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Today is Transit Equity Day ...
Join Our Webinar!
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Just as Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on the bus in 1955, leading to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional, we all need to refuse the dismantling of public transit in the U.S even if we don't ride the bus. With today, 4th Feb., being Rosa Parks' birthday and now Transit Equity Day, let's give transit a 'lift' through learning, organizing, and advocating so seven generations have safe and equitable public transit available and accessible to them.
In December, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law one of the most consequential pieces of transportation legislation in the country. The Northeastern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act will transform the way Illinoisans travel around the state by investing an additional $1.5 billion annually in the state's local and regional transit systems. Almost half of this funding is being redirected from roads and highways. On top of this, the NITA Act reforms how transit is governed and operated in the Chicago region. For the first time ever, transit region-wide will operate with one time table, one fare, and one payment method significantly improving mobility for residents and visitors.
TODAY, we're hosting a webinar with advocates from Illinois and Wisconsin to discuss this momentous legislation and share ideas for how we can achieve similar wins in Wisconsin. The webinar will include representatives from the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, (including Micheál Podgers, Midwest Policy Lead at Climate Cabinet) and Cassie Steiner-Bouxa from the Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (Sierra Club Wisconsin).
Register here ...
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Let's Welcome Ali
to the Team!
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We're very excited to share this good news! Welcome to 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Ali!
Ali Hoffman (she/her) is the new Communications & Digital Manager at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, where she'll lead marketing and communications across all 1KF platforms in support of the organization’s statewide housing campaign. Her work helps expand housing options and affordability while also advancing solutions that reduce carbon emissions and improve access to walking, biking, and public transit.
Ali brings 18 years of experience in digital advertising, project management, and strategic marketing, along with a Journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was drawn to 1000 Friends of Wisconsin’s mission-driven work and ...
Read more ...
Photo: (by Ali Hoffman)
| Celebrating Black History Month - Battling Transportation Inequities | | |
One of the best ways for our organization to celebrate Black History Month is to continue and amplify the work we're doing reversing historic inequities in transportation and housing throughout Wisconsin. The segregation and disparities caused by the many injustices in policy, practice, and infrastructure, from redlining to destroying BIPOC neighborhoods with the construction of I-94 in Milwaukee, the need for change is not lost on us. Our work continues.
"For Dulcie Canton, stopping vehicular violence in New York City has become a life mission. Both Dulcie and her mother were victims of hit-and-run crashes on separate occasions, 10 years apart - Dulcie as a cyclist, her mother as a pedestrian. Digging deep into the root causes of traffic violence, the filmmakers of The Street Project engage a diverse array of experts including street historian Peter Norton, city planner Jeff Speck, and urban design expert Mikael Colville-Andersen. These expert interviews are interwoven with the stories of real people working to make their communities safer."
Photo: (Dulcie Canton, The Street Project)
| Housing Stories That Inspire Change | |
At 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, we believe that storytelling holds power to humanize complex policy issues in a way that builds bridges between people and creates new possibilities for change. Through our Madison for More Neighbors campaign, we've had the opportunity to meet many people who are navigating housing issues in different ways. In collaboration with Marlita Media Solutions, we produced four unique videos from the perspective of community members whose experiences and ideas can spark conversations and help us all think creatively and collaboratively to imagine new possibilities for housing in Madison.
Photo: (24 Oct. 2025 ADU Ribbon Cutting by Marlita Media Solutions)
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In a world where so much can feel beyond our control, connecting with our neighbors is a powerful antidote. Our Community Transportation Academy (CTA) has become one of those bright spots, strengthening local networks and inspiring collective action at a time when we need it more than ever. 1000 Friends of Wisconsin has offered the Academy in six communities across the state since 2023, with positive outcomes and interest only continuing to grow in WI and around the Midwest.
Transportation/mobility is a shared need with the potential to bridge across differences, and we've consistently seen how it brings people together across ages, identities, professions, and lived experiences. Over 10 weeks, participants learn about local transportation systems, build relationships, exchange ideas, and imagine new futures together. Many leave with collaborators who support them in their work and advocacy.
Want to learn more, support the CTA, or see it in your community in the future? Visit our website, or read our Community Program Manager's recent Active Wisconsin blog sharing her reflections following the most recent Academy in Green Bay and the expanding reach of the program across the Midwest. And stay tuned! Our next Academy launches in Madison this April, with details on the schedule, guest speakers, and registration coming soon.
Photo: (West Allis CTA participants on a bus tour by Susan Gaeddert)
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An Update From Our
Transportation Policy Analyst:
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This Spring and Summer, Raphie is working with local partners to organize an advocacy and walk-roll audit series to engage community residents and neighbors in the ongoing and upcoming road and highway projects in Milwaukee neighborhoods. These include WisDOT's projects on W. Fond du Lac Avenue/WIS 145, W. Lisbon Ave./WIS 175, and Milwaukee DPWs Safe Streets for All project on S. César Chávez Drive / S. 16th Street. Street safety, high vehicle speeds, and transit access are of great concern for many Milwaukee residents. At the same time, some residents do not feel properly engaged by our planning agencies or may feel discouraged by long timelines. The primary goal of this project is to support the advocacy of those already speaking up and uplift more leaders' voices in the communities who can advocate for roads that reflect safety and connection in our neighborhoods.
Partners include: Walnut Way, Rooted & Rising-Washington Park, and the Cesar Chavez Business Improvement District
Other work in Milwaukee; 1000 Friends continues to support Rethink 794 in calling for a new vision of downtown Milwaukee, given the alternative of freeway removal and replacement with a boulevard on Clybourn St. Also coming up this spring, the group will host two more walk-roll audits along the corridor and a visioning session. These events will call on community members to assess how the highway impacts the area at street level and provide a vision for what could be a safer, more sustainable, and human-centered redevelopment of the area.
| | Together For Homes Kickoff | | |
Last week, the next phase of the Together for Homes coalition launched with a kickoff event in Milwaukee (MKE). With a solid turnout of advocates, partners, and concerned residents, the coalition laid the groundwork for the next phase to advocate for policy change in MKE for more affordable and attainable homes.
Learn more about Together for Homes ...
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In this moment, I think it’s important to note that the last month has been terrible for our democracy, for our communities, and for work we do to lift up voices that are marginalized. Even though 1000 Friends isn’t a civil rights organization or an immigrant protections and rights organization, I think it’s still important to stand in solidarity, for our collective well being - we are a community, we all have rights, and no human is illegal.
One small thing we can do today, is make it easier for you, our audience, our followers, our friends, and supporters to give to organizations supporting the victims of injustice. Two possible options include:
Immigrant Law Center
Voces de la Frontera
Sincerely,
Trevor Roark
(Executive Director)
Photo: (In Solidarity, a 2018 collaborative mural by Lauren Pallotta Stumberg, Lela Brunet, Jessica Caldas, Angela Davis Johnson, and Krista Jones - Boston, MA)
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