WisDOT input & AMA Traffic Engineers

Open public involvement meeting for highway study (including West Avenue)

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is hosting an open-house public involvement meeting to introduce the La Crosse US 53 & US 14/61 Study, from WIS 35 (West Avenue) to I-90. This meeting is an opportunity for the public to learn about the study, engage with WisDOT staff and representatives, and share their insight on the corridor’s existing conditions.

The public involvement meeting is scheduled from 4:30-6 p.m. June 26, 2024, at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center in the Maplewood room, 1433 Rose Street.

The study will assess how to best improve safety and operations for all travelers, as well as addressing pavement and bridge needs along the existing US 53 & US 14/61 corridor. The public is invited to attend and ask questions regarding this study. 

Learn more at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/533516-lacrosse/default.aspx

The meeting facility is transit accessible by bike and via MTU Route 6 and is wheelchair accessible. A Spanish-speaking interpreter will be on-site for the meeting.

###

Then, attend this free online AMA with Wes Marshall, author of the new book, KILLED BY A TRAFFIC ENGINEER, on June 27 at 1 p.m.  to understand why it's up to us to push for the best solutions for safety, equity, and accessibility even if the experts say no. Don't accept,"We can't do that here," for a final answer. Here's a Strong Towns discussion with the author from early June 

Bernie June 29 UWL

 

On Saturday, June 29, Sen. Bernie Sanders will hold a rally at The Bluffs, UWL Student Union. Doors open at 10:30. Rally starts at 11:30 a m. RSVP here: https://act.berniesanders.com/signup/rsvp-la-crosse-wi-rally/

Line 5 Comment Workshop

Earlier this month, in eight hours of public comment, the Army Corps heard our call loud and clear: reject permits for Line 5. Hundreds of people turned out in Ashland because of their concerns for the Great Lakes! Comments at the hearing were overwhelmingly (2-1) in support of the shutdown of Line 5.

Now, it's time for the rest of us to add our voices. You can submit comments online until July 5. Learn more about the process here: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/3782030/corps-of-engineers-publishes-draft-combined-decision-document-for-wisconsin-lin/

Want more help putting together your comments? Have questions about the pipeline? Want a yard sign? Want to meet others who care about these issues? 

Join the Wisconsin Sierra Club's La Crosse  comment-writing pop-up!  Get help writing comments, get materials to help collect more comments, and get answers to any questions you may have about Line 5. Stop in and get a yard sign too!

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25 from 5 to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Ho-Chunk Three Rivers House, 724 Main Street, La Crosse

WHO: Anyone may attend You don't have to be a Sierra Club member.

HOW: This site is accessible by bike, bike share, and bus (#4 - 7th & State stop and Circulator - 9th & Main stop).

REGISTER: https://tinyurl.com/WISC-No5LC

Event Organizer: Heather Wittrock heather.wittrock@sierraclub.org (608) 256-0565

Tell the Biden Administration: No to Line 5
Enbridge Energy, a multi-billion dollar corporation, is moving oil dangerously through northern Wisconsin every day illegally in trespass, violating the Bad River Band's sovereignty. Now, Enbridge is trying to expand that pipeline and operate it for years to come, putting at risk the water, fish, plants and animals, humans, and so much more, with the threat of an oil spill.

The Biden Administration is taking comments on Enbridge's proposal and they need to hear about the dangers of the pipeline and the need to deny permits for the reroute. 

Other workshops:

• June 25 in Eau Claire (11a.m. to 2 p.m. at Phillips Public Library)
• June 26 in Appleton (5 to 7 p.m. at Copper Rock Coffee Company)
• June 26 in Ashland (details TBD)
• June 27 in Green Bay (5:30 to 7 p.m. at Central Library

Juneteenth National and Local

VENUE CHANGE! DUE TO PREDICTED STORMS, JUNETEENTH WILL BE HELD AT LOGAN MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Local and national (online) events will celebrate the 159th anniversary of the announcement in Galveston, Texas that slavery had ended two and a half years before - Juneteenth. 

