For many of you, the
North-South Corridor was a done deal (See N-S Corridor
History). The community spoke in 1998 and that was that, right?
Yes, except it really
doesn’t work that way!
The proposed 5B-1 N/S
Corridor of 1998
The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
mandates that state and local governments work together to plan future
transportation needs for metro areas with populations of 50,000 or more.
In order to accomplish this
goal, the FHWA requires state DOTs establish Regional Planning Commissions
(RPCs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Wisconsin has 9 RPCs and
13 MPOs (See the RPC/MPO
map), including a RPC for the 9 west-central counties along the Mississippi
River, and an MPO for western La Crosse County and La Crescent, MN.
Our RPC is the Mississippi River Region Planning Commission (MRRPC).
Our MPO is the La Crosse Area Planning Committee
(LAPC).
The LAPC policy board
consists of the chief elected officials from La Crosse County, the Cities of La Crosse, Onalaska and La Crescent, the
Villages of Holmen and West Salem, and the Towns of Campbell, Medary, Onalaska and Shelby.
(See LAPC map)
The LAPC has full-time staff to assist with the
planning and coordination of the MPO. There is also a Technical Advisory
Committee (TAC) that consists of planning and engineering staff from each
jurisdiction.
The LAPC and TAC generally meet monthly. Each
municipality on the policy board has an equal vote.
Federal regulations require that each MPO establish a
Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and this plan be updated every five years
following adoption. The LRTP is based in large part on data and input from the
State DOTs, in our case both Wis DOT
and Minn DOT.
The existing LRTP
was developed in 1998. It is this process that lead to the 5B-1 N-S Corridor
proposal, which in turn resulted in our reaction to defeat the proposal through
a referendum.
On August 16, 2000 the LAPC
approved (4-3) a resolution reaffirming “as part of the next Plan update to be
completed by 2005, the recommended North-South Corridor will be reevaluated.
“The LAPC has been in the process of this reevaluation and the North / South
Corridor is not included in the Draft 2005 – 2008 Transportation Improvement Program.
The MPO staff and advisory
committees are currently working on the 2030
They are attempting to
determine if the Levels of Services (LOS) for the 3 existing north-south roads
(Hwy 16, Hwy 35 and Hwy 53) will meet the goals of the FHWA for 2030.
Part of this process includes
reviewing census data and employment projections and applying Coulee
Visions. (Coulee
Visions slide show). This is a guide about planning and smart growth that
was developed until
One of the problems with the
process, is the County Comprehensive Plan is not complete. As a result, there
is no certainty what land use policies the various municipalities will adopt,
or fully implement.
Many of our suburban
neighbors are still convinced we need the N-S Corridor, in particular the 5B-1
plan. They continue believe in order for their communities to grow and to
relieve future congestion, La Crosse needs to sacrifice more of itself for yet
another road.
Of course Livable
Neighborhoods believes otherwise!
Yes we know we need to make
improvements to our existing transportation infrastructure, but they must not
continue to encourage suburban sprawl and urban decay; rather they must be
based on smart growth in both land use and surface transportation development.
We also recognize that
ENOUGH!
Suburban and urban commuters
will continue to climb into their very own personal motor vehicle and want to
drive to and from work at about the same times as thousands of their peers. And
students want to do the same, because it is the “thing to do”.
This is the real problem;
unbridled demand not insufficient capacity!
We have to be disciplined
rather than keep expanding in response to never ending demand. We have to be
smart and stop falsely convincing ourselves all of this is really “growth”.
What is most interesting is the LAPC resolution of
August 16, 2000 also states: “that every effort will be made to meet future
travel demands of the La Crosse Area through the use of transportation
alternatives other than highway expansion.”
This sounds wonderful, yet since 2000 what efforts
have we really seen to use
transportation alternatives? Yes there are some efforts to improve mass
transit, but these pale in comparison with the concrete and steel used to
expand our highways.
The reality is we haven’t really expended “every
effort”. The reason is simple. The people with a stake in the status quo of
unbridled expansion are louder than the people with a stake in smart growth.
Until and unless we get as loud as they are, we aren’t gong to be heard.