Talgo Open House

The elegant Talgo trainsets ordered by the Doyle administration for the Amtrak Hiawatha are nearly complete. But will they ever be used?

Alas, Sunday is quite possibly the only day you will ever get to go inside them. Tours, children’s activities, and refreshments will be available at the Talgo assembly facility from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20th. The facility is located in the Century City redevelopment area at 3533 North 27th Street. Off-site parking is available, with MCTS Routes 27 and 80 getting you there as well.

If you can’t make it Sunday, the trainsets are also currently visible from south side of the facility on W. Townsend Avenue between 27th and the railroad bridge.

Strategically ordered before federal high speed rail grants were announced, the purchase contract pushed Wisconsin to the top of the list and netted Wisconsin $810 million to extend the Hiawatha to Madison and buy more trainsets. Governor Walker’s campaign against the poorly marketed train resulted in the federal government re-appropriating the funds to other states.

The trainsets face an uncertain future following the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee decision to cancel funding for a permanent maintenance base for the equipment. It remains unclear if the state will put the trainsets into service utilizing the temporary maintenance base (the assembly facility), or mothball the trainsets once they’re complete (potentially violating their contract with Talgo).

Hopefully someday the trainsets will be in use in Wisconsin. Until then I’ll just shake my head at the insane series of decisions taken merely to score political points. I do look forward to seeing our former high-speed rail funds at work when I take the Amtrak Lincoln Service, a corridor being upgraded to higher speed rail, to St. Louis this summer.

Downtown Block Party

The parking lot between 4th and 5th streets on the south side of Wisconsin Ave will finally see some activity this summer thanks to a handful of groups working to change the way Wisconsin Avenue is perceived (starting with rebranding it the WAM District). First up is a tailgate party hosted by Pabst Theater and NEWaukee on May 25th that includes the live broadcast of a Milwaukee Brewers game. The Downtown Baseball Block Party has live music starting at 6:30, a live broadcast by the FSN broadcasting team, food trucks for those that don’t bring their own grills, and a cash bar. The fun will go until midnight. There is a Facebook event with more information.

Another event is planned for June 14th in conjunction the Milwaukee IndyFest race. The Milwaukee IndyFest Street Party will kick off the three-day event that culminates in an internationally televised IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile. The kickoff event will include a car show, House of Harley-Davidson parade, driver appearances, food trucks, and beer stations.

While I would have rather seen the proposed Catalyst development by the Ghazi Company occupying this parking lot, I’m thrilled to see groups programming the space for more than just parking. NEWaukee and the Pabst Theater have a history of drawing thousands of people to their events (Young Professional Week, Fish Fry and a Flick). Hopefully this is just the start of good things to come for Wisconsin Avenue.

Bike Use on Buses Doubles

A press release by the Milwaukee County Transit System shows bike use is growing by leaps and bounds. County buses transported 95,000 bicycles in all of 2011, but through April 30th of this year, over 29,000 bicycles were transported, more than double last year’s numbers through the same period (12,695). Whether it’s this year’s mild weather or increased awareness that is driving the increased usage, it’s encouraging to see ever more cyclists take advantage of the racks.

For more information on how to put utilize the racks, see the MCTS webpage and video Bikes on Buses.

Explore the Historic Concordia Neighborhood with Historic Milwaukee, Inc. on Saturday

Historic Milwaukee’s annual Spaces & Traces event features the Historic Concordia neighborhood this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours of 13 historically prominent residences and businesses in the near west side neighborhood. Tickets to the event are $25 , and $20 for HMI members and there’s a five dollar price increase if you wait till the the day of the event. Also included are a lecture by John Gurda about the architectural and cultural history of the neighborhood (at 11:00 a.m.), one by Alderman Bauman, a long-time neighborhood resident, on living in and representing the neighborhood (1 p.m.), and a special Miller Brewery tour (4 p.m.) More information is available on the Historic Milwaukee website.

HMI will also present Alderman Bob Bauman with the 31st annual Spaces & Traces Historic Preservation Award tonight at Fred’s Pub.

Kudos to HMI for their efforts in putting on the annual Spaces & Traces event, which allows for an up close look at Milwaukee’s history.

UWM Gains Zoning Approval for Columbia Hospital Redevelopment

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was granted a zoning change for the former Columbia Hospital that will allow the school to expand into the complex of buildings now known as the Northwest Quadrant (file #101472). The university acquired the complex in December 2010.  This change allows UWM to fully use the former hospital as part of the university campus. Various pieces of the complex are already in service given that they comply with existing zoning regulations (parking garage, coffee shop, and offices).

As part of the zoning change, UWM Chancellor Michael Lovell voluntarily agreed to cap the number of students living in the former Columbia College of Nursing building at 90 Honors students (UWM leased a portion of the building for student housing in the past). Should the university wish to expand the number of students living in the Honors College facility to 200 in the next ten years, the university will first seek a public hearing and advisory ruling by an appropriate City body. Prior to the end of the ten year period UWM will consult with the Mariner Neighborhood Association or any successor, and the appropriate City body to determine if the commitment should be extended. We have re-posted the statement from Chancellor Lovell for your convenience.

The only vote against the zoning change was cast by Alderman Bauman. Bauman wants to see UWM place student residences throughout the city instead of concentrating them on the Upper East Side campus.

I believe the growth of UWM as a top-tier university is good for the city as well as the school, and am happy to see a resolution was found to neighborhood concerns about the university’s expansion. If only this land could have been used for an engineering school, as opposed to a new campus being created in western Wauwatosa.

The Moderne Meeting Hiring Requirements

As part of the city financing package that went towards The Moderne, developer Rick Barrett (Barrett Visionary Development), general contractor J.H. Findorff & Son, and technical coordinator Prism Technical are required to meet certain Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) and Residence Preference Program (RPP) requirements. To-date, The Moderne has complied with both. Through March 31st, EBE participants received 26 percent of the adjusted construction budget totaling approximately $4.5 million. Through February 29th, RPP participants logged 41,000 hours or 30.4 percent of on-site construction hours. Minimum requirements were 25 and 30 percent respectively.

This information was presented before the Zoning, Neighborhoods, & Development committee. Alderman Michael Murphy noted that “the project is ahead of schedule, under budget, and is a beautiful building.” Committee Chair Alderman Jim Bohl added “this has been a very big success, and we will continue to build off of it.”

More information is available in the report presented to the committee, or on the file in Legistar (#120016).

Kids Ride Free on Amtrak Hiawatha This Summer

Children ages 2 to 15 can ride free on the Amtrak Hiawatha on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between June 1st and August 26th. Up to two children can receive free tickets when accompanied by a paid full fare adult. To claim the offer use discount code V813.

I’ve written a column in the past asking for more creative pricing for the Hiawatha (Amtrak Should Innovate with Hiawatha Service Pricing). This is a step in the right direction.

