Fiscal Note
City share of new cross-Interstate/USH 151 pedestrian/bicycle connections would be subject to WisDOT’s cost share policy and would involve future annual capital budget.
Title
Endorsing and Prioritizing Improvement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity as Part of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s I-39/90/94 Study and Reconstruction
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WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is undertaking a study of Interstate 39/90/94 from the Beltline to US Highway 12/Wisconsin Highway 16 in Wisconsin Dells; and
WHEREAS, the study corridor includes a nearly 10 mile stretch of Interstate running through the City of Madison; and
WHEREAS, the City of Madison is the largest municipality within the fastest growing region in the State, with the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan projecting that the city will add 115,000 new residents between 2020 and 2050; and
WHEREAS, the Interstate corridor running through the City of Madison has either already urbanized or is expected to urbanize in the coming decades as the city continues to grow; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Comprehensive Plan, updated in December 2023, has goals, strategies, and actions that call for compact, interconnected growth, accompanied by an expansion and improvement of the city’s pedestrian and bicycle networks; and
WHEREAS, the 2017 Madison in Motion Transportation Plan similarly calls for building and maintaining comfortable and safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, while the City’s Complete Green Streets Guide, adopted in January 2023, prioritizes pedestrian, transit, and bicycle infrastructure above automobile infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan, Madison in Motion Transportation Plan, and more detailed area and neighborhood development plans along the Interstate and US Highway 151 corridor call for a series of pedestrian/bicycle crossings to reduce the substantial impediment to active transportation presented by the highways; and
WHEREAS, encouraging active transportation through a safe and convenient network of sidewalks and shared-use paths is critical to providing alternatives to driving that can help slow the increase in car traffic as the city and region continue to grow; and
WHEREAS, Interstate reconstruction is the opportune time to implement planned shared-use path and pedestrian connections across the Interstate and US Highway 151 in manner that will be far more cost-effective and less disruptive than a series of stand-alone projects; and
WHEREAS, Interstate reconstruction will cost billions of dollars and span more than a decade; and
WHEREAS, inclusion of additional pedestrian and bicycle connections across the Interstate would be a modest expenditure in the Interstate reconstruction project budget, but would represent a significant capital cost to the City of Madison; and
WHEREAS, WisDOT has asked for a prioritization of crossings, and City staff have ranked the importance of the crossings based on existing development and anticipated near-term future development.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Madison endorses the following pedestrian/bicycle connections for inclusion in WisDOT’s Interstate 39/90/94 study in the following priority of importance:
1. Comfortable “All Ages and Abilities” pedestrian and bicycle facilities on the existing Milwaukee Street crossing of the Interstate.
2. Extension of the Capital City and Glacial Drumlin State Trails under the Interstate adjacent to the state-owned railroad line south of Thompson Drive.
3. A shared-use path connection along the state-owned railroad line north of Lien Road (as shown in the Greater East Towne Area Plan).
4. A shared-use path along the north side of E. Washington Avenue and US Highway 151, a concept developed by WisDOT as part of their Interstate Study, to better connect the east and west side of the Interstate in the US 151 area.
5. A shared-use path just north of Hayes Road, connecting Portage Road with Eastpark Boulevard (as shown in the Rattman Neighborhood Development Plan).
6. An “All Ages and Abilities” pedestrian and bicycle connection at Anderson Road across the Interstate (as shown in the Hanson and Pumpkin Hollow Neighborhood Development Plans).
7. A crossing of the Interstate in the vicinity of Hoepker Road (as shown in the Pumpkin Hollow Neighborhood Development Plan).
8. A shared-use path connecting Wayne Terrace to West Terrace Drive across US Highway 151 (as shown in the Rattman and Nelson Neighborhood Development Plans.
9. A shared-use path across the Interstate in the vicinity of Vicar Lane with Carter Moon Pass (as shown in the Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Regional Transportation Plan 2050).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City requests that any existing or proposed motor-vehicle crossing of the Interstate that is constructed or reconstructed include “All Ages and Abilities” pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the City requests that WisDOT include funding for the above pedestrian and bicycle connections in the project budget so that the negative impacts of a national transportation facility on local mobility and local transportation can be mitigated.