Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, taxpayers pay roughly $779 per household for roads and $50 for transit. But most drivers still believe that transit is subsidized and roads pay for themselves, writes Tanya Snyder.

In Milwaukee, a new express service will operate on three new routes which will begin service on January 29th, 2012. In addition to the new service, MCTS is restructuring a number of other routes, and creating new routes as well.

The Milwaukee County Transit System had planned to reduce service due to a reduction in state aid in 2012. According to Jeramey Jannene, "with some last minute creative planning, they were able to avoid many cuts thanks to the use of CMAQ funds."

The Town of Hull, Wisconsin's public safety committee is considering a new ordinance that bans bicyclists and pedestrians from some county roads - unless they get special permission.

Since rejecting $800 million in federal funds for HSR, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has proposed four new highway projects (estimated at a potential cost of $2 billion).

Greg Flisram reports on a unique 50s era suburban development in Madison, Wisconsin that has an unusual early design that is modest in size and sensitive to the environment.

As a part of its "Communities in Crisis" feature, the Huffington Post looks at how budget cuts are eroding Milwaukee County's public transit service, to the detriment of transit-dependent employees -- and its economy.

Using the example of the failed regeneration of Green Bay's downtown led by Victor Gruen, Della Rucker argues that disregarding input from the public can have devastating repercussions.

Suburban Waukesha seeks to be the first city to pipe water from the Great Lakes since the 2008 Great Lakes Pact. But will approval just mean more sprawl in a sprawling region?

While Gov. Walker's rejection of $810 million of federal stimulus funds for the Milwaukee-Madison rail upgrade has received much publicity, he has not ruled out using funds to upgrade the existing Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha Line pushed by businesses.

A new study by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that bicycling contributes $1.5 billion to Wisconsin's economy every year.

Protesters in Wisconsin are trying to reverse governor-elect Scott Walker's opposition to stimulus-funding for high speed rail projects -- $810 million that the government would have paid the state.

The loser list is short and no surprise: The governor-elects of OH and WI had campaigned against HSR projects in their states-they got their wish. The recipients of the redirected $1.2 billion were the surprise,with CA, FL, and WA being the happiest.

The fate of a proposed high speed rail corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee remains uncertain, but if plans do go ahead, Madison may be left out.

Transportation consultant Ken Orski looks at post-election results in OH, WI, and FL as consistent with Newsweek's Robert J. Samuelson's pre-election column calling for an end to what he sees as wasteful and inappropriate high speed rail investment.

While new Wisconsin and Ohio Republican governors are not supportive of high speed rail and my try to steer their state's high speed rail awards for road purposes, the new Republican governors of Iowa and Michigan appear to be Amtrak supporters.

In Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, and California, the Republican gubernatorial candidates are all campaigning on pledges to return the high speed rail stimulus finds that the Obama administration recently awarded.

A gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin has made a campaign pledge to turn down federal money intended to build a high speed rail route connecting Milwaukee and Wisconsin. But some say he won't be able to do it.

Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Wisconsin features a traditional sod roof, complete with grazing goats. The Johnson family lawyers have trademarked the animal/roof combination, and sue anyone who does the same.