Inadequate Community Engagement in Madison's 2022 Bus Network Redesign
Susan De Vos, Jonathan Mertzig, Laura Green, Kim Owens | September 10, 2022 The success of the project depends solely on the participation of the community. - Metro (https://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/routes-schedules/transit-network-redesign/community-engagement - 8/24/2022) After over a year and a half of studying the existing bus network and drafting a plan for its redesign, the Madison Common Council approved a network redesign on June 7, 2022 that would dramatically alter Madison's public transportation system. Metro claimed that an important contribution to the study and its ultimate draft plan was "community engagement." We disagree. Rather, it would appear that most of the alders who voted for the plan had no clue as to what they were voting for, but rather mindlessly followed the advice of a flawed and undemocratic oversight committee. First, Madison voters overall had expressed a strong desire for a better bus system that would include b...