When the budget finally made it to his desk, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle used his extensive veto powers in a lot of ways.  The most significant of which was arguably the line-item veto of the Milwaukee Transit Authority and the proposed 0.65% sales tax increase for Milwaukee County.  Doyle did not veto SERTA, the authority which is to run the KRM commuter rail line, and the $18 rental car tax.  This veto puts back on the drawing board Doyle’s proposal for a three-county sales tax to fund the KRM and bus service in Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties, while at the same time not delaying the KRM development process.

The move, which many see as a slam of Milwaukee by Doyle, arguably shouldn’t be completely viewed that way.  Doyle did propose a three-county sales tax of up to 0.5% for Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha Counties to establish an authority that would operate all of the transit in the area including the KRM.  Doyle’s reasoning for the veto was that the MTA didn’t have a regional approach.

Some have speculated that this was done as part of Doyle’s potential re-election bid.  That it was an attempt to position himself against Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.  I don’t buy that, Doyle had proposed the sales tax in his budget previously, and he wouldn’t have allowed the KRM to continue to move forward because, Walker will surely run all over rural Wisconsin talking about “Doyle’s choo choo,” sales tax or no sales tax.  If Doyle was that desperate to position himself against Walker, he would have vetoed the KRM as well.  I can’t speak for Doyle, but I think this was a clear statement to southeastern Wisconsin to get its act in order and come up with a functional, regional solution.

So what’s next? Something has to happen as the 2010 MCTS funding crisis is quickly approaching.  The word on the street is that Doyle is pushing the legislature for a real regional sales tax for Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties to be introduced as its own legislation.

Now is the time for the Milwaukee caucus to actually deliver for their constituents and get this done.  We’ve watched Lena Taylor and Pedro Colon settle on the Joint Finance Committee for a compromise that gave Racine and Kenosha a free ride as a way to protect Racine Senator John Lehman, but now is the time for real action, real solutions.  Because with the funding crisis looming, and Scott Walker probably willing to cut off his own arm to avoid raising taxes, it’s now or never time.

Unfortunately, what is the Milwaukee caucus doing right now?  Pouting.  Taylor, Colon, and Grigsby led the charge on the Joint Finance Committee to vote down a small spending allotment of $35,000 to further study the KRM.

Even worse, Milwaukee County Board Chair, Lee Holloway has given a series of statements which sound more like a whining teenager, than someone who is determined to leverage his friends in the legislature to go out and get a real funding solution for a real crisis.

Meanwhile, Holloway said he would work against the KRM line by appointing himself and an ally to the transit authority board.

“We are going to vote against the KRM, right down the line,” Holloway said.

“It’s just terrible,” Holloway said. “I’m very critical of (Doyle). I thought he was a friend of Milwaukee County.”

It’s time for our Milwaukee caucus to bring home a real dedicated funding solution for transit in southeastern Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin state budget is now at a point where it will go to a conference committee after the Senate approved their version of the budget yesterday.  The conference committee will reconcile the difference between the Assembly and Senate versions, and send the budget off to Governor Doyle.  Doyle will then use his line-item veto power on certain language he doesn’t like, and Wisconsin have a budget.

The item of most interest to most Milwaukeeans, outside of income tax levels, is the proposed Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority.  We have created a chart to track the changes that have been made to the proposal, and included a more in-depth explanations into each step below.

What will come out of the conference committee to merge the two budgets, we cannot guess.  In regards to stimulus funds, the amount of money for high-speed rail jumped up to $8 billion, from previous considerations of around $2 billion.  Conference committees are a bit unpredictable sometimes.  It looks like the KRM will get done, one way or another, and that a new sales tax is coming for Milwaukee County.

We’ll update you when we know more, but for now here is a look at how it got to the way it is.

RTA Board, Governor’s Budget Proposal

Governor Doyle stuck his neck out to include the recommendations of SEWISRTA in his original budget proposal.  Those recommendations, as a refresher, were up to a 0.5% sales tax to fund the KRM and transit services in Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties and remove transit from the property tax.  Also included was the ability for municipalities to enact a .15% sales tax for public safety, which was included to gain the support of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.  When Doyle issued his recommendations, he removed Barrett’s 0.15% sales tax.

RTA Board Recommendations
Governor Doyle Budget Recommendation

Joint Finance Committee

The Joint Finance Committee of the Wisconsin State Legislature then took up the Governor’s proposed budget, and made their changes.  The Joint Finance Committee RTA changes were made in the middle of the night , with a number of Republicans (who hold the minority in both the Senate and Assembly) heading out to the bars while waiting for Democrats to finish caucasing behind closed doors.

