Tonight the Madison Common Council unanimously approved two actions that improve transportation equity and choice in Madison: the Metro Network Redesign, and a Transportation Demand Management ordinance. In response, Mayor Rhodes-Conway made the following statement.
“With the final approval for the new and improved Metro Network Redesign, people who rely on public transit in Madison will soon benefit from a more efficient and rapid transit system. The Metro Network Redesign solves decades-old problems with our former network, and expressly and intentionally improves service for low-income communities and communities of color. An extensive and thorough third-party equity analysis shows that access to the Metro system is improved for people overall, but is even more improved for low-income riders and riders of color,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway.
The City’s equity analysis on Metro’s Network Redesign program showed that the improvement in job access for transit riders is very strong, with percentage improvements for various groups shown in the charts below. The full presentation can be found here.
“The Common Council also passed a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance tonight that will help broaden access to multiple transportation options for people who live and work in Madison, while reducing our climate impact,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “TDM will help those that bike to work have a place to change, those that bus to work have access to bus passes, and will just make it easier to access Madison without a car.”
“I would like to thank the Council their support of these investments, and staff for their hard work on putting forth these proposals and for their extensive community engagement work on both. Finally, I’d like to thank all the community members who commented on these proposals and helped to improve them,” concluded Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “I’m confident that these measures will improve the accessibility and quality of transportation in Madison for years to come.”
