Don’t Call it a Comeback ‘Cause We Never Left!

Wisconsin was once ranked the 2nd most bike-friendly state, and we remained consistently in the top 10 until we became the only state in the country to repeal our Complete Streets policy in 2017. Our worst report card was in 2022 when we were ranked 29 – due in large part to almost being at rock bottom – a dismal 49th out of 50 – in what we spent on biking and walking. Since then, we have been clawing our way back! 

The Bicycle Friendly State rankings highlight information about each state to provide a comparison and serve as a reference for state efforts related to bicycling. Our current report card can be found here. The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) has identified and measured policies and outcomes they believe are most critical for states to achieve in order to rise in the rankings, but acknowledge that important factors like natural beauty and biking culture (Wisconsin strong suits!) are not explicitly considered.

While the news is good, we still have miles to go.  So what’s next?

1.  Accept and Distribute Federal Infrastructure Dollars. Our report card notes that we spend $3.85 per capita on biking and walking. This is a vast improvement from the $.85 per capita we were spending in 2022. But, we still rank 31 out of 50 in what we invest in biking and walking and the Transportation Alternatives (TAP) program is consistently over-subscribed. We also need to fund the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program so that communities can access needed matching dollars to fund trail projects.

2.  Deliver on the State’s Bike Plan. Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s (WisDOT) “Active Transportation Plan” draft was open for public comment last month and while it delivered a great vision for active transportation in Wisconsin, it was lean on a timeline and a plan for accountability. 1000 Friends of Wisconsin’s Transportation Team shared a deep dive on how the draft could be improved and we look forward to WisDOT publishing the finished plan. 

3.  Invest in our Natural Resources. Wisconsin is one of only two states with no funding mechanism (like a tax) to support the DNR’s maintenance needs. DNR-owned facilities have millions of dollars of deferred maintenance and have to rely on camping fees, trail passes, and hunting licenses to generate revenue – and user fees have been frozen for decades. Trail passes provide less than 25% of the management funds needed for Wisconsin’s 44 state trails.

4.   Adopt a New Statewide Complete Streets Policy. Complete Streets prioritizes the safety of all roadway users over the speed of moving cars. In 2009 the Wisconsin state legislature passed a Complete Streets Law which in part stated that WisDOT shall refuse to provide any state and federal funds to highway reconstruction projects that don’t include bicycle and pedestrian ways – i.e. sidewalks and/or marked or unmarked bike lanes. Our current policy has no teeth – it is really more of a recommendation – and all too often streets are resurfaced with no improvement in safety for people who bike and walk.

Complete Streets is just one of a host of bicycle-friendly policies that we expect to see introduced when the new legislature is sworn in January 2027 including: an e-moto bill, a “stop as yield” (Idaho Stop) policy, anti “super-speeders” legislation, eminent domain for bicycle and pedestrian path, and more.

We are already looking forward to our 2028 report card – top ten here we come!