Every Wednesday in June, Family Search offers free Roots Search webinars online. View the schedule and watch past programs at https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/events/juneteenth-at-familysearch. Family Tree also offers a series of webinars: https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/juneteenth-how-emancipation-came-to-texas-and-how-we-celebrate/

Check out the Juneteenth Digital Toolkit, hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  

Then, on Tuesday, June 18, join a virtual program by the Galveston, Texas Historical Foundation's African Amerian Heritage Committee to look at some of the undertold stories of the people and places of Galveston’s Juneteenth history. Register for the online event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/did-you-know-juneteenth-galveston-juneteenth-2024-tickets-906793352327

Also on June 18, take a guided virtual tour of the National Constitution Center's exhibit, Juneteenth in Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality. Register for the 11 a.m. program here: https://tinyurl.com/Natconsctrjuneteenth1

On Wednesday, June 19 at 1 p.m., join an online Conversation on Black leadership with political commentator and bestselling author Eddie Glaude Jr. In his new book, "We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For," Glaude explores how ordinary people, through the examples of leading Black Americans Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, have the capacity to achieve a more just and perfect democracy.

And at 4  or 7:30 p.m.,  La Crosse area Juneteenth festivities will begin with a free screening of the 2023 musical The Color Purple at the Rivoli (show times at 4 and at 7:30 p.m.)

On Saturday, June 22, celebrate Juneteenth live and in person at Riverside Park from noon to 7 p.m. including a special Kids' Fail from noon to 3. Learn more at https://juneteenthlaxwi.weebly.com/

Juneteenth needs vols!!

Volunteers are still needed for La Crosse's (June 22) Juneteenth.  If interested volunteers can SIGN UP HERE

Help the community remember and celebrate Juneteenth at Riverside Park from noon to 7 p.m. 

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. 

On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. With the principles of self-determination, citizenship, and democracy magnifying their hopes and dreams, those Texans held fast to the promise of true liberty for all.

In 2021, Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday, opening it to symbolic and global interpretation and providing a better understanding of the evolution of our nation and its people. Juneteenth celebrations then, like now, recognize the ongoing fight for human rights and equality and are commemorated through family cookouts, faith services, musical performances and storytelling. Today, Juneteenth celebrates African American resilience and achievement while aiding in the preservation of those historical narratives that promoted racial and personal advancement since Freedom Day. 

Rally for Clean Energy

RALLY FOR CLEAN ENERGY!

JUNE 5, 9 to 11:30 a.m.

OUTSIDE OF THE LA CROSSE CENTER

The Wisconsin Chapter Sierra Club is hosting a rally outside of the La Crosse Center where Dairyland Power Cooperative's annual meeting is being help. The rally will ve on Wednesday, June 5 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. to demand clean energy and energy efficiency rather than fossil fuels and new nukes.

Dairyland Power Cooperative, the generation cooperative that many local transmission cooperatives in Wisconsin get their power from, is proposing to build a large fossil gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin. This is a costly, polluting proposal that Superior does not want! Dairyland is also considering building a new nuclear plant at Genoa.

Make sure Dairyland knows that we want clean energy and energy efficiency!

• No new fossil fuel or dirty energy plants.
• Retire all coal plants (like the existing Madgett Coal Plant)
• Invest in energy efficiency and renewable solutions like wind, solar, and battery storage

Speakers are at 10:45 a.m.

Bring: Comfortable shoes, weather appropriate clothes, signs about NTEC (we will also provide some)

RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/Wisc-NoNTEC

Last chance - Bike/Ped feedback

Why does this logo still show racer bike guy?

Review the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update!

Deadline for survey feedback is Monday June 3rd, 2024

Review the Draft Plan and Share Your Feedback + + + + Does the plan do enough to recognize and  address the needs of those with disabilities? Is enough attention paid to muliti-modal connections? (walk-bike-bus) Will this plan support and improve walking and biking as transportation? Or is it more focused on walking and biking as leisure activities? Is secure bike parking addressed? Is transit included as vital pedestrian infrastructure? Are all areas and neighborhoods in the city treated equally? Are there recommendations for changing car-centric policies to improve safety and access for walking and biking?  Is the plan written from inside the little box created for non-cars by those suffering from car brain? Or is it a declaration of full and equal access to public space?  Is the need to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions prioritized?