Openings and Closings

If you’re looking for the Openings and Closings section of Eyes on Milwaukee, you will need to hold off for a few days. We’re spinning the section off into its own piece to debut in the next week.

Eyes on Milwaukee

The 11th installment of Eyes on Milwaukee focuses on transit, development, and new restaurants. The Downtown Transit Center’s redevelopment is inching closer to reality. The Milwaukee Museum Mile is a new marketing effort for some overlooked museums. Service reductions are coming to the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha commuter bus service. Lower East Side residents are getting a glimpse of what a modern bus system could entail, and the Milwaukee City Clerk is still tweeting, thankfully.

Downtown Transit Center Redevelopment Moving Along, Proposals Received

The long overdue redevelopment of the Downtown Transit Center is moving along. I’ve advocated for this redevelopment before, as the Downtown Transit Center is located on the lakefront, not the center of town, and is used as a bus staging area, not a major transfer point. Most recently, the deadline for proposals past and Milwaukee County announced their were “a handful” of submissions, which was what the County expected given the scale of the project.

What did the submissions include? A high-rise apartment tower, hotel, and mixed public-private uses. What should you think about this? Most importantly, avoid judging a book by its cover. At this point, the financial details of the projects aren’t publicly available, and it’s impossible for an outsider to assess the viability of any of the proposals. It is, however, encouraging that proposals have come back.

The next step in the process will take place in front of the Milwaukee County Transportation, Public Works, and Transit Committee on May 9th, 2012, where the Director of the Department of Transportation (former WisDOT head Frank Busalacchi) is requesting authorization to declare the facility surplus and offer it for sale.

Milwaukee Museum Mile

Five Milwaukee museums, that are too often overlooked, have banded together to create the Milwaukee Museum Mile. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Charles Allis Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art at St. John’s On The Lake, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum and North Point Lighthouse at Lake Park all will be part of the marketing effort, which kicks off this weekend. Sunday, May 6th, admission will be free to all of the museums between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Light refreshments and shuttle service will be provided, but if it’s a nice day out I suggest walking between the museums. All of the museums are located either on Prospect Avenue or a few blocks East.

I’m happy to see this collaborative marketing effort, and I hope it succeeds. When many think of museums in Milwaukee they think of the Milwaukee Art Museum, then the Milwaukee Public Museum, maybe Discovery World and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, and that’s it. Milwaukee has far more than that, and it’s time those institutions band together to draw more attention.

Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha Commuter Bus Service Cuts Coming

Due to the wording in the recent Wisconsin state budget and subsequent cuts in state and federal funding, a 10 to 15% reduction in service is coming to the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha commuter bus service. The route currently links UWM, Milwaukee Intermodal Station, General Mitchell Airport, downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia, Carthage College, Racine and Kenosha including bus stations and the Metra train station, with several additional stops along the route. The service is scheduled to be reduced from eight to seven trips per weekday.

Under the recently rebid contract, Wisconsin Coach Lines, the only respondent, will continue to operate the service. The line, which is administered by the City of Racine, received $715,000 in state and federal aid last year. The commuter bus service will begin serving UW-Parkside for at least two trips a day as part of the service changes. Parkside is currently not linked to Racine by bus after a route was eliminated in 2006.

In a related change, the line will no longer connect to UWM starting May 20th, and will instead terminate at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

The Racine Transit Commission has scheduled a hearing on the changes on May 16th, at 4:30 P.M. at Racine City Hall.

Better Bus Service Temporarily for Lower East Side

Due to construction along Oakland Avenue between North Avenue and Brady Street, Lower East Side bus riders are getting a taste of what a better version of Milwaukee’s express bus service could be like. The new MetroEXpress Green Line (Bayshore to the Airport) has been temporarily rerouted onto the one-way pair of Farwell and Prospect Avenues while Oakland is closed. The route 30, which operates on the pair is sharing select stops with the Green Line. This presents riders at many stops with two options to get downtown with a bus roughly every five minutes to get downtown. While the increase in service at individual stops is certainly welcome, the express service isn’t much faster than the standard service provided by the 30 route.

The “express” Green Line is the product of the use federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds by Milwaukee County to plug a continually deteriorating Milwaukee County Transit System budget. Stops were removed to make the service comply with CMAQ funding standards, but not enough to make the service significantly faster than the previous Route 15. This was done to avoid a significant reduction in service as the standard service currently operating where much of the new service was deployed was eliminated.

In an ideal world, with a well-funded bus transit system, express service with stops approaching every half-mile would operate on much the same route as standard service with stops every eighth of a mile with both services having frequent headways. This would help draw increased ridership, provide more frequent and faster service to many, and enabled infrastructure investment and transit-oriented development around key stops. While not completely delivering, the detour at the least gives Lower East Side riders a glimpse of what could be.

New Milwaukee City Clerk Still Tweeting

Jim Owczarski is still tweeting, albeit from a different account. The new Milwaukee City Clerk is continuing his live tweeting of City of Milwaukee Common Council meetings at his new account @MKEClerk. I had speculated about this in a prior Eyes on Milwaukee column.

Development News

There are only a few more days to get your team together to purchase the failed Residences on Water – Staybridge Suites hotel development. As previously mentioned the auction will take place May 8th at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

The law firm, which is currently in the 411 Building on Wisconsin Ave, is exploring other space options in east end of downtown.   At the very least, Quarles & Brady is attempting to get a better deal on their lease. At the most, they are seeking to move their sign to the top of a new office tower. That said, there aren’t any other buildings in the area that have the space available to house the firm. Will the dormant Washington Square Tower proposal, which was dealt a setback when Baker Tilley signed a lease to move to the US Bank Center, be the future home of Quarles? Or could they end up in another new building?  BizTimes has more.

Downtown condo sales rose 122% year-over-year in April according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. After all was said and done, 51 units changed hands in April of 2012. Andrew Weiland has more.

The raze order is up on the Sydney Hih building.

Openings and Closings

The Boardroom is now open at 628 N. Water Street. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Boone and Crocket, from the creators of the East Side’s Hotel Foster, hopes to be open by May. The bar will be located at 2151 S. Kinnickinic Avenue. Both spaces are owned by Doug Williams, Mike Kempka, and John Revord.

c.1880 (pronounced “circa 1880) has opened in Walker’s Point. The new restaurant at 1100 S. 1st Street is led by Chef Thomas Hauck.

The Fast Foodie has some new bikes to compliment their food trailer.

Roots is closed temporarily as some spring renovations take place.

The former Sil’s Mini Donut Shop won’t be closed for long. It was unusual that the building’s owner declined to renew their lease, and now we know why. The owners of Chubby Cheesesteaks, located a stone’s throw away, will open The Drive-Thru in the space. Molly Snyder reports they will sell Alterra coffee, hotdogs, sloppy joes, and “the exact same” mini donuts. Sil’s had quite the long line on Sunday, their last day in business at the North Ave location.

