Transportation (Bus Rapid Transit)
- Budget Deficit: The current Bus Rapid Transit redesign has been funded by one-time COVID money, creating a fiscal deficit for the City of Madison, while further marginalizing our communities that depend most on public transit. We are focusing on creating an expensive BRT that local businesses or consumers do not support. This plan also requires us to focus on housing and density as an afterthought to get more traffic on the proposed BRT redesign that would impact our communities disproportionately. The BRT is creating a structural deficit for our city which will reach up to $32 million in 2027. As mayor, I will stop this and pursue a customer-led process to assess our community’s needs around a public transit system that not only helps our most vulnerable communities access economic opportunity, but doesn’t hurt our State Street businesses.
- Transit Equity: We must have a transit design that is equitable and works for all who need it. The current BRT redesign plan needs to be more equitable and is jeopardizing our city services. I will work on the inequities with the BRT and rapid redesign to ensure that our seniors, BIPOC, and disability communities can access public transit without having to walk 2-3 additional blocks. Instead of using data from yesterday to solve the problems of tomorrow, I will utilize real, post-pandemic data to conduct an equity analysis on the BRT and work with our residents to route our transit system so it addresses their needs.