Recommendations for the Future. All of our data shows that we should rethink our investments in transportation. It’s time to focus on building a transportation system that is financially and environmentally sustainable, in addition to being multimodal and equitable for all users.
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How is Wisconsin paying for these ongoing roadway expansions? Data from Wisconsin’s historical budget trends document shows that bond funding has increased by 83% since 1998. Over the last ten years, the state has borrowed over $4.5 billion to pad the transportation fund. Debt service has increased by a staggering 307% since 1998.
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Transit ridership in Wisconsin has been a mixed-bag. Madison has seen ridership thrive, with 2011 hitting an all-time high. Milwaukee has seen ridership fall by over 10 million annually since 2009 due to substantial cuts in state aids. Ridership on other Wisconsin systems have remained fairly constant.
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Keeping in line with the rest of the nation, Wisconsinites are driving less each year. For the first time in history, vehicle miles driven have fallen for nearly a decade. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows that VMT in the state hit a peak in 2004, and has since flattened out. The average […]
Read more about "Changing Transportation Trends and Misplaced Priorities"Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation, has varying degrees of authority over different transportation modes – from roads, to public transit, airports and rail. However, most of the department’s revenues are sunk into the state highway system, as shown in the illustration below. Years of over-investing in new highways, at the expense of other modes have left […]
Read more about "Wisconsin’s Transportation System in Crisis"
With so much information at our fingertips day in and day out, sifting through it for clarity and analysis can be challenging. One of the things we try to do at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin is to shed light on underlying trends and patterns that can help communities make better decisions about design, services, and […]
Read more about "Understanding Changes in Walking and Biking in America’s Cities"