more than 1,300 people and generates an
additional 700 full-time jobs.
18
essential access to jobs for workers within the
county, a recent analysis of how well public
transit service in Milwaukee, Ozaukee,
Waukesha and Washington counties provides
job access to low income and minority
workers across the four counties indicates
that considerable expansion of transit service
is necessary.
Regional Planning Commission’s hotly
debated $6.25 billion freeway plan are based
upon a 70% increase to transit service in the
region, of which Milwaukee County Transit is
a vital component. However, the SEWRPC
freeway plan does not identify how transit
service funding will be balanced with freeway
construction funding.
✓ Solution:
Increase funding for operating
assistance for public transit
systems and create a transit
capital program comparable to
the Major Highway Projects
program that funds the expan-
sion of existing transit systems
and creation of new transit
systems.
 Issue Now or Never
7
If Wisconsin wants economic growth
and vibrant communities in the 21st cen-
tury, our transportation system must move
beyond automobile-only networks of roads
and highways. Other states are rushing
ahead to meet growing demand for 21st
century transportation systems; will
Wisconsin keep up?
Promising inter-city and intra-city rail and fixed-guideway
projects are moving forward across Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin has a great success story right
here at home. Amtrak’s Hiawatha service
between Milwaukee and Chicago ranks tops
in the nation of rail lines for on-time service
and each month ridership regularly outpaces
the corresponding month from the previous
year. Promising investments are being made
to extend service to General Mitchell Airport
($6.5 million) and the downtown Milwaukee
station is being remodeled into a multi-modal
transportation hub ($5.4 million).
• Wisconsin will benefit greatly from High
Speed Rail, which promotes economic devel-
opment and provides an efficient, affordable
alternative to flying and driving. Based
11 regions with, or pursuing,
high speed rail corridors:
California, Pacific Northwest,
South Central, Gulf Coast,
Chicago Hub, Southeast, Florida, Keystone,
Northeast, Empire, Northern New England
19
City of Madison
Streetcars under consideration in Madison
around Chicago as a hub, one of the seven
main high speed rail spurs will go from
Chicago to Milwaukee with lines continuing to
Madison and Minneapolis and the Fox Valley
and Green Bay. High Speed Rail is expected
to promote nearly $10 billion in economic
benefits across the entire Midwest, while also
generating enough revenue in Wisconsin to
fund operating costs in the state. Capital costs
for the Midwest High Speed Rail Initiative in
Wisconsin are estimated at $1.1 billion. Envi-
ronmental work has already been completed
for the Madison to Milwaukee segment and
once funding is secured, construction
can begin.
• Southeastern Wisconsin will benefit from
commuter rail service as access to jobs and
personal and business travel increase
between Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha,
Chicago and points in between. The proposed
$152 million extension of METRA commuter
rail from Kenosha to Racine to Milwaukee
(KRM) is expected to spur economic develop-
ment and provide much needed linkages to
local transit service. It is also projected to
reduce traffic by as much as 4 to 12%
along I-94. KRM is on the verge of entering
preliminary engineering, due in part to
$400,000 in state funding in the 2003-2005
state budget.
 Opportunity Costs: What Major Highway Cost Overruns Could Purchase
400
$381M
Millions
of
Dollars $331M
$311M $300M
300
Major Highway
$285M
Project $243M Milwaukee
Overruns $227M Connector
Milwaukee- Transport 2020
200
Green Bay Rail Full System
Milwaukee-
Illinois High $152M
Speed Rail
Madison-
100
Milwaukee- La Crosse KRM Metra
Madison High High Speed Rail Extension
Speed Rail

• Dane County stands poised to bring streetcars,
commuter rail, or both to the Greater-Madison
area in the next few years—spurring redevel-
opment and less sprawling land use pat-
terns, as well as serving transit dependent
populations and improving air quality. Mul-
tiple planning efforts have culminated in
Transport 2020, a set of regional transporta-
tion alternatives, with the full-system vision
including regional bus service, commuter rail
lines, and park and ride lots; a streetcar
system is also receiving consideration and
strong support. Beginning in late 2003, an
Implementation Task Force began work on
putting the Transport 2020 plans into action.
Total costs are estimated at $331 million,
with rail start-up system components avail-
able for an estimated $50 million.
• Milwaukee also stands poised to bring fixed
guideway technology—guided buses—to spur
redevelopment, improve air quality and serve
transit dependent populations. The Milwaukee
Connector study process will submit a locally
preferred alternative as part of its Draft Envi-
ronmental Statement in early 2005 so that the
project can move into preliminary engineering.
Much of the $300 million start-up cost is identi-
fied or secured already.

✓ Solution:

Wisconsin must develop a

funding program comparable to
Major Highway Projects for cap-
ital investment in buses, com-
muter rail, light rail, fixed
guideway systems and high
speed rail.

20
 Issue Community Transportation
8
If Wisconsin wants to have healthy
communities, healthy people and a healthy
environment, the state must increase
funding for local roads, bicycling facilities
and pedestrian facilities.