Sven’s Downtown has quietly opened. The second location for the cafe is located at 624 N Water Street

Photo of the Week

One view of the city from the 40th floor of the US Bank Center

If you care about transit in Milwaukee, or if you simply want the best view of the city available, come to the 40th floor of the US Bank Center next Monday night, April 16th from 5:30 until 8:00 for a cocktail hour and discussion on the future of transit in Milwaukee and how we move through the city.

The cocktail hour comes complete with a cash bar and appetizers. The event will be held in the offices of Foley & Lardner on the 40th floor of the US Bank Center, the tallest building in Wisconsin.

If you’re able to pry your eyes away from the windows,  a panel discussion will follow the cocktail hour moderated by Alex Runner, with panelists Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Nik Kovac, and myself. The panel will begin with a focus on the Milwaukee Streetcar project, but there will be ample time for the  audience to ask questions.

The event is free, but you will need to be in before 6 p.m. to gain access. Please RSVP via our Facebook event, or on YPWeek.com.

We hope to see you there, and at other Young Professional Week events. Milwaukee’s first Young Professional Week is being led by NEWaukee.

If you’re looking for Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Eyes on Milwaukee column, it will arrive on Thursday. I’m conducting research on how easy and enjoyable it is to take the Amtrak Hiawatha to Wrigley Field to watch the Milwaukee Brewers stomp the Chicago Cubs.

Eyes on Milwaukee

Welcome to the fourth installment of Eyes on Milwaukee. This week we take a look at free bus rides for St. Patrick’s Day, the idea of applying Moneyball principles to project renderings, how Police Chief Flynn has apparently managed to cut in half the service calls originated from MCTS buses, the notion of a new union for UWM, and more.

Free Bus Rides

The Milwaukee County Transit System will be giving away free bus rides again on St. Patrick’s Day thanks to MillerCoors. Starting at 6 p.m. on March 17th until the end of service all rides will be free. This excellent partnership has been in place since 1994.

Ridership is up overall in the past year.

Rendering-to-Reality Ratio

Mary Louise Schumacher is seeking opinions on The Moderne in her latest column, “The Moderne, an early peek.” She introduces the idea of the “rendering-to-reality ratio,” which as she defines it is “the degree to which a finished building fulfills the vision presented in the architects’ renderings.”

The notion of a ratio to quantify the reality versus the rendering is worthwhile if only for the fact that I think public sentiment is altered by the quality of many renderings.

Given that Micheal Lewis isn’t coming to town to write a book about the Moneyball-esque evaluation potential of our local architects, what do you say we give it a try? What architecture firms consistently produce renderings that end up matching reality?

Flynn’s Bus Patrols Making a Big Impact

Evidence is starting to leak out that the bus patrols put in place by Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn are working in a big way. As was recently mentioned at a meeting of the City of Milwaukee Public Transportation Review Board, incidents on buses are down approximately 45% since Flynn started having patrols board buses as part of their regular duty.

The battle between Chief Flynn and Sheriff Clarke over the issue stems from a reduction in sheriff’s deputies at Milwaukee County. On the face of it, Flynn appears to have generated a big reduction in the number of incidents by simply placing police patrols on buses for brief periods between 2 and 4 p.m.

Hopefully MCTS makes more data available on the issue soon.

A New Union for UWM?

The UWM Post thinks it’s time to start over with the Student Union. I agree. The building should serve as a gateway to campus. It would also serve as a great forum for Professor Donald Shoup, author of The High Cost of Free Parking, to give a lecture on parking policy, an issue both Dave Reid and I weighed in on last week.

Development News

Russ Davis is looking to put a new restaurant in the Menomonee Valley. Before anyone question’s the wisdom of locating a restaurant near a coal power plant, stop to remember that Sobelman’s serves up some of the best burgers in town from the valley, as well as the nearby locations of the tourist magnet Harley-Davidison Museum and Potawatomi Casino.

The Clock Shadow Building (sometimes referred to as the Milwaukee Fix) is nearing completion on South 2nd Street. The Journal Sentinel has a great run-down on the project, noting that the project achieves a higher standard than even LEED Platinum requires. The building is quite possibly the greenest building in Milwaukee.

Dermond Property Investments will bring their Lower East Side apartment proposal for 1601 N Jackson Street (Jackson and Pleasant) before the City Plan Commission again on Monday. Their revised plan increases the number of units to 36 and increases the number of parking stalls from 34 to 38, as well as ever so slightly setting the building back. NIMBY concerns about the height and amount of parking were raised at the initial meeting.

Holding the file in January seemed odd given that the development would sit just up the hill from The North End and the Flatiron Condominiums, two projects that have a very urban form. Hopefully the City Plan Commission approves the project this time around.

The City has a project page on the Dermond proposal.

I missed mentioning this in the past, but hopefully you’ve already heard, the former Grand Cinemas lobby on West Wisconsin Avenue will be converted into an information booth on downtown Milwaukee for visitors. The location will be staffed at least 40 hours a week by Milwaukee Downtown. The idea originated with Dan Casanova at the Department of City Development.

Milwaukee Magazine has a profile of Barry Mandel.

Alderman Bauman continues to lead the hunt for more documentation on the Kohl’s negotiations.

Openings and Closings

Russ Davis is working towards a new restaurant (see the Development News)

Oro di Oliva is going to open a new location at the Milwaukee Public Market, replacing the recently departed Rupena’s.

Clutch Milwaukee, the new tapas restaurant to open at 1504 E. North Ave, is moving along. It looks like the restaurant is set to open April 1st.

Photo of the Week

I went a different route for Photo of the Week this week, and opted for a photo of one of the new streetcar shelters for the Portland Streetcar. This stop represents a cheap upgrade to the stop that can give an ordinary bus shelter a better sense of place.

New Portland Streetcar Stop at MLK and Couch

MCTS Bus

The previously announced new express bus service from the Milwaukee County Transit System, MetroEXpress, has likely made its impending arrival to regular riders with signs posted on affected bus stops all over Milwaukee County. MCTS has just recently released the full list of stops for the MetroEXpress routes and other affected routes.

You can find the complete list on the page dedicated to the impending change at MCTS’s website. Please keep in mind the new services goes into place on January 29th, 2012.

The Moderne

As the US economy continued its slow recovery from the Great Recession, Milwaukee was left with a couple of failed development projects to complete, a changing real estate market, the opportunity to make small infrastructure changes, and questions about the future of transit.  In 2011, some of these ‘failed projects’ moved towards becoming successes, while the developers in town shifted from condominium development to apartments and hotels.  Small changes to the built environment came in the form of new bike infrastructure, and the conversion of streets to two-way traffic.  Although the Milwaukee County Transit System once again faced budget cuts, there was movement in bringing new modern transit service to Milwaukee in the form of express busing.

