On THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, the Wisconsin Counties Association is hosting Transportation Town Halls in each Wisconsin County at 7 p.m. Lack of publicity about these events and, in our case, transit inaccessible venue might give you the idea that no one is supposed to attend. But it's a great opportunity to advocate for NON PRIVATE VEHICLE (greenhouse gas emitting) transportation options not just in cities but in rural areas - regional transit. So, please attend! Find your county's location t the link. The La Crosse forum will be at 7 p.m. at the County Highway Garage, 301 Carlson Road, West Salem.
On WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, the Sierra Club will host a La Crosse Area Transportation Forum which will include information about current transportation options, information about local and state budget issues, and suggestions for getting more involved in advocating for equitable and sustainable transportation options in the future. The info fair starts at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Southside Neighborhood Center, 1300 S. 6th Street. You can get there on the #1 MTU.
Unfortunately, you can NOT get to the September 29 event from La Crosse by public transportation, according to the Trip Planner at the MTU site. However, I believe that you CAN get there by public transportation (though returning will definitely be a problem). Here's how:
1. Some time before 6 pm, contact the Onalaska/Holmen/West Salem shared ride service at (608) 784-0000 and tell them you will need to go to the event address from the Valley View Mall MTU stop at 6:33 pm.
2. Take the #5 bus that leaves at 6:12 p.m. from the La Crosse Transit Center to Valley View Mall. The fare will be $1.50 for an adult < age 65 and $0.75 for elders (65+) and those with disabilities. College students with IDs and those who have passes = no fare required. GET A TRANSFER which you can use for your OHWS fare.
Thankfully, college is in session so the Valley View Mall bus goes every 1/2 hour in the evenings. If there were no college classes in session, you would need to leave 1/2 hour earlier.
The real problem comes in the return trip because the OHWS Shared Ride Service ends at 7 p.m. So, you will need to find some way to get from the county garage to Valley View Mall.
If you are a bicyclist, you could take your bike on the bus to Valley View and hope that there's space to throw it in the back of the OHWS Shared Ride van (there are no bike racks on those vehicles), then ride your bike back to Valley View either taking your life into your own hands along Highway 16 (5.3 miles according to Google Maps) OR using the La Crosse River State Trail (about 8 miles) which might be a nice jaunt for a sunny afternoon, but maybe not so feasible for a night time ride in possible rainy weather on a trail that has been known to have some washouts from heavy rains.
Here is why we need to make sure that transportation planners get the message that NOT EVERYONE HAS OR CAN OR WANTS TO DRIVE A CAR. Then what? You must either pay a high cost in time, often, taking public transportation, or in money if you can find a cab in a rural community at night. Or, probably, you will just not attend, shop, visit, or otherwise engage in the world.
This doesn't even touch on the environmental problems caused by relying on private vehicles for transportation or on the costs to communities, especially hub communities like La Crosse, to pay for infrastructure needed to service all these private vehicles.
So, please attend if you can the September 29 meeting AND the Wednesday, October 5 Transportation Forum sponsored by the Sierra Club, 10,000 Friends of Wisconsin, WISPRG, and other environmental groups. And please contact your local and state legislators and urge them to start considering other methods of local and regional transportation besides private vehicles.
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