Just weeks after the ttracks on the CP Airline sub were taken up, now the city wants mass transit! Go figure.
MILWAUKEE - A committee to study mass transportation improvements in the city voted Wednesday on Mayor Tom Barrett’s plan to spend $91.5 million in federal money allocated for transportation.
In a 3-4 vote, the committee decided to advance the plan to the next level where the plan would be analyzed.
Mayor Barrett argued that the $91.5 million has been sitting idle for the past 16 years not earning interest. He told the committee he feared that if the money wasn’t spent, Milwaukee would lose it.
The plan consists of adding circular transit that would offer rides throughout the downtown area. The vehicles are similar to trolleys seen in other metropolitan areas. It also consists of COMET - County of Milwaukee Express Transit. These would be buses that are meant to make boarding easier with more spacious rides. The buses would offer transportation throughout the city from midtown to Mitchell International Airport.
Additional funding must be raised at the local level, and that’s part of the next phase of analysis.
The study will take 8-11 months, and the committee will meet then to discuss their findings on the mayor’s plan. Barrett said if the plan goes through all the phases and is approved at the end, it could be four years before the improved transit would be completed.
Oh boy. First the Madison mayor wants Trolleys, and now Milwaukee’s mayor does too! Who’s next, Green Bay?
And those of you who mentioned the money being in the studies, boy is that ever true! Back a number of years ago when Madison was looking at the possibility of commuter rail on the existing rail lines, they decided to do a study of where to put the stations. A friend of mine who works for the railroad, using only common sense, put together a list of where he thought the stations should be. After many thousands were spent on the study, they came back with all but one of the stops in the same place as my friend’s list (and he was off by only one block on the one he missed)! But, as long as there are politicians, there will always be lots of money to be made in the business of doing studies…
I think this is the stupided idea every. Because the now defuncked Milwaukee county transit system. Is in so much trouble with money. That they are saying by the year 2009 or 2010 they most of the routes will be cut or elemiated. And the mayor also wants to build a 3 mile guided trolley system that links downtown milwaukee. With other parts of town like miller park to the west the airport to the south UWM to the east and the county grounds to the north. But like I said it is so stupid what they should. Do with that 91.5 millon dollars is use it for the Milwaukee County Transit System and buy new buses lower fares and bring back some of the routes that have been cut out in the past 6 or so years. Now my opion would be lock the mayor and the county exec. In a room for a week and let them duke it out and the one who wins that is how the money should be spent. Or another way they use some of it on M,C,T,S and the rest of it on the project that they have been working on for the past 15 years of running the metra trains from Kenosha into milwaukee and all of there suburbs. Now I think that would be a great way to go not some stupid trolley system that NO BODY WOULD RIDE and within a couple of months it would be pulled out of service and the tracks would be left in the streets and eventually would have to be ripped out and there would.Go more money for road construction to rip them out.
Never let reality get in the way of a good pipe dream.
Those trolleys better have bullet-proof windows.
Fortunately, Froedert and the other hospitals are getting so good at treating gun shot victims that the death rate from gunshots has gone down - while shootings in the city have increased something like 30 percent.
Besides, according to the mayor there aren’t any crime problems. I guess the gang rape of a young girl by a bunch of 15 year olds and the recent drive-by murder of a pregnant mother in broad daylight are just normal run-of-the-mill activities for a city as great as Milwaukee.
But hey, if the money is there then why not spend it, right?
Let’s hope they let East Troy or IRM to let them run some historic TM or CNS&M stuff with the ugly articulated “things” that they probably would get. Or, will they have to re-motor the trolleys with new pantographs because of the amps/volts? Solution=DO WHAT KENOSHA DID!!!
Simply put. Don’t let the articulateds into WI!
Phil
(Obviously I am showing that I hate modern trolleys, no?)
A couple years ago in Pittsburgh,PA they tried something similar to replace the bus routes that PATransit cut. The problem was, no money. Sadly I think we have already seen the last hurrah for trolleys.