The recommended period for the public to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Verona Freeway/West Beltline expansion project has been extended to August 13, 2004.
Comments should be sent to: Rose Phetteplace, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Attn: John Steiner, 2101 Wright Street, Madison, WI 53704-2583. A copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Verona Road/West Beltline Expansion project can be found at the following web site: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d1/verona/deis.htm The new Verona Freeway project will be able to handle more than twice the volume of traffic Verona Road handles now. The two places where most of the new traffic will go - the South Beltline and downtown via Midvale Blvd/Univ. Ave or Monroe street - are already over capacity I would guess. When operating at full capacity, this project is sure to add more air pollution in Madison, and especially in the adjacent nearby low-income and minority residents of the Allied Drive area. The environmental justice issue is likely to be raised at some point. There will be also be higher noise levels, more water pollution and an increase in pedestrian/bicyclist/SUV conflicts throughout all or most of Madison, as a result of the increasing motor vehicle traffic the project will bring into Madison. Traffic congestion in Madison will get worse after this project is built, not better, because there will be more motor vehicle travel to and within Madison. More greenhouse gas emissions will be released to the atmosphere as a result of this project, because the project accommodates more fossil fuel burning motor vehicle travel, through and within Dane Country. A report released last week by the Sierra Club shows there are increasing health hazards associated with living in areas that are in close proximity to heavily or even moderately traveled roads. The studies link high volume traffic areas with a wide range of health ailments and impairments in human populations, especially children. The report cites numerous recent studies that show that people and especially children who reside near highly traveled highways have not only significantly higher rates of hospitalization for asthma attacks; but also six to eight times the rate or childhood leukemia and other forms of cancer. Adult populations residing near heavily used highways have greater incidence of heart attack and stroke than populations residing at more distant locations, the studies found. Ultra-fine soot particles in air near heavily used highways are 25 times more concentrated near highways, with pollution levels gradually decreasing further away from the highway. Ultra-fine soot particles are more toxic than large particles, even when the particles have the same chemical composition since the ultra-fine particles are able to lodge deeper into lung tissue. Motor vehicles are the most significant source of such ultra-fine soot particles, the study reports. http://www.sierraclub.org/hhh/HHHFinalReport6-28-04.pdf "Crucial public policy changes" are needed "to encourage more balanced transportation policy and put greater emphasis on public transportation systems and other options such as walking and bicycling", the report concludes. On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 20:48:06 -0700 (PDT) Dave Schmidt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Hi Mike, > > One of the discoveries I made about 8 years ago was that when taking > trips out west that going down Hwy 151 to Cedar Rapids then south on > 380 to I-80 was 40 minutes quicker than going south on I-90 then > diagonal on I-88 to I-80. That route continues to be improved. > > If you are a trucker going from the Fox Valley to San Francisco the > best route is via the Beltline to Verona Road. Perhaps some day > there will be an Interstate named for the route through the Beltline > to Iowa. All it will take is enough growth in interstate commerce > in the Fox Valley. The way things are going now, I wouldn't count on it. Business as usual needs to change. There is way to much motorized travel the way things are now already. It's simply not sustainable in the long run. > > Odd that if we tore up the Beltline and turned it into a gravel road > the truckers wouldn't come this way. It's Human nature to take the > path of least resistance. We predominantly take the path of least > resistance. Geez, I see I'm not the only one guilty of radical thinking! Tear up the Beltline and turn it into a gravel road. Hmmm. > > Already there are routes where commuting by bike can beat the time > by car. Push cars off of residential streets onto major conduits, > create attractive alternatives to taking less car trips, shorter car > trips, no car trips. Incentives not punitive measures can gain > popularity. That's what I thought once. But apathy along with fear of upsetting the apple cart seem to be stronger motivators. Mike N. > > > "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > For your information, I delivered the following comments at the > LRTPC's meeting last month, and in doing so, requested the city to > include, within the City of Madison's comments on the project > environmental impact statement (EIS), a recommendation that the EIS > on the project include a "transportation demand reduction" (TDR) > alternative, that is of sufficient scale to encourage significantly > less auto driving into Madison everyday, as an alternative to > building more highway capacity on Verona Road and the West Beltline. > > A decision on the City's comments on the Verona Road/West Beltline > highway expansion DEIS was deferred to the next committee meeting, > scheculed for August 19th, 4:45 p.m., Room LL-110 MMB of the > Municipal Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. > > Mike Neuman > > ------------------------------------------------------------- > Testimony to City of Madison Long Range Transportation Planning > Committee, July 15, 2004 > > Climate change is without question an urgent problem now -- for all > governmental jurisdictions. Its impacts are already being felt by > many jurisdictions, in the form of drought, flooding, deadly heat > waves and rising seas. > > Yet governmental leaders at all levels continue to delay action in > confronting global warming's primary cause - too much fossil fuel > burning by the human population. > > Wisconsin is not immune from the effects of global warming. As > columnist Bill Wineke states in today�s Wisconsin State Journal: �If > global warming is manmade, or even man-influenced, the we owe it to > future generations to try to reduce our production of greenhouse > gasses.� > > Today�s global warming is a consequence of the buildup of extra > quantities of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, > nitrous oxide and other heat-trapping gases, in the atmosphere from > humans burning fossil fuels for energy and transportation over the > past century and one-half. > > The earth has in fact warmed more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the > last century, with most of that warming occurring toward the end of > the century. It is forecasted to warm up by possibly 10 times more > during this century than it did last century, unless major actions > to reduce greenhouse gas production are taken all over and by > everyone and every jurisdiction. > > Emissions from motorized transportation constitute roughly one-third > of the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel burning in the U.S.. > The amount of driving done in Dane County, having increased at the > rate of 3 times its rate of population, is not an insignificant > contributor to global warming. For every gallon of gasoline burned > in motor vehicles today and throughout this century, approximately > 25 additional pounds greenhouse gases is sent to the atmosphere, > where they will remain this century and into the next century, > adding to the solar heat-trapping capability of the Earth�s > atmosphere. > > In 2000, I proposed a strategy that would pay financial incentives > (monetary rewards) to households to reduce activities that lead to > increased greenhouse gas emissions from public money proposed to be > spent on widening roads, expanding airport capacity and in building > power plants. > > Such a plan is needed now than ever in Madison, Dane County and > Wisconsin to encourage people to reduce their motor vehicle driving, > jet travel and energy needs, because conservation of energy together > with improvement in energy efficiency is the way to minimize the > global warming threat the fastest. > > Mike Neuman > Resident of Madison > > > ________________________________________________________________ > The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! > Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
