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Friday, October 6, 2006 Driving alone to work is the preferred mode of transportation for a growing number of workers in Dane County. But regional transportation planners hope new transit options will enable and encourage drivers to get off congested roads and onto buses and trains. A real metropolitan bus system, commuter rail, connected bike paths and more local, two-lane roads -- but no more multi-lane freeways -- are recommendations included in the first comprehensive regional transportation plan to be drafted since 1997. The Madison Area Metropolitan Planning Organization rolled out its Regional Transportation Plan 2030 Wednesday night at a public hearing at Monona Terrace, with most public comment coming from people interested in seeing the bus system expand to take commuter pressure off local streets and highways. When the new plan is adopted by the planning group, it will become the official blueprint for transportation improvements in the Madison metro area, used to determine where federal and state funding will be spent on projects through 2030. "The plan identifies improvements and strategies to lead to an integrated multi-modal transportation system for 20-plus years," said Bill Schaefer, who is part of the planning group. Many local road improvement projects, such as a new east side arterial on Sprecher and Reiner roads and a new west side arterial on Pleasant View Road and County M, were included in the 1997 plan and are reaffirmed in the new 2030 plan. In fact, many of the recommendations from 1997 are continued in the new report: Make the most efficient use of the existing transportation system through carpooling, bicycling and transit, while trying to better manage traffic congestion with improved intersections, signals and expanded local roads where possible. Expand the Metro bus system so it can serve as a feeder into a commuter rail line running east-west through central Madison, with the eventual expansion of rail to other corridors. Expand the park-and-ride lots to encourage more ride sharing and use of the existing transit system. Continue to accept congestion during rush hour and only build new highways as a last resort. Congestion on local roads will get worse as more people drive to work by themselves, Schaefer said. "The trend is going in the wrong direction," Schaefer said. "In 1990, 60 percent of the traffic was single-person rides to work; in 2005 it was up to 65 percent." Planners say traffic congestion will get worse until a real metropolitan transit system of bus and rail service is in place. "Quite a few of our main roads are now considered congested or very congested," Schaefer said. "If we do nothing and make no improvements to the transit system, with our forecasted growth the roads will become very congested all over the place." Speakers at the public hearing focused on the need for a better transit system that includes both bus and rail. "We need a regional transit district," said Royce Williams of Madison. "Our Metro system doesn't cover the metropolitan area." Susan De Voss of Madison, a member of Madison Area Bus Advocates, said the transit system needs to be looked at as a "real way to move people." "No major road improvements or new road construction should be planned without including plans for a (bus lane) with the road," she said. While there are several dozen road improvement projects noted in the 2030 plan, no new major highways -- such as an outer-ring freeway farther out in the county than the Beltline or Interstate -- are being contemplated at this time, and there's literally no room for expanding existing roads within the confines of those two freeways. Big highway projects are not part of the plan because there's no money for it, said Al Matano, a member of the planning organization and County Board supervisor. "It's economic reality," Matano said. "There is a lack of funding to address all the needs out there," Schaefer said. Citizens can comment on Regional Transportation Plan 2030 until Oct. 18. The planning organization will consider citizen input and make possible changes to the plan before finalizing it later this year. The plan is on the group's Web site, www.madisonareampo.org. \ E-mail: bnovak@madison.com |