Below is the article I have written about an innovative SASY presentation, lending a fourth alternative to WisDOT's Stoughton Road proposals. After viewing WisDOT's three alternatives for Stoughton Road, Mary Ebeling delivered a compelling presentation, captivating the audience with cutting edge research and a pioneering alternative newly being implemented in comparable U.S. communities.
Ebeling is a Transportation Policy Analyst at State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) – Center on Wisconsin Strategy. SSTI promotes transportation practices that advance environmental sustainability and equitable economic development, while maintaining high standards of governmental efficiency and transparency. They currently work with 19 state DOTs across the country, Wisconsin not being one of them. Ebeling did not present for SSTI, but rather as a neighborhood resident. A summary of Ebeling's latest research will be available within the next few weeks. Let me know if you are interested in receiving a copy of it or a pdf of the visuals she used during her presentation. Be sure to watch the video of how Rochester's sunken freeway looks as it ages and the animated visuals of how the area will appear when redevelopment is completed: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hl34YZ7YqwI Donna Magdalina Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara (SASY) Neighborhood Council Transportation Committee Chair A R T I C L E : Could a Stoughton Road boulevard be feasible? By Donna Magdalina In sync with national patterns, Madison motorists are driving less, yet plans are being laid to spend $200-$810 million to change some or all sections of the Highway 51/Stoughton Road corridor into a freeway, despite the I-39/90 freeway serving the same area less than 1.5 miles to the east. For perspective, $810 million is the amount Wisconsin refused from the federal government in 2011 to build the entire high-speed rail network in the state. Are attempts to expand highways and build freeways a fiscally responsible decision when people are driving less and their taxable incomes in decline? While East Washington Avenue funnels 60,000 cars through its corridor each day, Stoughton Road hosts only 40,000. Converting Stoughton Road and its frontage roads into a boulevard transforms over half of this publicly-owned land into a money-making asset. Land sales and a revenue-generating tax base from economic development reap high rewards for taxpayers rather than draining our pockets by $5 million each year in maintenance costs. The Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara (SASY) Neighborhood Council's Transportation Committee held a special presentation of the Hwy 51/Stoughton Road Corridor on Oct. 3 to investigate current plans and alternatives. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) presented three options containing 3D models of their plans. Mary Ebeling, a neighborhood resident who works nationally with comparable U.S. communities and state DOTs in converting freeways and highways into boulevards, followed WisDOT with a compelling presentation and innovative solution for Stoughton Road which captivated the evening's audience. Ebeling presented data on reduced driving patterns. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) have leveled off for for nearly a decade, nation-wide and within the Madison area. Data shows these trends are not connected with the recession and are not expected to return to old patterns of continued growth; however WisDOT continues to use outdated projection assumptions. Ebeling presented results showing communities with significant recession recovery while VMT levels remained flat. VMT can no longer be tied to economic sales numbers. Modern projection tools are needed to accurately predict our changing, web-based society. Fortunately modern-based tools have been developed and are being integrated in forward-thinking communities throughout the US. “This report clearly supports a conclusion that the standard road use statistical projection assumptions that now underpin many major highway expansion plans must be questioned,” commented audience member Melanie Foxcroft after reviewing WisDOT's projection data process. “Given current budget problems facing federal, state and local government budgets, it would appear highly imprudent to allocate limited tax dollars to highway expansion and improvement plans based on such questionable data projections.” Communities such as Syracuse NY and Rochester NY are preparing to dismantle their now under-used and aging urban freeway infrastructures, converting them instead into boulevards with trees, shops and roundabouts to accommodate interactivity, street-level economic development, bike lanes, and room for future light rail. Rochester received $17.7 million in federal funds to replace their freeway with a two-lane boulevard instead. The cutting-edge research presented by Ebeling brings into question not only the driving projections WisDOT is using, but also a fourth option to consider for Stoughton Road – a green, tree-lined boulevard, providing acres of old publicly-owned roadway newly available for sale with a revenue-generating tax base. Picture mixed use development with sidewalks, shops, restaurants, trees, landscaping and human scale interactivity. The recommended alternative is a sunken freeway. With infrastructure maintenance budgets in decline, a future of weedy cracks and crumbing concrete as this facility ages is a potent reality. Watch Rochester's Inner Loop freeway transition from crumbles to greenery at www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hl34YZ7YqwI and picture a new option to consider for Stoughton Road.
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