Come join us at the Rally for Transit, Jobs, & Economic Growth!

Let’s make our voices heard loud and clear, here and across the state! We can get an RTA and create new jobs and economic growth but our window of opportunity is VERY short.

Join us at the Transit Rally! It’s time to get the RTA moving forward!! We can’t afford to wait.

Saturday, December 5 at 1:00 PM
Veterans Memorial Park, National Avenue at 70th St. in West Allis, WI
On bus routes: 54, 76, and 18
Park on west side of Market Square parking lot (near Pick N Save), enter off National Avenue just west of 70th St.)

The RTA is urgently needed now
Dedicated funding for buses is needed now. We cannot afford to wait and watch our bus system crumble and KRM Commuter Rail get sidelined along with the jobs and economic growth it would bring.
- Our regional economic growth and economic competitiveness are paramount and depend on good regional transit and an RTA.

- Job connections and job creation must be a top priority and also rely on a vibrant regional transit network and an RTA. We need to invest in creating jobs!

- We must create the environment where the economy and jobs can grow: transit is a necessity and an RTA is needed to support a good regional transit network.

- Transit cuts are imminent and will hurt businesses, workers, and tax payers when people can’t get to work, school, shopping, healthcare. Transit dependent people rely on transit services as their lifeline. Unemployment and isolation hurts everyone. We must have adequate, dedicated transit funding now.

“The right of way doesn’t just belong to cars,” he said. “It belongs to pedestrians and bicyclists as well.”

- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

For decades the common belief regarding streets has been that they exist simply to serve the automobile, to move cars from A to B.  Certainly, this is a a task of streets, but as Transportation Secretary LaHood’s words show us, this mindset is changing back to what it once was, that streets are a place to serve the needs of people.  This change has started to come about because of groups like the Livable Streets Initiative, and the National Complete Streets Coalition which have been working on the local, state, and national level to point out the error in the common belief and provide solutions.  Again, the error is that “we” forgot that streets are for people.

Locally, the Walker’s Point Association has been working with the City of Milwaukee to bring life back to S. 2nd Street, by rebuilding the street for people.  The plan includes wider sidewalks, that will support green initiatives or local business with expanded sidewalk space for patio seating based on the individual property owners preference.  Additionally, the project has applied for and received funding for new lighting to insure an enjoyable safe night time experience.  The biggest changes are the reduction of automobile travel lanes, and the addition of bike lanes.  These features are designed to create a district that is open and inviting to multiple transportation methods, and encourage more traffic, albeit of people, not just cars.

There are certainly some people that still believe the purpose of a street is to move traffic and serve the automobile, but this mindset doesn’t serve the residents of Milwaukee.  It certainly doesn’t serve the business owners looking for foot traffic, the property owners looking to develop vacant properties, or the customers hoping to, walk the neighborhood, shop in the stores, or visit their local tavern.  Additionally, it doesn’t serve the residents that might choose to bike to destinations along S. 2nd Street or throughout Milwaukee.  As with any project there will be detractors, but in this case this project serves both the desires of the majority of stakeholders on the street, and the larger goals of the city.

Quite simply, complete streets and the S. 2nd Street project are about, more choice, more options, and more access, for people.

Below is a message from Kerry Thomas of Transit Now, a leading champion of mass transit for the Milwaukee region.  There is a rally on Saturday in West Allis for transit funding for MCTS.  We’ll be there, and we hope to see you there. Milwaukee can’t afford to have MCTS in shambles. Milwaukee needs dedicated transit funding.

Last week at meetings of the Coalition for Advancing Transit and the Racine Transit Task Force we heard about the many accomplishments made for transit in 2009. We also heard about the new Regional Transit Authority (RTA) legislative bill. We learned about the urgency and importance of the immediate action of contacting legislators and building overwhelming visible support to move the RTA forward now. This RTA bill is our last chance for many years to get an RTA in place that will save bus systems, keep KRM Commuter Rail moving ahead, get people connected to jobs, create new jobs, and get our regional economy moving.  Without an RTA, our transit systems will continue to crumble, people will be cut off from jobs, and KRM Commuter Rail and other job-creating transit projects will be shelved. With out the RTA we could lose it all.

We also learned that our window of opportunity is short:

• Nov-Dec 2009: Draft RTA legislative bill is fine-tuned, and legislative sponsors gained. Public support MUST be visible and strong!
• January 2010: Legislative floor session begins. With enough support the RTA bill will be introduced;  an all-out effort is needed in terms of advocacy and public visibility.
• January 2010: Milwaukee and Kenosha begin instituting more transit fare increases and service cuts. Racine to follow in 2011. They need our support!
• April 2010: Legislative session ends, along with the last realistic chance to pass an RTA bill for years, and safeguard the economic health of SE WI for decades. We cannot miss this opportunity.

Come join us at the Rally for Transit, Jobs, & Economic Growth!

Let’s make our voices heard loud and clear, here and across the state! We can get an RTA and create new jobs and economic growth but our window of opportunity is VERY short.

Join us at the Transit Rally! It’s time to get the RTA moving forward!! We can’t afford to wait.

Saturday, December 5 at 1:00 PM
Veterans Memorial Park, National Avenue at 70th St. in West Allis, WI
On bus routes: 54, 76, and 18
Park on west side of Market Square parking lot (near Pick N Save), enter off National Avenue just west of 70th St.)