First Place on the River, Park Lafayette, and The Residences on Water all ended up in serious financial trouble, and in some cases in drawn out legal battles.  Park Lafayette, which had been considered by many a failure, became a turnaround success under the guidance of the Mandel Group in 2011 as it was converted from high-end condos to luxury apartments, and today it is 93% occupied.  Equally as impressive of a turnaround story is The Point on the River (formally First Place on the River).  The developer had run out of funding, and once the lending bank took over they brought in the  Mandel Group to complete the project.  Ever since, Mandel Group and Garrison Partners have been steadily selling units in the project, and while there were over 45 units available this time last year there are only 11 available for sale today.  The one significant project that has yet to be resolved is The Residences on Water, but signs indicate that the drawn out legal battle surrounding it is coming to a close.

The apartment market saw continued development through a strong reliance on WHEDA tax credits and other forms of  government financing (due to the weakened financial industry).  The construction of the Beerline B Apartments, which is being funded with WHEDA tax credits, nears completion.  Another WHEDA funded project, the 73-unit National City Lofts in Walker’s Point, began accepting tenants in October.  Although Mercy Housing Lakefront’s East Side apartment proposal received various city approvals, and appeared on the verge of moving forward, it failed to obtain WHEDA tax credits to support the funding of the project.  The second phase of The North End development, which will include two buildings and 155-units, gained approval for a $4.6 million loan from the City of Milwaukee and will utilize $26.9 million in WHEDA bonding to construct the project.  The most visible development in 2011 has been the construction of  the 30-story 203-unit apartment building, The Moderne.  It was financed with a $42.4 million loan from the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), a $9.3 million loan by the City of Milwaukee, and $5 million private equity, and expects to be topping off in early 2012.

Hotel development became a hot area of development and controversy in 2011.  The controversial Marriott Hotel project was approved by the city, and in part because of the debate more of the historic buildings than originally proposed will be saved.  Unlike the Marriott project, two other downtown hotels are being developed within historic structures without significant demolition.  A proposal that would develop a Hilton Gardens Hotel within the Historic Loyalty Building in downtown Milwaukee worked through legal issues allowing for construction to get underway.  At The Brewery, Gorman & Company has started the redevelopment of the former brewhouse building into a boutique hotel.

Alterra's On-Street Bicycle Corral

The built environment saw small, but important improvements in 2011.  Wells Street was finally converted to two-way traffic and carmaggedon didn’t follow.  The streetscaping of Broadway in the Historic Third Ward, which will tie the district together, is finally being completed.  Bay View saw Milwaukee’s first raised bike lane built, and on-street bike corrals began popping up on streets around the East Side.  S. 2nd Street, in Walker’s Point, re-opened with the new street redesign, and quickly saw numerous establishments add cafe seating, and a the construction of a new building, the Milwaukee Fix, get underway.

Transit both made steps forward and steps backwards in 2011.  As we believed would happen, cuts to mass transit funding were deep at the state level, and threatened to push MCTS off the cliff.  Although new County Executive Chris Abele worked to maintain transit service by converting some routes to express routes to save money, this still represented a net reduction in service.  At the same time, the Milwaukee Streetcar project was approved by the Common Council on a 10-5 vote this year and has now proceeded into final engineering.  Though as we feared a challenge is being made to Milwaukee’s local control.  Brett Healy, of Oconomowoc, has petitioned the Public Service Commission to rule that, despite local ordinance, the City of Milwaukee must pay the cost to re-locate utilities operating in the public rights-of-way necessitated by the streetcar construction.

In 2011 Milwaukee continued to face a difficult financial and political environment, but managed to move forward on improvements to the built environment, transit, and many significant development projects.

MCTS will use existing buses to service the new routes

The Milwaukee County Transit System has unveiled a name for the new express service, and for the three new express routes. The express service will be known as MetroEXpress, and will begin service January 29th, 2012.

The Bayshore to Airport express service will be known as GreenEXpress GreenLine. The Fond du Lac – National express service will be branded BlueEXpress BlueLine. The Capitol Drive express service will be known as RedEXpress RedLine.

The final routes will follow closely what was initially proposed in the face of the substantial state funding reduction (and the CMAQ funded two-year bailout).

The new service will operate with existing MCTS buses, and does not include any vehicle branding at this point beyond the name being digitally displayed on the signage. Service will stop approximately every 1/4 of a mile, compared to the current 1/8 mile standard MCTS service follows.

In addition to the new service, MCTS is restructuring a number of other routes, and adding a handful of new routes. All of the details can be found in the links above, which point to PDF maps of each of the new routes.

Of note compared to prior maps of the routes, MCTS has changed the new route 56 (replacing much of Routes 11 and 18). Instead of continuing straight west on W. Greenfield Avenue from 1st to 124th, the route will turn south on the Miller Park Way, where service was previously proposed to be discontinued. It will follow Miller Park Way to Burnham Street, and Burnham to 60th Street, where it will head north to rejoin Greenfield Avenue.

In addition, the northern end of the new Route 52 (servicing a branch of Route 15) has been extended with the route continuing north to Mitchell Street instead of terminating at Lincoln Avenue and Kinnickinnic Avenue.

As noted in a previous article, this new service will not cost any more than existing service to ride.

For a much greater background on the new express service, MetroEXpress, please see our previous article “Introducing the Bayshore – Airport Express Bus Service“. MCTS has also published a page containing information on the upcoming service changes.

UPDATE: I left out information on headways and service hours when I originally published this article, they will begin as follows.

RedEXpress (Capitol Drive)

• Service will operate roughly 4:30 am to 12:30 am, seven days a week
• Frequency – Weekday: 15-20 minutes, Saturday: 25-30 minutes & Sunday: 25-30 minutes

BlueEXpress (Fond du Lac-National)

• Service will operate roughly 4:30 am to 2:00 am, seven days a week
• Frequency – Weekday: 15-30 minutes, Saturday: 30-45 minutes & Sunday: 30-45 minutes

GreenEXpress (Bayshore-Airport)

• Service will operate roughly 4:30 am to 2:00 am, seven days a week
• Frequency – Weekday: 10-15 minutes, Saturday: 20-25 minutes & Sunday: 25-30 minutes

RedEXpress & Route 62 combined frequency

• Weekday: 15-20 minutes; Saturday: 10-15 minutes & Sunday: 10-20 minutes

BlueEXpress & Route 23 combined frequency

• Weekday: 10-15 minutes; Saturday 15-20 minute & Sunday 15-20

 UPDATE 2: I have been notified by MCTS that the individual lines will be updated to be known as the GreenLine, BlueLine, and RedLine.

Wisconsin Avenue Today from Google Maps

Today, Wisconsin Avenue includes two lanes in each direction as it crosses the Marquette University campus. In addition, it includes wide sidewalks, a sizable, attractively landscaped median complete with Marquette branding, and curb space for bus stops and parking. At the time of the proposal, Wisconsin Avenue had three lanes of traffic in each direction, which enabled traffic to speed through the Marquette campus. It also lacked the wider sidewalks, and only had a small median complete with run-of-the-mill street lights. It was far from a grand avenue, and did little to make the campus seem worthy of one’s attention. Wells and State streets were also a one-way street at the time (they were converted to two-way traffic from 11th to 27th streets in 2004), further painting the campus as a mere pass-through on the way in-and-out of downtown.

