April 29, 2009
To the members of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly:
Regional Transportation Authorities can create jobs and a stronger economy by empowering communities to operate cost-effective, balanced transportation systems. Allowing communities to form self-supporting RTAs will:
Grow Wisconsin jobs.
·183 RTAs spur transit system growth, stimulating both construction and manufacturing industries.
·183 RTAs provide efficient multi-modal systems that give employers better access to workers, and workers better access to jobs.
·183 RTAs sustain transit operations that hire locally, keeping dollars at home instead and reducing dependence on oil.
Make Wisconsin healthier.
·183 RTAs support transit choices that can reduce air emissions, lowering health care costs for asthma and other diseases and keeping communities in compliance with air quality standards to avoid costly pollution sanctions on manufacturing sources.
·183 RTAs can reduce the demand for parking and other paved areas, whose runoff degrades water quality and triggers costly anti-pollution measures.
·183 RTAs can cut death and injury rates from transportation crashes, saving lives, reducing health care costs, and avoiding time lost from work.
Build stronger Wisconsin communities.
·183 RTAs provide a solid financial mechanism that allows Wisconsin to compete for federal transit-construction dollars.
·183 RTAs can ease costly traffic congestion, insulate communities from fuel price shocks, and foster more efficient land development.
·183 RTAs support transit options for commuters; regular transit riders can realize thousands of dollars in savings in avoided costs of driving and parking a car, especially when gas prices rise.
·183 RTAs can organize and modernize our outdated, patchwork transportation system, giving our communities a competitive edge in attracting and retaining business and residents.
Many states have RTAs or similar mechanisms that provide governance and financial stability for transit across municipal boundaries. They have used RTAs to vault ahead of Wisconsin in providing business-friendly, green, and convenient transportation choices. Under Wisconsin’s cumbersome and antiquated rules, cities that provide transit must contract with one another and squeeze transit funding out of their general revenues, mainly from property taxes. The resulting unstable, underfunded transit cannot compete for federal construction dollars, and cannot provide sustainable service to its communities.
We support the Governor’s RTA proposal in A.B. 75 to create the Dane County RTA, Fox Cities RTA and Southeast RTA. In addition we support language in A.B. 75 that will permit Wisconsin’s communities not covered in the Governor’s Budget to form RTAs with the authority to levy a sales tax of up to 0.5 percent.
1000 Friends of Wisconsin
16 North Carroll Street, Suite 810
Madison, WI 53703
www.1kfriends.org
AARP Wisconsin State Office
222 W. Washington Avenue, Suite 600
Madison, WI 53703
1-866-448-3611
www.aarp.org/states/wi
American Council of the Blind – Wisconsin Chapter
725 S. 95 St.
West Allis, WI 53214-2721
Bike Federation of Wisconsin
1845 N Farwell Avenue, Suite 100
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: 414-271-9685
www.bfw.org
Citizen Action of Wisconsin
221 S. Second St., Suite 400
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-476-4501
www.citizenactionwi.org
Citizens Utility Board
16 N Carroll Street
Suite 530
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-3322
www.wiscub.org
Clean Wisconsin
122 State St., Suite 200
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 251-7020
www.cleanwisconsin.org
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups (CWAG)
2850 Dairy Drive, Suite 100
Madison, WI 53718
(608) 224-0606
(800) 366-2990
(888) 758-6047 TTY/Texnet
www.cwag.org
Dane Alliance for Rational Transportation - DART
1 East Gilman St., #101
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-6126
www.rationaltransportation.org
Disability Rights Wisconsin
131 W. Wilson St., Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703
608-267-0214
www.disabilityrightswi.org
Environmental Law & Policy Center
222 S. Hamilton Street, Suite 14
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 442-6998
http://elpc.org
League of Wisconsin Municipalities
122 W. Washington Ave., Suite 300
Madison, Wisconsin 53703-2715
(608) 267-2380
in-state: (800) 991-5502
www.lwm-info.org
Madison Area Bus Advocates
P.O. Box 260156
Madison, WI 53726-0156
www.busadvocates.org
Madison Peak Oil Group
222 S. Hamilton St.
Madison, WI 53703
608.819.0748
Midwest Environmental Advocates
551 W. Main Street
Suite 200
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 251-5047
www.midwestadvocates.org
One Wisconsin Now
152 West Johnson Street - Suite 214
Madison WI 53703
(608) 204-0677
OneWisconsinNow.org
Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce
300 5th Street
Racine, WI 53403
(262) 634-1931
www.racinechamber.com
Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter
222 South Hamilton Street, Suite #1
Madison, WI 537003
(608) 256-0565
wisconsin.sierraclub.org
Southeastern Wisconsin Coalition for Transit NOW
PO Box 565
Sussex, WI 53089-0565
(262) 246-6151
www.transitnow.org
Wisconsin Alliance of Cities
14 W. Mifflin St Suite 206
Madison Wisconsin 53703
(608) 257-5882
www.wiscities.org
Wisconsin Apollo Alliance
Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired
754 Williamson Street
Madison, WI 53703
Phone 1-608-255-1166
www.wcblind.org
Wisconsin Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign
4032 Monona Drive
Madison, WI 53716
608-222-7339
http://www.wicec.org
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters
133 S. Butler St. #320
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 661-0845
www.conservationvoters.org
Wisconsin Urban & Rural Transit Association
754 Williamson St
Madison, WI 53703
Phone (608) 237-8108
Fax (608) 225-3301
www.wurta.com
WISPIRG
122 State St., Ste. 309
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-9501
http://www.wispirg.org/