The RTA is urgently needed now
Dedicated funding for buses is needed now. We cannot afford to wait and watch our bus system crumble and KRM Commuter Rail get sidelined along with the jobs and economic growth it would bring.
- Our regional economic growth and economic competitiveness are paramount and depend on good regional transit and an RTA.

- Job connections and job creation must be a top priority and also rely on a vibrant regional transit network and an RTA. We need to invest in creating jobs!

- We must create the environment where the economy and jobs can grow: transit is a necessity and an RTA is needed to support a good regional transit network.

- Transit cuts are imminent and will hurt businesses, workers, and tax payers when people can’t get to work, school, shopping, healthcare. Transit dependent people rely on transit services as their lifeline. Unemployment and isolation hurts everyone. We must have adequate, dedicated transit funding now.

Urban Milwaukee’s Upcoming Events & Meetings Calendar should help you keep up to date on important events effecting our neighborhoods, the City of Milwaukee, and our region.

December 2, 2009

Milwaukee County: Committee on Transporation, Public Works and Transit

December 2, 2009 9:00 am

The mission of the Department of Public Works, including the construction and maintenance of county highways, bridges and public structures are the responsibility of this Committee. Members discuss all matters pertaining to the policy of mass transit and the Milwaukee County Transit System, including fares, service routes and capital improvements. The Committee discusses all matters [...]

December 3, 2009

City Plan Commission Meeting

December 3, 2009 1:30 pm

The City Plan Commission (CPC) is the City’s official planning body established under State statute and is responsible for master planning activities. The CPC advises the Common Council on a variety of land development issues including zoning map changes, revisions in the zoning ordinance, subdivision approvals, business improvement districts, street and alley vacations, public land [...]

December 6, 2009

Milwaukee Bike Swap 2009

December 6, 2009 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin along with the Milwaukee Junior Cycling Team and UW-M Cycling Club present:

Milwaukee Bike Swap 2009
UW-Milwaukee Union Ballroom
Sunday December 6th
10am – 3pm
$5 entry fee donation, $3 with UWM ID, kids under 12 are free!

This is a great opportunity to clear out your old and surplus bicycle gear. Retailers, Individuals, and Clubs [...]

The mission of the Department of Public Works, including the construction and maintenance of county highways, bridges and public structures are the responsibility of this Committee. Members discuss all matters pertaining to the policy of mass transit and the Milwaukee County Transit System, including fares, service routes and capital improvements. The Committee discusses all matters under its jurisdiction pertaining to railroads and public utilities in the county.

Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 3rd Wednesday before the County Board Meeting

Agenda

Corcoran Lofts

Corcoran Lofts

Corcoran Lofts

Jackson Square Apartments

Jackson Square Apartments

Black Friday is just around the corner, and we want in with the Wal-Mart’s and Best Buy’s of the world.  No we’re not opening a big box store at Pabst Farms, but we are unveiling a new feature on the site.  If you’re one of those inquisitive types that likes to read books (or even someone that just likes to own books to look smart), please consider buying a book from our list of recommended urbanist books.  A small amount from each sale goes to support Urban Milwaukee, and we promise to invest 100% of that money back into Milwaukee’s economy, likely at a tavern.

And if you’re feeling really generous, we still have Milwaukee Streetcar t-shirts for sale.

We promise to continually update the list, add a few specialized lists, review the latest books we’ve read, and bug you to buy stuff at least once every two months from now on.  You’re welcome!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Undoubtedly if you’ve walked around the East Side of Milwaukee for an extended period of time you’ve encountered a “Part Time Cash” sticker on the window of a car, or laying next to the curb.  And therein lies the problem.

The soon-to-be-litter ad on a car window on the East Side.

The stickers are littered about cars on an almost weekly basis in the summer, promising the opportunity to earn up to $1,500 in 10-15 hours a week of work.  The advertisement that certainly fails the “if it’s too good to be true, it must be” test.  With the promise of “flexible hours” on the ad, one can only assume the part-time job is placing the stickers on more cars.

But it’s not the near-Pyramid scheme feel that is the problem with the sticker advertisements, it’s how they quickly become litter.  The stickers can be found laying in gutters all across the East Side and East Town, one can only imagine that they’ve spread to other neighborhoods as well including Bay View.  The litter problem doesn’t seem to be created by people tossing the stickers on the ground either, they fall off regularly (add to that policies like the recently passed 5-day parking ordinance encouraging people not to use their car everyday).

It would be wise for the Milwaukee Common Council to enact an ordinance banning advertisements from being placed on parked cars.  Not because the ads themselves are the problem, but because the litter generated by the ads is completely unnecessary.

Honorable mention for “worst offender at carpeting cars and ultimately the street with ads” goes to The Rave and their drink tickets, however, they do it far less frequently.

The City Plan Commission (CPC) is the City’s official planning body established under State statute and is responsible for master planning activities. The CPC advises the Common Council on a variety of land development issues including zoning map changes, revisions in the zoning ordinance, subdivision approvals, business improvement districts, street and alley vacations, public land disposition and acquisition, new streets and the approval of development plans in certain overlay districts.

City Plan Commission (CPC) meetings are held in the First Floor Boardroom at the Department of City Development, 809 North Broadway, unless otherwise noted.

CPC Agenda 12/03/2009