In April of 1994 at the direction of the Common Council, the City Engineer coordinated a study (see: Footnote 1) of the impacts of the proposed closures, primarily on the existing transportation system. The report contains three alternatives for handling the displaced traffic, No Build, Alternate Route, and Tunnel. Ultimately, the Common Council adopted none of these plans, but for the sake of debate let’s examine them.

Background

The study includes a large amount of data, the most important of which I have attempted to include  in the scanned images shown below in the photo gallery. Of note, the closure of Wisconsin Avenue would have not only directly impact more than 22,000 vehicles per day that used the very stretch at that time, but 1,081 bus trips, totaling 17% of MCTS’s total buses in operation at the time, and approximately 22,000 daily riders.

Given the odd path the proposal took through the Common Council, and how divided the community was on the issue, there are a substantial number of articles available in the Google News archives about the topic.

Of interest, at one point covering Interstate 43 with a plaza was discussed as part of the plan. Something we’ve discussed in the past.

No Build

The No Build alternative was merely that. Close the streets to vehicular traffic at a cost of $212,000, and not provide a new thoroughfare. Buses were anticipated to be rerouted down to Clybourn Street, with an anticipated loss of 416,300 rides a year for an annual impact of $1,109,100 to MCTS. The City was expected to lose $58,600 annually. Most significant, traffic was expected to climb on Wells Street by over 30%, and on Clybourn St by nearly 60%.

This option clearly would have been the cheapest when considering the capital costs of implementing it, but it likely would have produced highly undesirable results. The additional roadways would have seen a significant increase in traffic, which would have made them nearly as bad to cross as Wisconsin Avenue was at the time (and arguably defeated the purpose of the closure). In addition, the closures would have made it more difficult to access the campus, especially given that there was no plan to convert Wells Street to two-way traffic with this alternative. Confusion to general motorists as to why a street abruptly terminated would have been a persistent cause of backups.

Tunnel

The proposed Wisconsin Avenue tunnel with the closed Wisconsin Avenue above.

I can’t imagine a tunnel was ever a serious consideration, and digging through the archives of the Journal and Sentinel seem to confirm this. Never the less, the plan called for $30,070,000 to be expended for the construction of the tunnel as well as sewer and water infrastructure relocation. Not budgeted was relocation of utilities from the Wisconsin Gas Company, Wisconsin Electric Power Company, and Ameritech. Who would have been liable for the utility relocation if the tunnel was built? Your guess is as good as mine, but it bears a bit of similarity to the current debate over the utilities and the Milwaukee Streetcar, as well as a major road project that occurred next door and required millions in utility relocation expenses, the Marquette Interchange. While providing a vehicle-free street to those above, the tunnel was expected to cost the City $46,400 annually in lost revenue and operating/maintenance costs, as well as having caused MCTS to lose 93,275 rides a year for an annual impact of $176,550.

Why this option was studied is unclear, because I can’t imagine a single scenario where Marquette, the City of Milwaukee, or the State of Wisconsin would have paid for this. Ironically, there were formerly tunnels under Wisconsin Avenue, but they were for pedestrians. They were in place from the 1930′s to the early 1970′s and were ultimately closed because of safety concerns.

While this option may have had the smallest impact on the city as a whole by still allowing traffic to flow in a near grid-like fashion through the area, I think it ultimately may have impeded access to the center of Marquette’s campus by forcing those coming by car, bus, or, at the time proposed, light rail to enter from the outside, instead of allowing street grid access to the heart of the campus today. All that in addition to the fact that the money just wasn’t there for this option.

Alternate Route

Long Diagonal Connector - Recommend Alternative

Multiple alternate routing options were studied, including a busway along Wells Street and a Short Diagonal Connector. Given that the Long Diagonal Connector with a two-way Wells Street was the recommendation of the study I will stick with discussing that. The Long Diagonal Connector was recommended because it had the smallest impact on traffic of all of the options proposed, while actually staying financially feasible, unlike the tunnel.

The Long Diagonal Connector would have pleased motorists greatly over the no-build option. It would have included the acquisition of property for a new roadway that connected West Wisconsin Avenue with Clybourn Street between 16th and 18th streets, allowing smooth access around the campus. It seems likely there would have be a great amount of political pressure applied to ensure this proposed road would be as free-flowing as possible, which in the long-run would have made Marquette seem like an island in the city by discouraging development facing it.

An additional part of the recommendation was to convert Wells Street into a two-way street from 10th or 11th to 16th or 17th streets, something that ultimately would not happen until State and Wells were both converted in 2004.

The diagonal street would have required the acquisition and demolition of buildings and parking lots, removing them from the tax-base, and no doubt influencing how and where Marquette has developed many of its recent campus additions.

The cost to build the Long Diagonal Connector and Two-Way Wells Street was estimated to be $9,840,000, with annual costs to the city of $82,900. The annual impact to MCTS was estimated to be $777,200, with a loss of 209,150 rides.

Conclusion

It’s easy to understand how the closure of Wisconsin Avenue might have seemed logical on the surface in the early 1990′s (see: Footnote 2). Wisconsin Avenue was a six-lane road, the university was struggling, the stigma of Dahmer hung over the campus (and city), Wells and State were one-way highways, and many of the new buildings along Wisconsin Avenue weren’t even on the drawing boards (Zilber Hall, Engineering Hall, the Blood Center, etc., etc.). Wisconsin Avenue was essentially a surface highway through the Marquette campus.

The proposal was sent back and forth from the full Common Council to committee multiple times, ultimately failing. At one point then-Mayor John Norquist offered his input publicly on the issue, but although his suggestions mirror how the configuration is today, even his suggestions were ignored for years.

The Avenue Commons proposal came down to one alderman in the end, with southside Alderman Robert Anderson changing his likely vote from a yes (which he voted in committee) to a no. He did so apparently at the suggestion of his wife, which angered some in the community. I’m pretty certain Anderson didn’t envision Wisconsin Avenue and Marquette interacting as they do today, but his change of heart has led to Marquette becoming a school that is well integrated into the city, and a far greater asset than it was before the proposal.

Street closures are generally a bad idea, the street grid exists to provide predictable, easy transportation for all vehicle types. Cutting off one piece not only makes that area harder to access, but increases stress on other areas of the grid. Couple that overarching philosophy with the street grids challenges near Marquette, including the vast amount of one-way streets, a number of abruptly terminating streets because of the hospital and campus, and the overwhelming barrier Interstates 43 and 94 create (and the lack of bridges that cross them), and it’s clear that closing that small stretch of Wisconsin Avenue would have seriously impeded the flow of thousands of bus riders and drivers.

