With the recent increase in gas prices, travel in and around Madison will become progressively more expensive as summer vacation looms near. The American Automobile Association reported that as of Monday, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline in Madison is $2.91 per gallon. This is an increase of 68 cents from this time last year, and gas prices already are nearing last year's high of $3.08 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Not only will travel around the area become more expensive, but the Madison Metropolitan Area is becoming more crowded due to growth. Madison is the fastest growing big city in Wisconsin with an estimated increase of 23 percent since 1990, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For those of us who own a car, driving along West Johnson can be a nightmare trying to avoid bicyclists, pedestrians, and the other hundreds of drivers trying to get off of campus and the isthmus.
Considering both the higher fuel costs and increased demand on the road infrastructure in the isthmus and surrounding areas, Madison has been considering constructing a light rail from Middleton to the East Side. This project, called Transport 2020, will attempt to alleviate the transportation nightmare around Camp Randall, the University and downtown. Due to the unique geography of Madison, expanding city streets is nearly impossible. Future economic and residential growth may be hindered due to an inadequate road system. Light rail is one of the more promising transportation alternatives for the city.
As someone who lives out in Middleton and owns a car, I can attest to the fact that it is difficult to drive in Madison and that the city needs even more mass transit. I truly appreciate the Madison Metro Transit System. Taking the 60 from home to campus saves me hundreds on an outrageous gas bill and a campus parking permit. The bus also allows me to do the crossword puzzle instead of suffering from driving in rather stressful city traffic down University Avenue. Without the bus during the week, living outside of the immediate campus area would be impractical for thousands of students who live out on the Far West Side, Middleton and the East Side.
As someone who has lived off campus for a while, however, I can also attest to the fact that there is an increase in the amount of riders on many bus routes. There are an increasing number of commuters from Waunakee and Westport who drive to Middleton to ride the bus into work in order to avoid the city traffic and the relatively high costs of parking near Capitol Square. With growth in the city coupled with higher gas prices, the popularity of mass transit is also increasing with those who not only live in the city but even out to the rest of Dane County.
These factors all add up to the fact that the city needs to look for even more alternatives to its congestion problems. Increasing Madison Metro is one solution, but the city can only have so many buses on the already crowded streets. Light rail is a viable alternative in order to get commuters off of the busy streets while allowing even more people to work downtown. Considering the fact that both gas prices and numbers of people moving to Madison show no signs of subsiding, light rail may be one of the most practical transportation plans that the city has.
While the City of Madison is considering Transport 2020, the city should also look beyond the Metro city limits for transportation alternatives. Driving from Madison to Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis and points in between is becoming more costly. I know that visiting my family in Jefferson County has nearly doubled in cost in the past few years. Projects considered in the past, such as the Midwest High Speed Rail Initiative, would provide an additional transportation option to the Badger Bus for college students as well as those who decide to live outside the city and commute to work.
Projects such as Transport 2020 and the Midwest High Speed Rail Initiative are ambitious and carry a big price tag (the latter's projected cost was $10-12 billion in 2001). Large mass transit projects, especially regional ones, also go against the independence of the American driver. The solution to higher gas prices and reliance on foreign oil, however, lies in changing this culture of consumption. Mass transit projects such as those that Madison and the region are studying may not only solve the city's growth problem but may contribute in a small way to helping in solving the country's dependence on barrels of crude from overseas.
Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in linguistics.
