Tonight I went to a public hearing at my old high school, Marquette University High School. It was a hearing held by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation about two proposals to widen Hwy 94 between 70th and 16th street in Milwaukee. All but one person spoke against the two proposals, many arguing for public transit system instead. The expensive new freeway would serve people coming in or getting out of city during drive times by cutting their drive time by a few minutes. However, for the vast number of people in North Central Milwaukee and South Central it would be of no service and would not able to them to get to and from jobs in the suburbs. Milwaukee has a terrible transit system, locking the poor in boundaries, African Americans in North Side and Latinos on South Side. A few people have the courage to call the proposals, what they are, ‘institutional racism.’

After the hearing I had this strange feeling that on one hand the people have spoken and the freeway would not be built but on the other hand all this was said was for naught since the State Government and the Big Highway lobby had already made up their minds. I told my negative feelings, of waste of time, to my long time friend who is a mass transit activist. He was more positive and mentioned the hearing was recorded and copy would be going to Federal Department of Transportation who might take note and stop it. I hope he is right.

The expanded highway would serve the interest of the few while the mass transit system, at much less a cost, would serve the interest of all. Transit is for all while highway expansion isfor the few.

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