It took time, until the Marquette University Campus Identity and Beautification was executed in the early 2000′s, but Marquette eventually got it right. Wisconsin Avenue is now the front-door to the campus, and an asset to the city. The street has been tweaked ever so slightly to remove a driving lane and calm traffic, streetscaping in the median has made clearly defined areas for pedestrian crossing making it safer for pedestrians and drivers, and signage has been installed to proclaim to all who cross that you are entering the Marquette campus, or rather “We Are. Marquette.”

Footnote 1 – For those interested, this report can be found at the Milwaukee Public Library. It is titled “Proposed West Wisconsin Avenue Closure – Feasibility, Cost, and Neighborhood Impact Report”. Some of the more wonk-ish reading you will ever do, but you might find it enjoyable. The scans presented in this article are from it.

Footnote 2 – The Milwaukee Sentinel (prior to the merger with the Journal) Editorial Board wrote a number of editorials endorsing the plan. They include (but aren’t limited to) editorials on April 18th, 1994, June 23rd, 1994, August 17th, 1994

MCTS services changes as a result of proposed Bayshore - Airport Express

The meeting, held at the Bay View Library, was focused primarily on the changes that would occur to existing south side service (Routes 11 and 15) as a result of the new service. The meeting was led primarily by Thomas Winter, Director of Schedule and Planning at MCTS, who guided the audience through the key points of the proposed Bayshore – Airport Express route, as well as changes to existing routes within the corridor. Winter did not focus on the other proposed express service routes, but they will include a Fondy – National Express and a Capitol Drive Express (a 27th Street Express was applied for, but not awarded).

MCTS will be utilizing CMAQ funds from two different sources, the cancelled Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail service (which died when the latest state budget pulled the plug on the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority) and the never implemented bus rapid transit service along Fond du Lac, Greenfield, and National Avenues.

The short explanation, the Bayshore – Airport Express will connect Bayshore, UWM, Downtown, and Bay View with stops roughly every 1/4 of a mile, seven days a week, with headways of 10-15 minutes during the rush hours, and 15-20 minutes during off-peak times. The fare for the express service will be the same as standard service. It is intended to achieve between 20-25% time savings running the same route as traditional MCTS service.

Details – South Side

• Route 11 will be eliminated, but vast majority of service area will continue to have service via the express and other new or adjusted services. Some areas will actually see an increase as a result of the change.
• In some cases, riders will need to about one block further to get to a stop. Current MCTS service spaces stops at 1/8 mile, but express plans call for 1/4 mile spaced spots.
• Route 52 will be introduced to service one branch of the former 15 route on Clement, Pennsylvania, and 15th (pictured in map). It will terminate at Lincoln and Kinnickinnic.
• Route 56 will be introduced to service Greenfield Avenue from 2nd Street to 124th Street. This will replace an area formerly serviced by Routes 11 (to Miller Park Way) and 18 (70th to 124th). Service along Miller Park Way, previously provided by Route 11, will be eliminated.
• New Route 15 will still run unmodified on 1st Street, Kinnickinnic Avenue, Chicago Avenue, and Packard Avenue to Columbia Avenue.
• New Route 15 will run down Pittsburgh Avenue to Milwaukee Street through downtown. This will replace the service lost from the elimination of Route 11. The Bayshore – Airport Express will service Water Street.
• The Bayshore – Airport Express will divert from the current Route 15 at Lincoln and proceed south towards the airport on Howell. This will replace Route 11 service on Howell and Chase. Route 11 service on Boliver, Pine, and Layton will be discontinued. This new service supports the Aerotropolis concept.

Details – North Side

• Route 11 is being eliminated, but the stops on the north side of its route, Milwaukee Street, Ogden Avenue, Van Buren Street and Holton Street, will be serviced by new route 15.
• The new route 15, replacing the northern portion of Route 11, will continue north to Bayshore Mall instead of terminating at Capitol Drive. It will use Port Washington Road to get to Bayshore.
• The Bayshore – Airport Express will replace Route 15 service from Bayshore to downtown, running the same route to downtown as the 15 currently runs. Because of the express service, this will result in the elimination of some stops (from 1/8 mile spacing to 1/4 mile spacing), but stops will still be placed at all major destinations and transfer points.
• Route 68 is being eliminated. Limited 68 service on Green Tree, Lake Drive, and Brown Deer Road will be eliminated entirely. Route 68 service on Port Washington Road north of Bayshore will be replaced with Route 63, which currently terminates at Bayshore. Route 68 service south of Bayshore will be replaced by the new Route 15 to Capitol Drive. South of Capitol Drive to Keefe Avenue will no longer have service.

Following the introduction of the service changes by Thomas Winter, and brief comments in support by the Milwaukee County Supervisors in attendance, Supervisor Dimitrijevic led the question and answer session.

Questions from Audience

This is by no means a complete digest of the questions asked, but an attempt by myself to identify the most important and/or interesting questions and statements.

• When would the proposed changes go into effect? MCTS Manager Director, in attendance for the meeting, jumped in to note that the proposed changes would go into effect January 29th.
• One Howell Avenue resident noted that he liked the connection to the airport.
• Will the Bayshore – Airport Express run as late as other service? Yes
• Wifi in buses? Lloyd Grant – we are working with a local firm on in-bus advertising, this could happen. (My perspective – I don’t see it as likely, and I don’t believe that the new version of Transit TV proposed by Troy Shaw will produce the millions in revenue that has been projected, but I hope to be proven wrong.)
• Same commenter as wifi comment – Bus tickets should be handed out with tax receipts
• Same commenter as wifi comment – There should be park and ride areas on south side.
• Supervisor Jursik requested that Grant speak about the potential new farebox system. Grant mentioned that three years ago they received federal funding to help implement a new farebox system, and that he expected RFP responses this week. Supervisor Dimitrijevic noted that she hoped that a new system would utilize “smart cards” similar to those seen in other cities, which drew applause from the audience. Grant discussed a number of potential outcomes of the process, but noted that 40% of current fares are paid in cash.
• One commenter noted that park and rides should be installed across the south side to alleviate congestion at UWM and listed a number of potential locations including the airport. Supervisor Jursik noted that she didn’t think the airport would be likely, given its potential for abuse.
• How is service impacted from Brady and Farwell to downtown? Lloyd Grant noted that service would actually improve because of the switch from the 15 bus to express service.
• Will bike racks be on express route? Yes (drew applause from audience)
• MCTS driver – 1. Freeway Flyers being favored over local routes, not good. 2. The farebox is a trouble spot with the union, specifically the transfers. 3. How does it connect with streetcar? – Kris Martinsek, of Martinsek & Associates who is involved in the creation of the Milwaukee Streetcar, noted that streetcar project is in preliminary engineering and is being designed to have seamless connections with existing transit service.
• One life-long non-driver asked about smaller buses or vans to preserve service. Lloyd Grant responded that MCTS has retired their smaller vehicles over time as they aren’t as cost efficient given that they can’t be used on many routes.
• Express part of existing fare structure (following a comment thanking MCTS for their hard)? Lloyd Grant noted that this is the first time he has been asked, and that yes it would cost the same as a standard fare.
• Will Freeway Flyers stay the same? Yes.
• Multiple people noted the challenges in getting home from the airport to Bay View, that taxis frequently refused to give rides because of the airport fee structure. Where will the stop be at the airport? Where the Route 80 currently stops, at the south end of the Baggage Claim.
• Any change to Route 51? No changes at this time. This question was offered apparently in response to a neighborhood issue with bus noise, with people in attendance on both sides of the issue. Supervisor Haas remarked he was happy they have now met and could sit down to talk about it, which drew a laugh from the audience.
• What is the possibility that the CMAQ funds are not approved? Lloyd Grant said that rejection is not expected for any reason, and that it is up to Secretary of Transportation Gottleib to approve now.
• Samuel Jensen, representing the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union offered perhaps the most amusing remarks of the evening. He remarked that he was happy about the new service, but not happy to learn about it so late and that it was done in secret. He remarked that “we are not living in the Soviet Union or a third-world dictatorship.” During his comments he repeatedly said “this is absurd,” asking what other cuts were hidden (claiming the audience first learned of the Route 68 cuts today). He noted the lack of a real long-term funding solution for transit in Milwaukee, and asked when the Milwaukee County Board is going to do something about this? Supervisor Jursik downplayed his remarks, noting that he was attacking local politicians for an issue created by the state. She noted that she wasn’t pleased with being in the dark on the proposals before they were submitted. Her response ended with applause from the audience. Lloyd Grant noted that there were no unpublished cuts. Jensen responded by noting that Jacqueline Janz, MCTS Marketing Director, would do the USSR (Soviet Union) a service with her PR skills.
• After a few more questions, the meeting ended at 8 promptly because the Bay View Library closed.

