Madison to receive $6 million from USDOT to reduce traffic deaths

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The city of Madison is set to receive $6.2 million from the US Department of Transportation to reduce traffic deaths. 14 projects connected with the city’s Vision Zero plan will receive federal funding.

The Vision Zero plan started in 2020, and looks to reduce all traffic deaths in Madison to zero by 2035. This is being done by reducing speed limits across the city, and installing infrastructure like improved sidewalks and protected bike lanes. 

The new federal funding comes from the USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding was announced Monday by Senator Tammy Baldwin, as part of a package that sends a total of $11 million dollars to communities across the state. 

Milwaukee, Sheboygan, River Falls, and the Menominee Tribe will all receive funding to improve traffic safety. In a statement, Baldwin said “This funding will help communities across the state reduce the amount of roadway incidents and make our streets safer for pedestrians, bikers, and drivers.”

In Madison, the money will go to improving sidewalks, protected bike lanes, ADA-compliant ramps, and pedestrian refuge islands. The money will also go towards pedestrian crossing lights and signals to better warn drivers that someone is looking to cross the street.

Many of the infrastructure improvements will focus on intersections along the city’s bus transit line, to better help people cross the road in order to get to their bus.