Priorities
Housing Forward Agenda
In order to keep up with our current pace of growth and address one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the United States, the City of Madison is setting an ambitious goal to support the creation of 15,000 new homes by 2030.
Additionally, the City is aiming for at least 25% of those new homes to have long-term affordability at below-market rates for those making 60% of the Area Median Income or less. This level of growth would keep pace with population growth and also help bring Madison to a healthy vacancy rate to ease housing price pressures.
The Housing Forward initiative was first launched in 2021 to address housing needs in Madison. It outlines a multi-pronged approach to address Madison’s housing needs.
Climate Forward Agenda
Climate change threatens our planet, our health and our economy. Madison is moving rapidly to reduce our emissions, make our community more resilient and improve peoples’ lives.
We are investing in renewable energy to meet our goal for City facilities energy to be 100% renewable by 2030 (see 100% Renewable Energy Report(opens in a new window)). We are investing in an electric bus rapid transit system that will improve mobility and lower transit emissions and take thousands of cars off the streets. We are encouraging sustainability in both new and existing affordable housing to lower bills for residents. We are rapidly switching streetlights to LED lights, converting our fleet to electric vehicles, supporting green infrastructure for stormwater management and so much more. But there is more to do. The Mayor’s Climate Forward(opens in a new window) plan outlines a two year agenda to make Madison a more climate-friendly and climate resilient City.
Metro Forward Agenda
The Madison region continues to grow rapidly. It has consistently ranked in top tiers for being a dynamic, safe place to live—attracting talent, businesses and new residents. Growth is evident in many ways from the booming housing development to the changing downtown skyline. If growth resumes at its previous pace, by the year 2050, we expect 85,000 new jobs and 100,000 new residents in Dane County. This translates into 800,000 new road trips to work, school and play. Without action, the resulting gridlock will more than double travel times for everyone on the road. As people begin to return to schools, employment centers and public life, Metro Transit will be instrumental in improving workforce transportation, reducing congestion and serving as the backbone of a new vibrant regional economy. Plus, through close attention paid to equity(opens in a new window) issues in our transit system, we’ve managed to create an even better service for our most marginalized riders, increasing access to jobs by 96% for black riders, 120% for LatinX riders and 93% for low income riders on average. Now it’s time to make sure that Metro provides access to opportunity and excellent service, by redesigning our transit network and adding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a high-quality electric bus-based transit system that delivers fast, comfortable and cost-effective service with a high-level of capacity.
CARES
As one of many steps taken to reimagine public safety, Mayor Rhodes-Conway included in her 2020 Executive Budget funding to launch a new emergency services team called Madison’s Community Alternative Response Emergency Services or CARES. Modeled after successful patient-centered programs like STAR in Denver, Colorado and CAHOOTS in Eugene, Oregon, a CARES team is a mobile unit comprised of one Madison Fire Department community paramedic and one Journey Mental Health Center crisis worker who are specially trained in de-escalation and mental health assessments.
Vision Zero
Madison’s Vision Zero initiative with the ambitious goal to eliminate fatal and serious injuries that are a result of crashes on streets, sidewalks and paths in Madison. Vision Zero, which was first adopted in 1997 in Sweden, is an initiative focused on placing the long-term goal of safety for all roadway users at the forefront of all policy and design decisions. As Sweden’s programs began to show success, many other countries and cities across the world took notice. Madison’s Vision Zero Initiative uses a data driven strategy that unites City departments and residents to make city streets safer, and accomplish the goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries. It is a comprehensive approach to transportation safety, including smarter street designs that account for human error, education, safety-focused enforcement, safe vehicles and community engagement.