Wisconsin Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Highway Spending Finds National Transportation Outlet
The transit-hostile/pro-highway planning and spending imbalance in
Southeastern Wisconsin - - with implications for civil rights and sprawl
- - reaches a broader audience through Streetsblog.org, here.
There is no better example of where Wisconsin’s transportation priorities lie under Scott “No Train” Walker than the Milwaukee Zoo Interchange megaproject. At $1.7 billion, it is surely one of the most expensive interchanges ever built (keep in mind this is a state that “couldn’t afford” to operate passenger rail at $8 million a year).
And guess who will benefit most from Wisconsin’s massive road expenditure — the transit riders in Milwaukee, or the super commuters from Waukesha?
This week, a civil rights group and an environmental group filed suit in federal court against WisDOT, alleging that the interchange project — which contains no provisions for transit — is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Title VI requires government agencies that receive federal funding to not administer it in a way that has a “discriminatory impact” on minority groups.
1 comment:
This is an intersection but the inflation in road-building is growing very fast. Comparing, we find that the I-94 segment south of Milwaukee comes in at $50+ million per mile, way over the cost of putting down tracks. The director of the Federal Rail Administration said recently, here in Milwaukee: "Two railroad tracks can carry as many people as 16 lanes of highway."
And that means the cost benefit of roads is shrinking fast while Wisconsin is spending more on the most expensive transportation infrastructure.
Post a Comment