We’ve unveiled a Google Maps implmentation of Mayor’s Tom Barrett’s proposed streetcar system for downtown Milwaukee. Take a look yourself, we think it’s a little more exciting than a PDF.

The route is likely to change as the planning process continues, and we’ll track those changes on our map.

With the recent news of the federal approval allowing the City of Milwaukee to move forward on a modern streetcar system we thought it would be good to see what one of these systems might look like. A comparable system to what is being proposed in Milwaukee is Seattle’s 2.6 mile South Lake Union Line which launched in 2007.

Tom Daykin did some digging and was able to uncover that the final request from Gatehouse Capital Corp. was $18 million in public money for the Palomar.

What else does $18 million buy us? Well, it would be about the salary Bucks’ star Michael Redd will earn in the 2010-2011, around the time the Palomar would have opened down the block. If you had bought one of the condos financed with $18 million in taxpayer dollars you would have been able to get a good view of Redd’s jump shot from the luxury box that the Palomar was going to buy for residents.

On Monday, November 10th, your representative to the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), Sharon Robinson, will cast an important vote for the future of transit in our city and region. We write to you to encourage her to vote “yes” to any sales tax funding proposals. While we have recently outlined why we think RTA’s are an efficient way to deliver regional services, we have a few more things we think you should consider.

It’s absolutely critical to understand the different transit technologies available if one is to understand and evaluate the merits of the various transit proposals for Milwaukee. Technologies include Bus-Rapid Transit (BRT), Express Bus Transit, Electric-Guided Bus, Standard Bus, Street Car, Light Rail and Heavy Rail. This article examines the technologies, largely with regard to how they would be implemented here in Milwaukee.

Understanding the discussion around Milwaukee transit requires an understanding of who has the keys to unlock the federal funds to improve and expand the existing system. We need to lay some groundwork before any discussion on the actual proposals can start.

Mayor Tom Barrett today utilized his power of mayoral proclamation to declare it Whitney M. Gould Day in honor of the long-time Milwaukee Journal Sentinel urban landscape and architecture columnist who recently accepted a buy-out from Journal Communications and now serves as a Commissioner on the Historic Preservation Committee.

Old MachinesOriginally uploaded by compujeramey I was poking around The Brewery website after writing the last post on Mark Chumura and friends purchasing Building 14 and found that Towne Realty has released a video synopsis of the coverage surrounding the initial groundbreaking of the development. It’s a neat little video to watch about the start [...]

A Milwaukee County Transit System Bus Originally uploaded by Sebastian Joseph While County Executive Scott Walker and Mayor Tom Barrett continue to debate over the use of the $91.5 million the federal government has earmarked for transportation, entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist Michael Cudahy has proposed his own solution. Walker advocates an express-bus only approach, while Barrett advocates a [...]