Local governments, at the city, village, town and county

levels, have not received their ‘fair share’ of funding over the last Bike racks at WisDOT headquarters
two decades. The lack of funding for local transportation networks
means that those costs get passed on to local taxpayers, primarily
through the property tax. Transportation Aids, which are spent prima-
rily on local roads, increased just 19.4%, from
• Spending on Local Transportation Aids $211 million to $373 million.
has not kept pace with increases to State
Highways. State spending on Local Trans-
portation Aids increased 27% from 1990 to
2005 while state highway funding increased
49% over the same period. There are roughly Property Tax Shared Revenues
47% 28%
12,000 miles of state highways and 98,000
miles of local roads and highways.

State Transportation Aids

25%

Local Transportation Funding Source

• Demands for property tax relief have

Safe streets for children
• State funding of local transportation projects
favors local highways over local roads. State
spending on Local Roads and Bridges, which
are spent on local highways, increased 70.6%
from $68 million to $172 million between
1990 and 2005, while spending on General
increased in Wisconsin lately. Yet, when it
comes to transportation funding, the state is
not assisting local governments as much as it
could. Local transportation aids from the
state cover just 1/4 of local transportation
costs. Local transportation costs are funded
47% by the property tax, 28% from shared
revenues, and just 25% by state transporta-
tion aids.

21
City of Madison

• Historically, Wisconsin has funded pedes-

trian and bicycling projects at 1/175th the
level that it has funded state highways. In
the 1990’s Wisconsin ranked 50th in the
country for its use of Federal Transportation
Enhancement dollars, which can be used to
make bicycling and walking safer. Instead,
between 1992 and 2001, Wisconsin took
advantage of allowances in Federal law to
shift more than 50% of its Transportation
Enhancements funding to other programs,
including highways.

• Recent budgeting has cut funding for trans-

portation modes that can improve health,
Friendly faces—not road rage
such as biking and walking even further. In
the 2003-2005 Budget, spending on bicycling
Wisconsin’s transportation system has been built largely for and pedestrian projects, which totals less
transportation’s sake, not moving people. than $25 million per year out of a $2.3 bil-
lion transportation budget, was reduced by
• Every person who drives is a pedestrian at 35% over the biennium. Meanwhile, the
some point in their trip. Walking and biking Major Highway Projects Program was reduced
to school, work or shopping results in by just 2.5%.
healthier people, more vibrant communities,
less demand for parking, and less conges-
tion. Yet most of Wisconsin’s neighborhoods,
business districts and downtowns are planned
with pedestrians and bicyclists as an after-
thought resulting in many people who might
want to travel on foot or bike not doing so
because they are made to feel unsafe by cars
and trucks. Recently, the Wisconsin Depart-
✓ Solution:
ment of Transportation has developed long- Local transportation aids and
range Pedestrian and Bicycling plans for the
state, and has begun to implement Community bicycling and pedestrian funding
Sensitive Design, which works to ensure that must be increased to ensure that
highways fit the scale of the communities Wisconsin residents have a wide
through which they pass.
range of mobility options within
their communities. WisDOT must
work with communities to utilize
the Comprehensive Planning
process to ensure that local
transportation needs are bal-
anced with statewide plans.

22
Where do we go from here?

W isconsin runs the risk of getting left

behind in the 21st century compe-
tition for human capital and economic growth.

Wisconsin’s leaders regularly emphasize the importance of

public investments in a top-quality education system and an
attractive business climate in this competition. They should not
lose sight of the importance of investments in our community infra-
structure as well.

Over the last few decades, however, Wisconsin’s trans-

portation policy makers have adopted misplaced priorities at the
expense of Wisconsin’s residents and communities, thereby
reducing Wisconsin’s competitiveness. Specifically, they have pri-
oritized out-of-control spending on wasteful highway expansion
over full funding of a balanced array of transportation options.
Fortunately, Wisconsin has tremendous opportunities to
capitalize on our existing assets and minimize the competitive
ground it has already lost. First, exerting fiscal responsibility on
road and highway funding by Fixing-it-First can help stabilize out-
of-control spending patterns. Second, aggressive investments in
public transportation and 21st Century rail and fixed-guideway
systems will ensure that Wisconsin’s communities are vibrant
places to live, work and play.
In the end, transportation is not about roads, rails or
runways. It’s not even about cars, trucks, trains, bikes or
walking shoes. It’s about people and communities.
Place matters. So does how we get there.

23
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HLB Decision Economics, Inc. The Socio-Economic Benefits of Transit in Wis-
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The Joyce Foundation. Keep it Moving, June 2003.
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24
Wisconsin Alliance of Cities. Local Transportation: Who Pays? in February 19,
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Written by: Ward Lyles, Transportation Policy Director,
1000 Friends of Wisconsin
Designed by: Flying Fish Graphics
© 2005 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
1000 Friends of Wisconsin & the Land Use Institute educate
citizens and policy makers about the benefits of responsible
land use. We advocate for healthy urban and rural communi-
ties and the protection of our economic, cultural and natural
resources statewide.

This publication was made possible by the generous support

of the Joyce Foundation.

1000 Friends of Wisconsin & The Land Use Institute

16 North Carroll Street, Suite 810
Madison, WI 53703
608 / 259-1000
www.1kfriends.org

Printed with soy inks on recycled paper

24