Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution has no fiscal impact.
Title
SUBSTITUTE - Stating the City of Madison’s locally preferred alternative of preference for converting Stoughton Road (Highway 51) to an urban boulevard within the Madison city limits and asking the State to study this option.
Body
WHEREAS, Stoughton Road (Highway 51) is an important travel route for City of Madison residents as well as regional travelers that runs through the east side of Madison; and,
WHEREAS, 25,000 City of Madison residents live in the vicinity of Stoughton Road; and,
WHEREAS, other cities have torn down urban freeways with positive social and economic benefits including revitalized neighborhoods and new development along the routes; and,
WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is planning to convert Stoughton Road (Highway 51) into a limited access, grade separated freeway; and,
WHEREAS, there are neighborhoods and businesses on both sides of Stoughton Road that will be better connected with a urban boulevard between them and will be adversely effected by having a freeway between them; and,
WHEREAS, Stoughton Road has a similar amount of traffic to East Washington Ave (Highway 151) and University Ave (which becomes highway 14), two urban boulevards that function well within the City of Madison; and,
WHEREAS, urban boulevards can be used by bicyclists and pedestrians while freeways cannot; and,
WHEREAS, freeways are a barrier to crossing for bicyclists and pedestrians; and,
WHEREAS, urban boulevards allow for a connected grid of streets while freeways disrupt this grid; and,
WHEREAS, urban boulevards are inherently safer because of slower speeds and avoid deadly crashes on urban freeways that can be caused by high speeds and by the inability to go from highway speeds to stopping in heavy traffic that is common in Madison; and,
WHEREAS, urban boulevards function better for shorter trips taken within the City that involve turning motions, while freeways function better for longer trips taken between cities; and,
WHEREAS, longer trips are currently well served by Interstate Highways 39, 90, and 94 that run parallel with and connect with Stoughton Road; and,
WHEREAS, in these times of limited funding for roads, an urban boulevard will be much less expensive to build and maintain while a freeway will be much more expensive to build and rebuild in the future because of the extensive infrastructure of bridges and ramps required; and,
WHEREAS, the ramps needed for a freeway will take up a large of amount of land that can be put to better uses including development and green space; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has an important interest in the Public Health, Safety, and Welfare that will be better served by an urban boulevard for Stoughton Rd as opposed to a freeway; and,
WHEREAS, a Stoughton Road converted to an urban boulevard will be more aesthetically pleasing and make traveling more enjoyable as compared to a freeway; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has adopted a Complete Streets policy through a resolution adopted on December 16, 2009 (Legislative File No. 16250) that states that "streets are designed to enable safe access for all users, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities, to be able to move safely along and across the street",
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Madison states its Locally Preferred Alternative of preference for converting Stoughton Road (Highway 51) to an urban boulevard within the city limits of Madison city limits and asks the State to study this option; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MPO).