Ballweg hears from local transportation committee

By John Faucher

State Sen. Joan Ballweg met with members of a New London transportation committee Monday, May 16.

New London Make the Ride Happen committee members discussed its ongoing efforts to improve local transportation options for residents currently not served by existing programs.

Committee member Tracey Ratzburg gave Ballweg a brief history of how the transportation committee began its efforts.

In 2018, members of the committee participated in a ThedaCare New London Community Health Action Team (CHAT) “plunge” event.

A plunge event is a day-long program where diverse residents visit multiple places in a community to hear about an issue, such as transportation.

Then the CHAT team proposed a partnership with Lutheran Social Services’ Make the Ride Happen program.

Make the Ride Happen is a mobility management program in Outagamie, Winnebago and Calumet counties. They help residents find the best low-cost options for rides to employment, medical appointments, shopping and social activities.

Ratzburg told Ballweg the eventual goal was to expand the Make the Ride Happen program into New London and eventually Waupaca County.

She also said, since 2018, multiple local and regional stakeholders and partners have joined in the effort.

“The community leaders and all the other organizations involved in this really are invested heavily in time and understanding what’s needed in the community around transportation,” said Ratzburg.

In early 2022 they launched the beginnings of a program in New London.

How programs work

Holly Keenan, a mobility manager at Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, explained how the programs work in other communities.

Each community is unique in both needs and the assets available.

“We have a project in Oshkosh right now where we’re serving disadvantaged people trying to get to work and we think that that model could be put into this community but obviously adjusted to the needs of this community,” said Keenan.

Ballweg asked if the employers and or Workforce Development help to subsidize the transportation needs.

“That’s what the group is working towards,” Keenan said.

In some communities, “that can be a hard nut to crack,” she added.

Keenan noted that in New London employers have been very engaged in assisting the transportation committee since the beginning.

Ratzburg said they have also partnered with the Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation in applying for a State Workforce Development Grant.

Ratzburg said that because New London has good employer involvement, odds are more favorable for receiving the grant.

Keenan said if the grant is awarded, the challenge will be finding long-term sustainable funding.