Wisconsin Bike Fed Executive Director Kirsten Finn

For many of us, summer in Wisconsin means enjoying the weather by bike. Whether it’s commuting, working out, or escaping into nature on the many trails that crisscross urban and rural landscapes.

Through education, legislation and engagement, the Wisconsin Bike Fed works to unite residents, businesses and political leaders to make the state more bike-friendly. Wisconsin Bike Fed Executive Director Kirsten Finn closely followed the June meeting of the Joint Finance Committee on the Department of Transportation (DOT) budget.

Surprisingly, according to the latest Bicycle Friendly States Rankings from the League of American Bicyclists, Wisconsin now ranks 49th in the nation for the amount of money spent on biking and walking, at just $0.85 per person. Under the novel federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is significantly more money for biking and walking.

Finn suggested that Wisconsin take action to secure funding to match the national average of 2.2% of transportation spending on biking and walking. She talks about the challenges for cyclists and how funding can improve city arteries and trails.

Do you think people are surprised to learn that almost every other state invests more in bike infrastructure than Wisconsin?

Yes. States like Alabama, you’d be surprised to learn, are investing more than we are in biking and walking. We’d like to see Wisconsin reach the national average of 2.2% of federal dollars for transportation.

What is the Transportation Alternatives Plan (TAP) program and how can it be more effective in raising revenue for projects?

TAP is for transportation projects that don’t involve cars. It’s the primary funding source for bike and pedestrian projects in Wisconsin. There are other federal programs, but the Wisconsin Legislature has constrained how much of that funding can be used, so TAP is really our primary funding source.

Of that, the Recreation Trails Program goes to the DNR, and they employ it to maintain state trails. The rest is a competitive grant based on population.

Bike Fed realized that miniature rural communities rarely received TAP money. With the novel population split, that’s $10 million available over the next two years for communities, and none of them apply.

They don’t apply for two reasons: first, they often don’t have anyone with the technical expertise to write grant applications, and second, the TAP program is split 80/20, with 80% of the federal funding coming in with a 20% match.

Bike Fed had a short-term contract from January to March to facilitate communities of 5,000 or less with technical assistance and application writing. Another thing the DOT did was simplify applications for school programs.

How was DOT’s application for Transportation Alternatives Funding considered?

DOT’s request for $18.2 million per year in Transportation Alternatives Funds (TAP) has been approved. Unfortunately, the annual $1.2 million matching grant for miniature communities was not approved. We had hoped that these funds would facilitate communities of less than 5,000 residents that have difficulty meeting the required 20% local match to qualify for TAP projects.

Good news for cyclists and other trail users: DNR has approved 17 trail maintenance projects.

In Milwaukee, risky traffic is a constant problem that affects cyclists, pedestrians and drivers alike. A white-painted “ghost bike” was placed on Kinnickinnic Ave. every year as a memorial near the spot where a cyclist was killed. The Wisconsin Bike Fed office, located in the Wheel and Sprocket Bay View intricate, is just a block away. How can Milwaukee’s streets be safer to ride?

Milwaukee DPW is investing more in building bike infrastructure on the city’s most risky corridors. Closing down the feeder lanes so people don’t pass on the right — riding in bike lanes is a huge problem, just sloppy driving in general. There’s a lot of investment in after-the-fact ticketing by law enforcement. You don’t want to ticket them after the fact, you want to prevent accidents. Bollards that pop out from the curb and immense stone planters to keep cars from entering the passing lanes can be effective.

Going back to the rural-urban divide, a lot of the things that rural communities come to us for facilitate with are schools on a two-lane highway where cars are going 55 miles an hour and kids have to cross the street, the community doesn’t have the money in the budget for a raised pedestrian island or a flashing stop sign and they’re trying to apply for a TAP grant for basic traffic calming infrastructure.

[I was] hoping the governor’s budget will facilitate address the rural-urban equity issue to facilitate with these types of traffic calming measures. Unfortunately, what’s “out there” is the governor’s proposed $60 million for traffic calming.

What projects can we expect locally?

The 30th Street Corridor from American Family Field to Havenwoods State Forest. There’s work currently underway to extend the Beerline from the Oak Leaf Trail to 30th Street. That would create a square around the entire city, you could go north or south on the Oak Leaf or Corridor, and east or west on the Beerline and Hank Aaron Trail. That would be a connected bike path system for Milwaukee.