Madison Area Bus Ways

from " Reduced VMT and Opportunities " (item 11) Presented May 4, 2020 by MDOT to the Transportation Policy and Planning Board One effect of the general shutdown of most activity outside the home from early March until the end of May in Madison was a massive decline in the use of public streets by automobiles and a re-evaluation of how much of our public space should be assigned to cars. According to data gleaned from the city's 2018 Comprehensive Plan (Table 1 of Appendix B [p. 127 of part 3]), roughly a fifth of the city's land is devoted to public roads, more than is devoted to "parks & open spaces," or "commercial office space" and only less than the amount devoted to residences themselves.  Although the first shut down was eased at the end of May and car travel had rebounded accordingly, at the time of this writing strict sanctions are being reimposed. Dane County is suffering from a dramatic resurgence in new COVID-19 cases, the spike a...

Courtesy: Michael Doyle Olson Get Riot Cops Off Our City Buses Adam Pagenkopf For three nights on May 30th, May 31st, and June 1st, overwhelming force was used by riot police against demonstrators, peaceful and looting alike, in downtown Madison. The protests against police brutality were sparked after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Tear gas, pepper spray, flash grenades, and foam-tipped projectiles were used as phalanxes of police and national guardsmen in full riot gear marched down Sta te Street. Dozens of people were arrested. Police and members of the National Guard came from across Dane County and as far away as Wausau. Many of those riot police arrived at the site of protests on Madison Metro buses. Decades of research on violence at protests have shown that when police escalate force against crowds - clearing streets, imposing curfews, and deploying so-called "less-than-lethal" weapons - they amplify th...