When the meeting finally started, Senator Lena Taylor, Representatives Pedro Colon and Tamara Grigsby had helped turn the southeastern Wisconsin RTA in two RTAs.  One “regional” transit authority for Milwaukee County only, that was funded by a 1% sales tax, and was in charge of supporting transit, parks, EMS, and culture.  The amendment included no clear dividing lines between areas, so it wasn’t clear if Milwaukee County would have parks paved with gold or the best-staffed EMS department in the world.  Of that 1%, 15% would go directly to the City of Milwaukee, with no apparent restrictions on how it could be spent.  This was somewhat similar to the referendum that was narrowly approved by Milwaukee County voters on November 4th.

The second RTA created was the KRM authority, which would operate the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line.  The motion was sponsored by Senator John Lehman, Senator Lena Taylor, Representiave Cory Mason, and Representative Pedro Colon.  Instead of using the RTA board recommended, and Governor proposed .5% sales tax to fund both buses and the commuter rail line, the rail line was to be funded by a $16 rental car tax (per transaction).  A pork stop for Pedro Colon was included to have the train’s first stop out of the Intermodal Station be at East National Avenue (originally called West in the motion that was distributed), a mere mile out of the station.  A stop would make sense in such a location for a light-rail or streetcar vehicle, but not a heavy rail train.  Additionally, the make-up of the board was extremely partisan in nature, with the Milwaukee and Kenosha County Board Chairs appointing their county’s representative as the County Executives in each respective county is a Republican.  Racine County would have had their member appointed by the County Executive.  Bonding authority for the KRM was also reduced to $50 million.  The motion was approved on a party line vote, 12 aye, 4 no.

Representative Robin Vos (R) from Racine County proposed a motion to require a referendum be held in each county to approve the KRM and to exclude western Racine County from the rental car tax.  It was defeated on a party line vote, 4 aye, 12 no.  Vos also moved to amend the KRM authority to have county members of the authority appointed by the county executives.  This was again defeated on a party line vote.

Motion 218 - Southeast RTA
Motion 223 - KRM Authority
Motion 226 - KRM Authority
Motion 228 - KRM Authority

Wisconsin State Assembly

On June 10th, 2009, the Wisconsin State Assembly approved their version of the budget.  They approved a version of transit services more similar to what the Governor and RTA board had recommended than the Joint Finance Committee’s approval.  In brief, the Assembly approved a few key changes to the Joint Finance Committee motions.

• Rename KRM authority SERTA (South Eastern Regional Transit Authority).  Designate it the only entity in Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha that can apply as an RTA to the FTA.
• Rename the Milwaukee Regional Transit Authority the Milwaukee Transit Authority (MTA).
• Authorize the Milwaukee County Board to assess a .65¢ sales tax for Milwaukee County. Mandate ½ ¢ has to go to the Milwaukee Transit Authority for transit.
• If the sales tax is adopted, existing funding for transit must be removed from property tax levy.
• Authorize the Milwaukee County Board to approve up to .15% (NOTE: Urban Milwaukee believes this should be cents, not percent, as that would be 9.75 cents as written) of the sales tax go to Milwaukee County municipalities prorated on a formula based on the number of police and fire employees within each municipality.
• Increase the approved car rental tax to $18. Designate that $1 per vehicle from this vehicle rental tax will go to the City of Racine for the Belle Urban System & $1 per vehicle go to the City of Kenosha for the Kenosha Transit Authority to support their local transit systems. Each city will then be required to generate new funds to match new car rental tax revenues. The $1 for the respective cities will not be released by SERTA until the City of Racine and the City of Kenosha have demonstrated an established funding source to produce the matching funds.
• Add a KRM stop in the City of Milwaukee at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Bay Street. (NOTE: This is a long-discussed stop in Representative Jon Richards district)
• Include language specifying that municipalities in Racine and Kenosha Counties, outside of the cities of Racine & Kenosha, shall not have a KRM transit stop in those municipalities until they each provide for a sustainable mechanism to generate new funding to contribute to the Belle Urban System or the Kenosha Transit Authority.
• Restore the language from Governor Doyle’s budget proposal to provide $100 million in bonding
  authority.

The Assembly made adjustments to the KRM after key members met with members of Herb Kohl’s staff and communicated with FTA officials to learn what it would take to get federal approval for the project (federal funds are key to the development of the KRM).

