[From the March 10, 1999 The Capital Times.]
Some of my best friends and longtime allies have asked me, in public and private: How in the world can you support a four-lane Highway 12? That's a fair, tough, and absolutely appropriate question. Here's my answer.
Reason 1: Because the agreement links construction of Highway 12 in phases with strong state support and commitments for commuter rail/transit alternatives.
Reason 2: Because the agreement will provide a lot of help - both money and planning - to preserve farms and natural resources in northwest Dane County.
Reason 3: Because the agreement is an extraordinarily positive precedent for transportation decisions in Wisconsin.
More on Reason 1: Much of the reporting on the Highway 12 agreement has focused on the new four-lane road. But there is a whole lot more going on. The agreement calls for the phased construction of the highway beginning with the most dangerous, rural part of the road. The Middleton section, including the Middleton bypass, will be built last, starting in 2004.
In the meantime, the Department of Transportation will contribute $500,000 to complete the detailed study of commuter rail and other possible transit improvements (which it otherwise does not have to do); then DOT will support the alternative chosen by our local community as a result of that study (which it otherwise does not have to do). Support means DOT will help to fund the preliminary engineering required for the locally preferred alternative and then work to secure state and federal funding for implementation (which it otherwise does not have to do). This explicit linkage between a highway project and developing other modes of transportation has never happened anywhere in Wisconsin.
All of this means that by 2004, before the urban pieces of Highway 12 are begun, we have a chance to have in place a substantial beginning to a new kind of transportation system for our future - whether it is a starter system for commuter rail or an enhanced bus service, or a combination. This is good for Dane County, and it is a major opportunity to get a long-term solution to traffic congestion on University Avenue and in Middleton.
More on Reason 2: The northwest part of our county contains wonderfully productive family farms and vital natural and outdoor recreational resources, such as the Ice Age Trail. The agreement has specific provisions to protect these human and natural resources.
1. DOT will try to site the highway so that the expansion affects as little farmland as possible and will provide safe trail crossings.
2. DOT will reduce and control access to the highway to enhance safety and to reduce the opportunities for sprawl.
3. The towns, cities, and villages of northwest Dane County will share, with some Sauk County communities, in $500,000 to plan what they need to make sure they stay great places to live, including preservation of farms.
4. Most importantly, the agreement includes $5 million to be spent in Dane County to aid farming families and protect natural resources. 'Working with DOT, communities and conservation organizations, we can use these funds to buy, for example, development rights so farmers can stay farming and prevent sprawl, and we can purchase key segments of the Ice-Age Trail or add on to some of our best county parks in the area. This $5 million is unprecedented in its amount and the adaptability of its use.
More on Reason 3: To return to transportation, the Highway 12 agreement is the first time the state has recognized that major highway projects must be connected to the development of other forms of transportation. The agreement shows that DOT is learning what many of us have long thought: If we want to have safe, convenient, and affordable transportation that keeps cities and villages healthy, we have to develop all modes of transportation, including rail and bus.
Figuring out what to do about Highway 12 has been one of my toughest jobs as county executive.
Who I am and what my values are haven't changed; I had to make a decision based on my best judgment. Because there is no legal opportunity to force DOT to build any version of a two-lane highway and no likelihood of convincing that agency to do so, the most I could hope for in a continuation of the Highway 12 dispute was a court ruling that DOT should redo part of the Environmental Impact Statement. I respectfully believe the agreement provides a more certain solution for preserving northwest Dane County and for improving new, key parts of our transportation system.
Please let me know what you think. I can be reached by phone at 266-4114; by mail at Room 421, City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI 53709; or via e-mail at falk@co.dane.wi.us.
Kathleen M. Falk is the Dane County executiue.
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