Bicycle groups say the governor is to blame for Wisconsin losing its reputation as a bike friendly state…a Fond du Lac Republican lawmaker is defending the governor. Wisconsin slipped to number 9 in the latest bicycle friendly state rankings from the League of American Bicyclists. Wisconsin Bike Federation director Dave Cieslewicz says Governor Walker’s proposed repeal of the state’s Complete Streets law is a factor. The law requires that bikes and pedestrians be included in transportation planning efforts, but Cieslewicz there are exceptions. “They don’t need to build facilities if they can show that the faxcilities are going to be too expensive or if nobody is going to use them,” Cieslewicz told AM 1170 WFDL’s Between the Lines program. Fond du Lac state senator Rick Gudex says the current law adds costs to road projects. “What’s that done is it has created a lot of tension in the fact that when you have a requirement they have to have bike-ways and pedestrian-ways considered in every new highway project or reconstruction project it creates a situation where you have undue burden with our funding and we have to continually plan on having more money for projects,” Gudex told WFDL news. So what about the bike path that runs along the 151 Bypass? “That would have been a situation where they would have gotten together with the stakeholders, the county and the city, and they would have had a discussion about that. Is there a chance that may not have happened? There’s a chance that may not have happened,” Gudex said. “I’ll site you another example, the state is looking at redoing Highway 45 from Eden to Fond du Lac through the Lake DeNeveu area. There would be the need to remove almost 50 trees and one of the reasons for that is because in the current statute it says there is a requirement there has to be a bike path considered in that project.” But Cieslewicz says the cost of the program is very small compared to the overall transportation budget, and could end up costing more in the long run. “”When you think about it if you don’t provide these facilities when you’re rebuilding a road and then you discover you need them later on, its going to cost you a whole lot more to retrofit it,” Cieslewicz said. The governor is also proposing to freeze land purchases through the Stewardship Fund through 2028. Gudex says the growing debt from these land purchases is unsustainable. “I guess the question is to the people who are against the proposal, when is enough enough? We’re paying 228 (thousand) a day in Wisconsin now, is $300,000, $400,000, a half a million a day…when do we say enough is enough?” Cieslewicz says the bicycle industry has a huge economic impact in the state. “There’s a study done a few years ago that showed the bicycle industry as a whole, contributes over $1.5 billion to our economy. It provides 14,000 jobs. Its actually bigger than deer hunting.” The League of American Bicyclists warns in its report that if these changes come to pass, bicycling in Wisconsin will be set back significantly and may take years to recover.