Full Assembly KRM Amendment

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin State Senate approved a budget closer to that of the Joint Finance Committee than the Assembly on June 18th, 2009.  In brief, their key changes included the following.

• Delete the Milwaukee County Regional Transit Authority (RTA) proposed under the substitute amendment. Remove the reference to the Milwaukee County RTA as an eligible applicant under the southeast Wisconsin transit capital assistance program and, instead, make Milwaukee County an eligible applicant under that program.
• Grant Milwaukee County the ability to enact an additional 1% sales tax for transit, parks, culture, and emergency medical services, and require the property tax levy be reducing by $67 million (NOTE: this would be about half of what the sales tax brings in).
• Require Milwaukee County to distribute the other 15% of the new sales and use tax revenues to the municipalities in Milwaukee County. Require the municipalities to use these funds to support police, fire, and emergency medical services. Specify that the funds would be allocated among the municipalities in Milwaukee County on a per capita basis.
• Rename the KRM Authority, as proposed in the substitute amendment, the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SERTA). Modify the appointments to the SERTA board by specifying that the Kenosha County board chair, rather than the Kenosha County Executive, would appoint the Kenosha County member to the board. Specify that SERTA would be an eligible applicant for the southeastern Wisconsin transit capital assistance program that would be created under the substitute amendment. Require that the KRM commuter rail project include a stop in the City of Milwaukee at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Bay Street.

Full Senate Budget - Page 65 for RTA

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has had his new police district boundaries approved by the Common Council Public Safety Committee.  The new boundaries will have the most significant affects on the East and South sides of Milwaukee.

A looming issue with the construction of the new UWM dorm on the Hometown site on North Avenue was that it it will sit on the dividing line of the first and fifth districts.  Concerns were raised at the public meetings preceding the approval of the dorm that policing may be an issue in the area.  The new boundaries should eliminate any potential communication issues by placing officers near the new dorm in the same district.

The existing UWM Riverview Residence Hall will be now be in District 5, which will encompass all of the Riverwest, Brewers Hill, and Harambee neighborhoods as well as a few more neighborhoods to the northwest.  While the existing Riverview Residence Hall was originally on the North Avenue dividing line as well, it did not draw the same concerns from neighbors as no one lives south of the dorm until you hit Commerce Street and the Beerline B neighborhood.

Old Districts

New Districts

Larry Sandler at the Journal Sentinel has more information on the South Side redistricting.

The stage is in place.  The vendors are setting up.  Metro Market is soon to be buzzing with shoppers.  Friends and neighbors are preparing to skip out of work a little early, run home grab the chairs, a bottle of something, and head to Cathedral Square.  Yes, it’s opening night at Jazz in the Park, kinda.  Because that is how it use to work.  Today used to be one of my favorite days of the year, but as East Town has yet to back off their position of no longer allowing alcoholic carry-ins into the festival, things aren’t quite in order for the start of festival season.

I know this seems like a pretty minor issue, that’s hardly newsworthy, but to many Milwaukee residents this new policy reduces a great East Town event.  In fact there’s been talk on various Milwaukee email lists of boycotting Jazz in the Park until the rules regarding carry-ins are changed and I’ve joked about holding alternatives events, but the truth is the party will go on, just not in quite the same manner.  Really, who hasn’t snuck a flask into a football game or hidden a beer in their jacket, so surly people will find a way to continue to bring their own.  A local liquor store is even selling a product called Pocket Shots with Jazz in the Park specifically in mind, but this misses the point because this event isn’t a football game.

The point isn’t that people can drink or not, they still can.  It is about the random gatherings that occur over a bottle of wine or twelve pack of Miller, and the characters that make it unique and interesting.  I think of Downtown Diamond Dave and his “Brooklyn cooler,” a Walgreen’s bag, twelve pack of beer, and some ice.  Or the monster martini glass guy, who’d wander the square sipping on his martini.  I think of the experiences had and relationships built without out a plan, without effort, simply by reaching in the cooler and saying “want a beer?”  Yes, there will still be music, and there will of course still be people sitting out, but until State Rep. Leon D. Young’s (D-Milwaukee) legislation makes it to Governor Doyle’s desk, it’s likely that many will head straight for Taylor’s skipping the park all together, and that’s a shame.

Perhaps the greatest week of eating in Milwaukee, Downtown Dining Week, kicks off today and runs through June 4th.  You can eat a $10 three course lunch or  $20 three course dinner at some of Milwaukee’s best restaurants.  If you’re looking to get a taste of great restaurants that you haven’t been to before, this is your week to branch out.

