Common Council

Updated post and reminder to join Alder Syed Abbas Virtual meeting Network Redesign

Dear Neighbors,

As we approach tomorrow evening's meeting about the Network Redesign and its impact on the Northside I would like to call out a few things in advance of the meeting. 

Over the last few days, city staff have argued with me and said the BRT and Network Redesign are separate things. Theoretically, they are right. However, both are interconnected and they impact each other simultaneously.  

The reason the city is calling the BRT and the Network Redesign two separate things is to distract from the fact that the BRT is going to result in a reduction of essential service to many of us on the Northside.

The BRT program is designed to bring Rapid Bus service to Downtown Madison and other commercial areas. The route redesign is going to reduce neighborhood service; only a portion of it will be replaced by BRT. 

I want to make sure the BRT does not create an adverse impact on Northside neighborhood service. That's why it is important for us to understand how future network redesign interacts with people of color, and low-income and disconnected communities.

In my previous blogpost about the BRT and Network Redesign, I shared the presentation given by the city staff at the Common Council Executive Committee (CCEC). City staff pitched a number of ideas about restructuring service (as I mentioned in my previous blog). If those ideas end up in their final proposal we will lose a lot of our service. 

I look forward to having a robust discussion. Please join us virtually tomorrow at 6pm. If you have not already done so but wish to provide comments, please register at: https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf--hqzstGt3mgi_tbvkX1oT69fjLZQWI  

Thank you.
Syed