According to the Department of Transportation, up to $100 million of the $810 million allocation for the Milwaukee to Madison connection could be spent on the high speed rail project by early 2011. These funds will be used to finalize the design and to get construction and upgrading of tracks underway.

The Milwaukee County Transit System unveiled one of the 90 buses set to join their fleet in 2010. The new buses will replace buses operating daily that are over 16 years old. Riders will welcome a more comfortable ride, with a relocated air conditioner, new stop buttons to signal the driver of your intended departure at the front of the bus, modern interior (no more quasi-wood paneling look), and LED lighting. The new fare boxes are not yet installed.

Milwaukee’s first bicycle plan came out in 1993. Since that time the city has realized most of the plan’s major recommendations and has added over 115 miles of bicycle lanes and routes to the city. The new plan lays out a Vision for Milwaukee 2020. That would include adding over 170 miles of new on-street bike infrastructure and almost 7 miles of new paved trails.

There’s certainly a belief in the U.S. that biking to work is difficult, that there won’t be any place to lock your bike up, or that you’ll be smelly, but the truth is that it can be fun, easy, affordable, and healthy. Even if it just once this week, give it a try as biking to work might just be the most fun you have all summer.

On Thursday the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released nearly $80 million of the $8 billion allocated to fund high-speed rail. This is a historic milestone for the build-out of high-speed rail across America as it’s the first time the federal government has released any of the funds to the states.

Jeff Mapes, author of “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities,” provides an in-depth history of cycling, and looks at how cycling is changing U.S. cities for the better. Although in the U.S. cycling has long been viewed as a recreational activity, he appropriately ties together the rise of urban biking with urban planning in a story that needed to be told.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Mark Borkowski proposed lowering Milwaukee County Transit System fares to $1.00 from $2.25. Borowski, who has introduced the idea before, suggested it again in light of a budget shortfall of $10.2 million for MCTS next year. The idea is worth exploring given that MCTS has some of the highest fares in the nation, 90 new buses coming this summer, new fareboxes on the way, and failed to capture the ridership gains that other systems saw in 2008 when gasoline prices crossed $4 a gallon.

It’s time for a clear brand for high-speed rail in the Midwest. The discussion surrounding the Milwaukee to Madison high-speed rail grant has made the need for a coherent brand clear with people confused if the new train will be a stand-alone route, somehow connected to the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, similar to the Amtrak Empire Builder, or a competitor to the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line.

The Milwaukee Streetcar project was approved for further study this morning by the Milwaukee Connector Study Group. The approval will allow preliminary engineering to begin for the proposed streetcar starter system.

At the May 4th, 2010 meeting of the Common Council, Alderman Bauman brought forward an item that would allow the City of Milwaukee to enter into a contract with an expert consultant, Jeffery Boothe, for the purpose of facilitating the next steps of the Milwaukee Streetcar project.