Thank you to Bid #21, Milwaukee Downtown, for putting on such an excellent event every year.  Let’s eat (remember to tip generously)!

The Regional Transit Authority, a solution to Milwaukee’s transit woes that we’ve advocated before, is coming down to the wire in the halls of the state capitol.  For the plan to move forward it needs to be included in the state budget, and for that to happen it needs to be approved by the Joint Finance Committee.  The Joint Finance Committee will vote on the matter on Thursday.

The matter is anything but a done deal, and your support is turning a few votes.

Please make a call Wednesday if you have the chance.  Even if it’s just a one second “vote for the RTA on Thursday”, it’ll make a difference.

Please call, your city needs you.

Senator John Lehman (Racine) especially needs to hear from you!
(608) 266-1832 (866) 615-7510, Fax (608) 267-6793, Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Representative Cory Mason (Racine)
(608) 266-0634, Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708

Representative Robin Vos (Racine)
888 534-0063, 608 282-3663 fax, rep.vos@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708

Representative Pedro Colon (Milwaukee)
888 534-0008, 608 282-3608 fax, rep.colon@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Representative Tamara Grigsby (Milwaukee)
888 534-0018, 608 282-3618 fax, rep.grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Senator Lena Taylor (Milwaukee)
608 266-5810, 608 267-2353 fax, sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Senator Alberta Darling (Milwaukee)
608 266-5830, 608 267-0588 fax, sen.darling@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

[Full disclosure, Jeramey is a member of the RTA Steering Committee and a passionate advocate for the efficiencies of mass transit.]

The streets, E. State St. and E. Wells St., need to lose some weight because these multi-lane one-way expressways that run through East Town disrupt an otherwise walkable neighborhood.

The neighborhood that E. State St. runs through includes MSOE, the Juneau Village Towers and the Yankee Hill Apartments.  This is important because these apartment complexes are two of the higher density housing structures in the City of Milwaukee and combined with MSOE students brings thousands of pedestrians the area daily.  Despite the large pedestrian population the current street design is apparently geared towards peak automobile traffic days such as the Fourth of July because, it is rare if ever that this street is congested.  What does happen along this stretch of road, that is a direct result of it being a one-way street, with little congestion, and having multiple travel lanes is that people speed excessively.  With the amount of pedestrian traffic in the area and little congestion it seems that removing a travel lane, converting the street to two-ways, and potentially adding curb-separated or standard bike lanes, would offer significant benefits.  The benefits would include, encouraging more people to bike instead of drive, slowing traffic, creating a more pedestrian friendly environment, and in fact improving automobile access to the neighborhood.  The good news is that E. State St. received approval at the last meeting of the Public Works Committee, that if also supported by the full Common Council will soon start the project to convert the E. State St. to two-ways.

Although this pair of streets act similar, in that they both act like freeways, the difference between the streets is primarily comprised of the uses along them.  E. Wells St. runs past Cathedral Square which is one of the most highly utilized parks in the city and is truly a destination nightlife district.  Because of this, concerns around the safety of pedestrians is of importance, but so are accessibility and safety a concern for drivers along this street.  It isn’t all that uncommon to see a driver go the wrong way down E. Wells St., turn left from the center lane, because the nature of the street doesn’t fit with the location.  Additionally, it is common to see cars continuously circling the block because the parking spot is not easily accessible without circling the neighborhood.  The changes to E. Wells St. should include the same features as E. State St., removing a travel lane, converting the street to two-ways, and adding of some form of bike lanes.  On top of those enhancement curb bump-outs and enhanced materials could be utilized at the Jefferson St. and Jackson St. intersections to further improve the pedestrian experience.

Putting this pair of streets on a diet may not encourage redevelopment like the Broadway recommendation could, but it should improve the walkability, accessibility, and safety of East Town.

Broadway is the center of the action in the Third Ward, it works for business, pedestrians, and even automobiles. But just across I-794 it is a wasteland of surface parking lots and empty storefronts. While there are surely numerous factors in place that have hurt the vitality of this street, an area that can be addressed by the city to make it more attractive to business is to improve the pedestrian environment. Specifically the section of Broadway between Wisconsin Ave. and I-794 is vital because by improving these few blocks it would knit together downtown and the Third Ward.