Conclusion

Milwaukee County and MCTS have clearly been dealt a tough hand with the funding cuts to transit coming from the state budget. Despite the fact that the CMAQ funds at this point are only a two-year solution, and will result in some areas losing service, the solution is a creative one to stave off major cuts including the elimination of all Freeway Flyers, special event service (Summerfest, State Fair, Miller Park, etc, etc), and service reductions on many routes. In an ideal world, existing service would be maintained and new express service would be added on top, but given the circumstances this is a great solution to a terrible problem.

MCTS services changes as a result of proposed Bayshore - Airport Express

For visitors by automobile from the highway, if one is to come from the south over the Hoan Bridge or east off of Interstate 794, their arrival at the lakefront is greeted by the blank walls of the Downtown Transit Center and ill-configured O’Donnell Park Garage to the left, and the beautiful, complementary Milwaukee Art Museum and Pier Wisconsin (Discovery World) to the right. The dedicated right turn lanes at Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial make it easy to avoid ever slowing down when no one is around, but during festival season, the dedicated right turn lanes become jay-walker territory, resulting in lots of honking horns and pedestrians playing real life Frogger. While the Calatrava addition to the museum might be enough to distract someone for a moment, this pathway to the city doesn’t create the grandest of entrances.

For visitors by foot, bicycle coming from downtown, accessing the lakefront leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, the Milwaukee Art Museum pedestrian bridge is beautiful, but it largely serves only one building and requires walking through under-utilized O’Donnell Park. Walking to the Henry Maier Festival Grounds is unpleasant to say the least, coming from Wisconsin Avenue one goes through a frequently empty O’Donnell Park, down a stairway that is hidden from the other end of the park, and then must attempt to cross Lincoln Memorial Drive at its intersection with Michigan Street where dedicated right turn lanes make the intersection far wider than a normal intersection. Along the way pedestrians are greeted with great views of the blank walls of the unfortunately-named Downtown Transit Center (more on that later) and awkwardly configured green space (such as the space between O’Donnell Park and Michigan Street).

Automobiles coming from downtown are confronted with the blank wells of Michigan Street, which leaves a feeling like you’re exiting through the back door of the city that no one is supposed to see. Once they’re able to cross Lincoln Memorial, the lakefront looks mighty attractive, but getting across can be a challenge with the dedicated right turn lanes encouraging vehicles to speed up, but frequent pedestrian crossings causing vehicles to slam on their breaks and slow back down in a hurry. An extra-important consideration with the lakefront is that almost every automobile trip results in a pedestrian trip. When one parks at O’Donnell Park garage, they still must cross Lincoln Memorial Drive and encounter many of the same challenges that pedestrian-only trips face.

Thankfully, there is a low-cost solution in the form of back-to-the-basics urbanism.

Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive

The intersection of Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive

The easiest thing to reconfigure, and the element that will guide future changes, is the intersection of Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive. How easy is it to fix? Very. Eliminate the dedicated right turn lanes. Eliminating the dedicated right turn lanes dramatically reduces the width of the intersection, making it easier and safer to cross on foot or bike. Eliminating the dedicated right turn lanes also delivers a better signal to drivers at what speed they should approach it, and allows police officers to more easily direct traffic during high-volume periods such as Summerfest. Eliminating the turn lanes also would have nearly no impact on everyday driving patterns as the same number of lanes would exist to go straight through the intersection. It’s a cheap, easy, actionable item that could be executed tomorrow and would be a great first step to building a better connection between downtown and the lakefront.

There is absolutely no need for tunnels, either pedestrian or automobile, as the recently formed Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee is considering. Automobile tunnels, similar to the Kilbourn Tunnels found underneath the Milwaukee County Courthouse, are expensive to both build and maintain. Not to mention that at same point they are doomed to crumble, which will turn an otherwise attractive area into something people will want to potentially stay away from. In addition to the tunnel itself under Michigan Street, there would certainly be a requirement of ramps in and out to Michigan, this would reduce the amount of available land for redevelopment, imposing an opportunity cost, not to mention still possibly creating an awkward pedestrian experience with ramps appearing seemingly out of nowhere. A pedestrian tunnel under Lincoln Memorial Drive is likewise a bad idea not only from the cost perspective, but because of safety concerns as well the general appearance. There simply isn’t enough foot traffic in the area on a consistent basis to justify a tunnel. The committee would be wise to stick to a back-to-the-basics four-way intersection that will have a timeless appearance, and cost next to nothing.

Downtown Transit Center

Downtown Transit Center

The Downtown Transit Center is unfortunate for a number of reasons. Coming up with a better name for it might better explain to a lay person why. I propose to think of it as the Downtown MCTS Storage and Staging Facility. The building is located on the edge of downtown far from the center, which reduces its utility to potential riders (I’m an extremely frequent rider and have never even thought about boarding a bus at the facility). As a “transit center”, the building only serves MCTS and a handful of buses from other public bus operators, no Amtrak, Greyhound, Badger Bus, Megabus, Coach USA, etc, etc. It is neither in the center of downtown geographically, nor is it the center node for all of the transit systems. It does do one thing quite well, and that is to serve as a staging facility for MCTS buses. A staging and storage facility is certainly a necessity for the system, but given a blank slate you wouldn’t place such a facility on some of the most valuable land in the state. Given the use of the facility it’s no surprise that the building is covered in blank walls, which are logical for a bus barn, but subversive from the perspective of building an attractive gateway to the city.

