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Reckless driving, road repairs; Wisconsin governor calls for $60M
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called for spending more tax dollars to address roads and reckless driving. Republicans stripped his proposal from the budget.
BROWN DEER, Wis. - A debate is raging about how to best spend Wisconsin taxpayer dollars. One part of that deals with reckless driving.
Tuesday, FOX6 News asked the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson about what the state can do to help. He pointed to three things: enforcement, education and changing infrastructure.
Gov. Tony Evers called for spending more tax dollars on roads Tuesday while helping the pothole patrol in Brown Deer.
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In his proposed budget, the Democratic governor calls for $60 million for "traffic calming," things meant to slow down drivers. Grants would go to local communities for things like speed humps, roundabouts and bump outs "to make sure the roads are safe," in the words of Evers. Legislative Republicans stripped Evers' $60m proposal and many others from the state budget they're hashing out.
"We will continue to push for that. Things that are taken out of the budget can be put back in, and that is a priority for us: To have safe roads, but also make sure the infrastructure is such that people can’t be going 80 miles an hour down a street," Evers said.
Gov. Tony Evers helps patch potholes in Brown Deer
The push comes as Milwaukee police investigate a Brady Street hit-and-run.
"People are scared to walk around here," said Alex Schwind, who lives near Brady Street. "We need to get some speed bumps or stop signs, some actions need to be taken here."
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MPD crime statistics for Brady Street show, from Jan. 1-May 29 this year, there were three hit-and-runs involving pedestrians. There were two through the same point of 2022 and none at that point in 2021.
The question is: Will Republican legislators invest tax money into infrastructure to crack down on reckless driving? We asked those leading the committee to share their plans. State Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) did not respond to FOX6's interview request, while staff in the office of State Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said he had no comment.
The final version of the budget is supposed to go into effect July 1. What that budget will look like is unclear, but there are recent examples of both parties working together to crack down on reckless driving. A new state law allows municipalities to tow reckless drivers, and another law doubles jail time for offenders.