On Tuesday, February 16th Governor Tony Evers released his Executive Budget. Although the budget will look a lot different when the process is complete, we are highlighting key components of Gov. Evers’ budget that we were happy to see included.
Restore funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) with $1M annually.
This is the first state funding for active transportation infrastructure since funding was removed from the program in 2015. This is a great start. We would like to see more funding and to prevent funding from being diverted to roads. We promoted this policy with our partners and in our budget recommendations, our presentation to Governor’s Task Force for Climate Change, and in our Blueprint 2050.
Restore the 2009 Complete Streets language.
In 2015, the language was weakened and provided numerous justifications to avoid building transportation infrastructure that accounts for all users. This provision would restore Complete Streets to its original state. 1000 Friends has continued to promote complete streets through our Active Wisconsin coalition. We gave a webinar in May with the Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT) and the Wisconsin Bike Fed all about the benefits of Complete Streets. We have promoted this policy during our presentation to the Governor’s Task Force for Climate Change, and in subsequent coalition letters with a statewide climate network.
Restore eminent domain for the construction of non-motorized paths.
Since 2017, communities across Wisconsin have been unable to use eminent domain for non-motorized transportation projects. This provision would restore that power and allow communities to resume building active transportation infrastructure. 1000 Friends has worked with the Paths 4 People coalition to promote restoring eminent domain for walking and biking trails. We have promoted this policy during our presentation to the Governor’s Task Force for Climate Change, and as a member of WisDOT’s Non-driver Advisory Council.
The executive budget will now go to the Joint Finance Committee of the Legislature in the next stage of the budget process. Contact your legislators to let them know you support these initiatives!