[Bikies] PBMVC 10/25/2005 (Perry St. Overpass)

[Matt Logan]

Last night the PBMVC voted against approving a DOT project in the Todd Drive area.  The project in question included enhancement funding that the majority of members felt was being misused.  Such enhancement funding normally goes to existing transportation facilities that are in need of ped/bicycle enhancements, not in constructing new roads with ped/bike amenities.   It turns out that most of the enhancement funds were obtained by terminating a much needed ped/bike overpass project over the beltline at Perry St.  There are reports that people are currently cutting the chain link fence across the beltline in order to cross by foot.  One of the reasons cited as to why the Perry st. overpass was terminated is that “nobody wants this overpass”.  At a recent neighborhood meeting where the topic of the Perry overpass project was discusses, only business people supporting the Todd Drive project showed up.   Unfortunately, there is little chance at this point that the Perry St. project will be reinstated, even if the Todd Drive project is rejected at the Board of Public Works and the Common Council, as WISDOT will probably find another project elsewhere to fund.   The bottom line here is:  We bikies missed a golden opportunity to lock-in a much needed improvement, and the “highwaymen” have jumped in and snatched the funding from us.  I hope this underscores to everybody the importance of engaging the system.  If we snooze, we lose.   Now I would like open the discussion up to others on this list:  What are we going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

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