Guest Post: Bike Lanes in La Crosse
Downtown La Crosse stands at a pivotal moment as the Wisconsin Department of Transportation advances a new construction proposal that will reshape how residents, visitors, and businesses move through the city. Long defined by its historic riverfront, vibrant commercial corridors, and close-knit neighborhoods, La Crosse now faces decisions that will influence its safety, mobility, and economic vitality for decades to come.
Why do bike and pedestrian advocates have to fight for their rights to travel through the cities we live in?
In La Crosse, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has been studying and developing alternatives for the US 53 and US 14/61 Corridor, part of which is through the downtown area, to improve safety and address traffic operations concerns, while addressing existing and projected infrastructure needs through the design year 2050. On November 13, the La Crosse Common Council included this item on their agenda with the action to vote between alternatives presented for the downtown portion. Alternatives included widening the downtown sidewalks while others included removing parking to accommodate bike lanes. After not reaching a consensus, the Common Council voted to delay the vote for 90 days. This delay may potentially impact the rest of this project as well as other WisDOT infrastructure projects throughout the city.
Was the public made aware of this prior to the Common Council vote?
The study began in 2023 with identification of corridor needs, concept development, and field investigations. Since 2024, WisDOT engaged in 21 outreach events in La Crosse: five outreach events in 2024 and 16 in 2025. These outreach events included presenting at two Public Involvement Meetings (PIMs), attending various local government committee meetings, and connecting with local stakeholder groups. The purpose of these meetings was to present alternatives for this corridor and gather public input about spot improvement concepts, bicycle facilities, curb ramp improvements, access changes, and parking impacts. Input from the community was minimal, including:
● PIM surveys – 22 responses with 20 responses in favor of bike lanes and two opposed.
● Technical Advisory Committee – seven responses in favor of bike lanes.
● Local Officials Advisory Committee – one response in favor of bike lanes.
● Community Advisory Committee – 19 responses with 14 in favor of bike lanes.
● Downtown Business Owner Survey – 108 responses with 20 in favor of bike lanes. It is notable that not all downtown businesses were asked to participate in this survey, including the downtown bike shop.
WisDOT also held a Multimodal Workshop to gather input on transit and other forms of travel like bike and pedestrian facilities. Additionally, WisDOT maintains study information on their public involvement page linked to the US 53 and US 14/61 Corridor Study page.
With all of this information easily accessible, why are some citizens outraged by the options presented?
It might possibly be because they weren’t engaged when the opportunities to do so were made available. For people who haven’t been involved with city or state government, it may seem like decisions are made quickly without input, but that’s just not the case. Large infrastructure changes or improvements follow a prescribed public input process. WisDOT has an entire chapter in their Facilities Development Manual and a resource webpage dedicated to public involvement since it is an important component of transportation and infrastructure projects. Construction for this project is slated in 2029, and we are already two years into the planning process which has been published on the WisDot US 53 and US 14/61 Corridor Study page since the inception of the study.
Why wasn’t the City’s vision included in these alternatives?
Actually, the City’s vision was included in the alternatives presented. The City of La Crosse maintains many plans that were adopted by the City Council, some with a focus on alternate transportation and climate action, all of them including investments in pedestrian and bicycle facilities. In fact, an excerpt from the Imagine 2040 La Crosse Downtown Plan (written in 2021 and compiled from input from downtown businesses) states:
“These documents support a network designed for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and the mobility impaired. Ample opportunity exists to build out the network and make connections to the regional trail systems. This network should encourage travelers to take transit or bike into downtown and become pedestrians once arriving in the core of downtown to create interactive, local streets leading to destinations.”
The City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan (written in 2023) includes many testimonials asking for improved bike infrastructure as well as many actions the City can take to make this transportation choice safer and more accessible, including:
“Expand the city’s pedestrian and bicycle networks to ensure every street and all new development meets the safety and mobility needs of all users. Promote these networks as support for economic development, tourism, and recreation.”
Also noted in the plan is the benefit to the City’s economy:
“Expanding the City’s outdoor recreation network will also benefit the community’s economy. These networks not only draw in tourists; they also draw in employers and employees alike, which helps attract and retain more families to live in the City of La Crosse. For the state overall, outdoor recreation contributed $8.7 billion to Wisconsin’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021.”
The City of La Crosse Climate Action Plan (written in 2022/2023) states that 65% of the respondents of the La Crosse Climate Action Survey would walk or bike more frequently if they felt safer. Additionally, two of the goals include 1) decreasing commuter and community wide vehicle miles of travel by 5% by 2030 and 2) improving the City’s ‘Bicycle Friendly Community’ rating.
What about parking? If the City removes parking on one side of the street on both 3rd and 4th Streets to accommodate the addition of bike lanes, will there be enough parking downtown or will businesses lose customers because of lack of available on-street parking?
WisDOT reports that removing parking on the west side of 4th street and the east side of 3rd street to install bike lanes will reduce the existing 155 parking spaces to 82 (net decrease of 73 parking spaces) over a half mile stretch from King St. to La Crosse St (many parking spots closest to La Crosse St. are rarely parked in). The other option of keeping on-street parking on both sides of the street will still require removal of 20 parking spaces to accommodate curb extensions. This equates to a difference of 62 spots between the two alternatives presented.
During the City’s parking study in 2020, the Downtown Parking Study Update & Analysis of Expanded Areas, the study found there are over 9,100 parking spots downtown, 4,700+ under City control. At peak time (12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.), 45% of the on-street parking supply was occupied and off-street/ramp use was between 40-45% occupied. Additionally, privately managed parking peaked around 50% occupation. Downtown La Crosse also has five parking ramps, making almost all downtown destinations accessible within 1-2 blocks of walking. One could argue that there is sufficient parking available downtown.
Additionally, in the City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, one of the recommended actions is:
“Action 2-3: Review development requirements to avoid excess off-street parking and ensure the provision of bike parking and safe pedestrian routes in site designs.”
It seems WisDOT was designing exactly what the City has been asking for.
What we really need to ask ourselves is: Do we want our downtown to be a place people drive through or a place they want to walk, bike, and drive to?