Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s Highway Spending Mania Makes Less Sense Every Day

By Shaun Jacobsen | Sep 10, 2014 | 29 Comments

Wisconsin isn’t known as a state that makes smart use of transportation dollars, whether it’s Scott Walker rejecting federal funds for high-speed rail service, denying funds for what would have been Milwaukee’s first suburban commuter rail service, or cutting millions in state aid for transit. Now a new report from the Wisconsin Public Interest Research […]

Midwest Rail Advocates Take the Fight to Scott Walker

By Ben Fried | Aug 8, 2014 | No Comments

In November, voters in 36 states will head to the polls to choose governors. Among the state leaders up for reelection is Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, who faces a strong challenge from Democrat and former Trek Bicycle executive Mary Burke. Walker is one of three Republican governors who rejected high-speed rail funds from the Obama administration in 2010 […]

Freeway Fight: Scott Walker Wants to Drag Milwaukee Back to 1956

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 20, 2014 | 7 Comments

The mayor and residents of Milwaukee are fighting a massive urban highway project backed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Citing traffic congestion, the state is forging ahead with a $1.2 billion plan to expand Interstate 94. One design under consideration would stack freeway lanes on top of freeway lanes, double-decker style. The state says such […]

How Road Planners Fail Neighborhoods

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 4, 2014 | 8 Comments

Why do neighborhood groups — especially in low-income areas — have such a hard time influencing the design of major road projects? An interesting case study from the University of Colorado-Denver sheds some light. To examine the barriers to incorporating public health principles into transportation planning, researchers studied the Allied-Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin, a disadvantaged but […]

Milwaukee Transit Advocates Win $13.5 Million Settlement From State DOT

By Angie Schmitt | May 22, 2014 | No Comments

In a Wisconsin lawsuit that’s been closely watched by transportation reformers around the country, local advocates have extracted some resources for transit from a notoriously highway-obsessed state DOT. Settling in federal court with Milwaukee civil rights groups, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation agreed to provide $13.5 million in transit funding as part of the enormous […]

Wisconsin’s Outdated Transportation Priorities Are Alienating Young People

By Tanya Snyder | May 21, 2014 | 4 Comments

Over-spending on roads is a bad idea for any state DOT. But it’s an especially bad idea if that state needs to retain more young people who don’t want to be shackled to cars. That’s the situation Wisconsin finds itself in, as detailed in a report the WISPIRG Foundation released today called, “Driving Wisconsin’s ‘Brain Drain’: How […]

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