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Automobile reliance restrains Madison. Car use is expensive in nearly every context. It’s costly to...
Automobile reliance restrains Madison. Car use is expensive in nearly every context. It’s costly to...
...consumers when owning a car ($12,000/year)
...businesses to accommodate car storage
...social wellness by promoting isolation
...our health by means of pollution and sedentary lifestyles
...the environment through material consumption, thermal heat island effects, and sprawling development
Empowering Freedom of Choice
Empowering Freedom of Choice
That’s not to say that cars have should be outlawed, but we must explore alternatives that are widely beneficial and accessible to all. Bikes are low-cost to own and maintain, have less environmental impact, and promote cardiovascular health. Walking promotes community engagement, improves mental health, and encourages support of local businesses. Buses use space efficiently, provide a transportation option for those with limited mobility, and are a revenue source for Madison.
Throughout most of the city, these options are less convenient than driving for the majority of users as a result of the way we’ve designed our streets and transportation networks, discouraging and limiting choice.
Policies for Progress
Policies for Progress
To reduce automobile dependence, we must make alternatives more feasible. That doesn’t just mean adding another bike lane or sidewalk along a four-lane road. It means adding the right kind of improvements which are designed to improve experience for users, not minimize impact to drivers. Some examples include:
Increasing the frequency of bus trips rather than maximizing coverage. For public transit to be reliable, riders should have to do minimal advance planning, just as car drivers do. That means a bus at each stop every 15 minutes at least.
Separated or protected bike lanes which make biking safer and more comfortable for a broader portion of the population. Protected intersections that minimize the risk of bicyclist fatalities. Complete networks of lanes and paths between hubs of activity.
Sidewalks that are wide enough for users to pass one another with room, which are sufficiently distanced from car traffic or strengthened by bollards.
Highways were built to connect our towns, now their endless expansion is hurting those same communities.
Highways were built to connect our towns, now their endless expansion is hurting those same communities.
Highways:
Highways:
...don't adress local transportation needs. Highways are designed for long-distance, high-speed travel. They’re great for moving freight across states or connecting cities hundreds of miles apart. But when we try to use highways to provide access to local homes and businesses, we end up driving up congestion and making travel unsafe—even deadly.
...are a liability. Highways come with massive short term costs in planning and construction, and long-term financial commitments for cities that are left with the maintenance and replacement bill.
...destroy financial productivity. Highways don’t generate wealth for cities. In fact, they often destroy it. When a highway cuts through a city, it lowers the value of adjacent land, displaces residents and businesses, and fragments neighborhoods. That’s not just a social cost, it’s a financial one.
...are driven by top-town priorities. Cities often get help from state or federal sources to build highways, but once they’re built, the maintenance, policing, and infrastructure around them become local responsibilities. That’s a huge burden.
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