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Gov. Walker willing to listen on Hoan Bridge bike lane

Posted by Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel on Aug. 24, 2011

cycling, Hoan Bridge

Barring a strong push from the Legislature, the decision on whether to add a bike and pedestrian lane on the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge ultimately rests with Gov. Scott Walker, via his authority over the Department of Transportation and its top directors.

For decades, Walker has been solidly against the idea, as a state legislator, Milwaukee County executive and gubernatorial candidate.

Asked to weigh in again this week, Walker's spokesman responded by email: "Governor Walker has expressed his opposition to the cost of constructing a bike path in the past."

The steadfast opposition would suggest the bike lane feasibility study now being done by consulting firms hired by the DOT is an exercise in futility and a waste of money.

Still, the director of the department's southeast region and the two project managers on the upcoming Hoan reconstruction spent much of Tuesday evening listening to cyclists make their case for the addition of a bike and pedestrian accommodation. Were they just enjoying an evening in Bay View?

With the question phrased in that context, Walker's spokesman responded further:

"The agency is studying the feasibility/costs associated with this project to present the Governor with all of the facts and thoughts from the community. The Governor has been opposed to this project in the past.  That doesn’t preclude him from listening to others in the community, evaluating their input, and making a final decision with their input considered."

17 Comments for "Gov. Walker willing to listen on Hoan Bridge bike lane"

  1. "OT is an exercise in futility, and a waste of money."

    Not only a HUGE waste of money, but also extremely idiotic. Governor, take about 2 minutes to think about it and throw this idea into the trash bin where it belongs...

    sebanzacty Aug 24, 2011 1:20 PM

  2. How much will it cost, and how many people do we expect will use it?

    Almost certainly too much, and almost certainly very few. Nix.

    Izzatso Aug 24, 2011 1:24 PM

  3. I wonder where all the naysayers were at the meeting last night? It seems they mostly post negative comments in an electronic forum and claim they are a 'silent majority'. Yet it seems they hate that term and downplay it when it doesn't suit their agenda. The support from the probable users should outweigh the 'electronic silence' of the improbable users.

    TosaArch Aug 24, 2011 1:54 PM

  4. What reason could Walker have to possibly support this? One) its a stupid waste of money, Two) not a single person on the south side of 794 (until you get to South Milwauke) voted for him, Three) its a stupid waste of money.

    If these people want it so bad, pass around a hat and have a friggin bake sale.

    Sofine57 Aug 24, 2011 2:27 PM

  5. What does it matter if they're at the meeting or not? If you're a tax payer it's in your right to oppose it. I would say most people are against it. It's obvious if you're strongly for it you'd go to the meeting, so it's not a barometer of a vast majority in support. The meeting was to hear the pros and cons. The con of price is pretty strong and is known, so the voice of the pros in last nights meeting was needed more.

    Chuck Cecils Tooth Aug 24, 2011 2:59 PM

  6. As you stated "the meeting was to hear the pros and cons"... so if you're strongly against, wouldn't it then make sense to also go?

    TosaArch Aug 24, 2011 5:24 PM

  7. arguments one and three might make sense...but argument two...well...that is true republican attitude now-a-days. Only do things for the people who voted for you. Very classy. And we wonder why politicians can't work together anymore.

    iraqi bob Aug 24, 2011 7:31 PM

  8. Dedicated bike lanes in Milwaukee do get used -- check out the inter-urban path from the lakeshore to Estabrook Park. The existing routes from downtown to Bay View funnel bikers and cars into shared narrowed underpasses and over metal bridge decking that when wet is very easy for bike wheels to slide and go down. Given the number of biker deaths in this state at the hand of inattentive drivers, as chronicled by Mr Held, I think it is completely appropriate to devote some transportation resources to key corridors of bicycle traffic in the city to provide a dedicated and protected lane. The Hoan Bridge lane would accomplish that. Copenhagen and many German cities have achieved bike commuting percentages 10-20 times our rates because they have devoted very modest amount of resources to provide bike commuters with dedicated (and therefore safer) bike lanes.

    milwaukeedoc Aug 24, 2011 10:14 PM

  9. As you said, this "meeting was to hear the pros and cons". Would it not make sense for those strongly against it to show up as well? Unless there is a referendum on an issue, the only other real barometer is the voices heard by the elected officials.

    TosaArch Aug 25, 2011 12:40 PM

  10. As you said, this "meeting was to hear the pros and cons". Would it not make sense for those strongly against it to show up as well? Unless there is a referendum on an issue, the only other real barometer is the voices heard by the elected officials.

    TosaArch Aug 25, 2011 12:40 PM

  11. I am a cyclist and bicycle commuter but I would only support this bike lane if it made sense economically. With the economy the way it is and our state digging itself out of a hole, this might be a project to put off until our state is in a better financial position. If the money is there, I'm all for it.

    As for people calling it a "stupid waste of money" or calling for cyclists to "have a bake sale", stop embarassing yourself. Your comments highlight your own stupidity. Oppose this idea all you want, but being negative and insulting just makes you sound like an idiot.

    Car Ramrod Aug 25, 2011 1:05 PM

  12. You don't even need to go across the pond, look to a cities like Minneapolis & Pittsburgh. They have a long history of making their cities bike/pedestrian accessible. Milwaukee is so far behind.

    biscuits Aug 26, 2011 9:12 AM

  13. I can't believe all the negative comments about having a bike lane. If we really want more people to bike to work and use their bikes for transportation to reduce carbon emissions. then you have to provide bike lanes to make it safe for them to do so. Biking for transportation is up 25% in the state and in the Scott Get Up & Ride Wisconsin Bike Challenge, there was 1 million miles biked in the state for just transportation (not counting biking for recreation) and this many miles were biked in just 3 months. This shows that biking is very vital to the economic growth of our state and in Milwaukee by adding bike lanes to the Hoan bridge. I think people would be amazed at how many people would use it. If this isn't approved by Walker, then don't keep telling us how broke the state is. They will be more broke.

    Gregg1561 Aug 31, 2011 6:11 PM

  14. I totally agree. The more bike friendly this state is, the more economic growth it will have.

    Gregg1561 Aug 31, 2011 6:15 PM

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