Improving this section of Broadway will not only improve connectivity for pedestrians, but automobiles as well. The first improvement to this block should be to make it a two-way street all the way into the Third Ward. This will immediately bring new traffic on to the street which will help to make it more desirable location for retail business. The second and more infrastructure intensive improvement would be to remove a travel lane to create a center island with street trees. Now this may on the surface seem like a radical change but it really isn’t all that different from what is seen on the other side of I-794. Further, by placing the trees in the center as opposed to in the more common location of the sidewalks, it will create a environment different than other blocks in East Town. This island would narrow the streets and create a visual appearance that encourages drivers to slow down. The reduced speeds and improved appearance would create a safer more enjoyable environment for pedestrians, which again would encourage more retail activity. Finally, as the trees mature they would act as a screen partially blocking out views of I-794, once again enhancing the appeal of the entire area. The combination of reducing lanes, creating the island, and making the street two-ways through to the Third Ward could help spark the redevelopment of this part of downtown Milwaukee.

Of course beyond completing this street additional measures such as a TIF may be required to encourage the redevelopment of surface lots that border Broadway between Michigan St. and I-794, but the street improvements would play a significant role in bringing retail back to Broadway.

To get an idea of what this change could look like, I’ve included a small gallery of photos of the Pioneer Square area of Seattle, WA as well as photos of the current shape of Broadway in Milwaukee.

If accent lighting on the interstate isn’t the perfect definition of lipstick on a pig, I don’t know what is.  That said I’m not opposed to it.  In fact, I think dressing the Marquette Interchange for the prom was a positive step forward. There is, however, only one thing I wish would have happened differently.

More money should have been spent on minimizing the impact the interchange and Interstate 794’s have in dividing the Third Ward from downtown.  This includes not only the obvious areas between East Town and the Third Ward near the Milwaukee Public Market, but the less obvious, but looming problem, the visually isolated Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

How could this be achieved?  Well, as mentioned previously, putting more lipstick on the pig ala better lighting under the interstate to encourage more pedestrian activity from one side to the other (and hopefully encourage more development).

As I said before…

The idea I like the most is the creation of a barrier between the streets and the parking lots with rotating public art from area students.  Mix that with upward shooting lights and more contemporary designed fixtures to achieve an experience under the freeway that is similar to walking along the Riverwalk.  Make the area as visually appealing as possible to reduce the negative impact the massive cement structure has on adjacent land.

WisDOT did seem to have some intention of doing something with the space under 794.  Hopefully they follow through with that, and do something other than generic surface parking lots and what they refer to as “architecturally-enhanced piers”.  The “architecturally-enhanced piers” (pictured blow) were seriously what’s mentioned on MChange.org as all it would take to make the area more appealing.

The other low-hanging fruit (concrete) is the removal of the temporary lanes separating the two portions of 794.  It appears in an effort to make the project come in under budget, WisDOT decided to just leave construction pieces at the site (a supposedly temporary concrete piece bigger than the Milwaukee Public Market).  Unfortunately, leaving the temporary lanes in place (pictured below) makes the space under the freeway completely dark, negating the “architecturally-enhanced piers”.

The lights on the Marquette Interchange are a good thing.  They make driving through downtown more noticeable (if the skyline was failing to do that already) and will probably help the image of the city.  My concern is just that WisDOT should be spending more attention to the visual effect the freeway has on the land bordering it in the city.  More lighting under the freeway would help.

Ironically, the happy motorists living in the suburbs seem to have an issue with $815,000 being spent on lights, but not on the $810,000,000 cost of the entire project.  Ironic?  We think so.  The entire project did cost 1,000 times as much as the lights.  Penny-wise, pound-foolish comes to mind.

The submissions are in, and it’s time to pick your favorite.

While you’re free to vote for whatever you may wish, I encourage you to consider the following aspects as criteria for judging a plan.

1. Ability to serve 78,000 individuals working downtown, and the 15,000 or so that live in the area.

2. Ability to serve event attendees coming downtown and parking at various locations.

3. Ability to interact with existing systems (Amtrak, intercity bus, MCTS) and future ones (KRM, HSR).

4. Ability to encourage future development.

5. The line is close 3 miles (applications significantly greater than 3 miles were disqualified).

The Proposals

• The Mayor’s
• Downtown to Brady by Sam Dodge
• Line to UWM by Sam Dodge
• Ogden-Third Ward-MAM by Sam Dodge
• Viaduct Streetcar by Dan
• UWM to Ogden and Van Buren by Joe Klein
• Downtown to Walker’s Point by Marty
• North Side-Marquette-Cathedral Square by Dave Steele
• North Side-Brewery-Downtown by Dave Steele
• Entertainment Streetcar by Rob Vosters
• Transit Idea A by Streetcar Sam

The Ballot Box

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