The MCTS operations at the facility should be relocated near the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, the real transit center for the region. They can be largely located under the freeway, similar to the fashion that the Milwaukee Streetcar maintenance facility will be. This will also serve as an opportunity to better connect MCTS routes with the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, something lacking at the present time.

After finding a new home for the MCTS operations, the site could be redeveloped through the issuance of a request-for-proposals (RFP) that would result in a building that is built to the curb, has street-level retail or other public uses, serves to make downtown more attractive as seen from the lakefront, and encourages more pedestrian activity in the area. Not to mention any new building would pay property taxes, which go in-part to sustain the operations of all the public amenities in the area.

Lakefront Gateway from Downtown Plan

The Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee should be cautious with placing requirements on potential developers. As discussed in the last committee meeting, the RFP would require that an equal amount of public green space be maintained at the facility. This would be a wise requirement if the existing green space was actively used or there was a shortage in the area, but most people aren’t even aware of the green space at the facility (or even that the Downtown Transit Center exists). The green space that exists at the transit center is on the second-story and essentially operates as a green-roof for the building. Requiring that much public space be maintained in the form of green space would significantly hamper the redevelopment of the site, such that it might kill any redevelopment all together. At the very least it would impose an opportunity cost in the amount of property tax revenue that could be generated. If the Park East has taught us anything development-wise, it’s that lobbing requirements onto developable land only slows progress and results in poor projects.

O’Donnell Park Garage

The O’Donnell Park Garage has a number of different options available for its reconfiguration, but many are highly dependent on what happens elsewhere in the area. Given that, I won’t dwell on too many possible scenarios for the parking garage. A few things are certain.

1. Some level of parking is needed on the lakefront, and the current garage appears to be an affordable way to maintain that.
2. The vista down Wisconsin Avenue to the Calatrava-designed addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum is a public asset, regardless of how you feel about The Calling.
3. Milwaukee County is in a bit of a long-term fiscal crunch.
4. Money trees aren’t real.

Given those four facts, the notion of tearing down the garage and park and replacing it with a 20+ story building is laughable and possibly not even desirable. There are, however, other realistic options.

The garage and park are lacking in two primary areas.

• The connection it fosters between the lakefront and downtown is very under-developed.
• The park’s rooftop design is currently heavily underutilized on everyday other than July 3rd.

O'Donnell Park

There are two likely options to improve upon that, assuming the previously recommended options regarding the intersection and MCTS facility were undertaken. First, the very southern portion of the garage can be reconfigured/lowered to better expose the park and building that hosts the Betty Brinn Museum, Coast restaurant, and Miller Pavilion to lakefront visitors. This would encourage more traffic up to the building and park, and overall make downtown appear more appealing to those on the lakeront. Second, on the empty, unused green space just past the southern end of the garage, a new building could be developed that serves as a bookend to Michigan Street and downtown with the redeveloped MCTS facility. This will create a better defined end to downtown, encourage more pedestrian circulation between lakefront and city, frame O’Donnell Park better, making it a better public space,  and make the city appear far more attractive from the lakefront forming a better gateway. The new building could also house a publicly-accessible, indoor staircase and elevator from the park down to the lakefront.

Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee

The recently formed Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee, chaired by Parks Director Sue Black, is on the right track. As a word of caution, the devil, as always, is in the details. They should look to the 2010 approved City of Milwaukee Downtown Plan for guidance, as this very area was one of main catalytic projects. The committee would be wise to follow common sense, back-t0-the-basics urban solutions in their quest to build a better gateway to the city and a better connection between the lakefront and downtown. Simple, urban designs will be timeless and cost-effective, compared to tunnels and bridges that will age and require millions to build and maintain. Likewise, RFPs for development with few requirements will generate the greatest buildings and greatest amount of tax revenue to sustain the operations of Milwaukee’s cultural campus.

How does MCTS attract more riders?

Chris Abele was recently elected to fill the remainder of Governor Scott Walker’s term as Milwaukee County Executive. That gives Abele less than one year to accomplish anything as Milwaukee County Executive before he must seek re-election. Given the relatively short time for which Abele is assured to be in office, what can the newly-elected County Executive hope to achieve when it comes to transit?

Chris Abele held the position while he ran for office that he would not seek a sales tax increase for dedicated funding of mass transit, and it’s unlikely that even if he supported a dedicated funding solution it could be installed given the short time Abele is assured of being in office and the Republican control of state government. Although we’ve endorsed a dedicated funding source as a logical step to ensure quality transit access for southeastern Wisconsin, we support the new County Executive’s apparent desire to stick to issues that are controlled locally given the circumstances. With that in mind, the following are ideas that can encourage increased ridership on MCTS if implemented.

Real Time Open Data

The Milwaukee County Transit System, to its credit, has been excellent at providing open data of bus scheduling. This data is what is used to power Google Maps trip planner that can provide bus schedule data. MCTS officials have also indicated they’re working on procuring and installing equipment  to provide real time open data by the middle of 2012.

So what’s the issue? The speed at which it’s being delivered. The new County Executive has a chance to find some of those efficiencies he campaigned on and get the equipment installed and data exposed earlier than mid-2012. He also has a chance to engage the private sector before the system is even deployed to start building applications that take advantage of the new data.

Ultimately people will be more likely to ride a bus if they know when the next one is coming. Real time positioning data provides that. Alterra can have countdown timers in their coffee shops. Office buildings can display bus positions in their lobbies for tenants. Major bus stops can display countdown data. Text message based applications can be built that allow users to send a message to query the location of the next bus.

By accelerating the implementation of real time open data and engaging the tech community in Milwaukee, the private sector can more quickly create value for potential riders.

More on how and why open data is valuable with regards to transit in a previous article.

Simplified Mapping

Milwaukee is fortunate to have a number of hotels, businesses, and apartments within a block or two of the major bus corridor through downtown, Wisconsin Avenue. Frequent riders of the corridor know the routes and stop locations to quickly move anywhere between the Marquette campus and the lakefront, but the current downtown area map leaves a lot to be desired for people less familiar with the system. New riders can be enticed to take advantage of MCTS simply by creating a first-time rider, downtown-centric map. The one-sheet map could be distributed at downtown hotels, offices, shops, apartment buildings, and the Frontier Airlines Center. The map should include the following features.

• Stop locations
• Route frequency indicated by width of route on map
• Major locations off map and the corresponding route to get there (Miller Park – 90, Milwaukee County Zoo – 10, etc, etc)
• Fare information (no change on board, $2.25 cash, discounts for week, month, and 10-fare purchases)
• Schedule information (on back of sheet)

This idea was inspired by a similar map in Cincinnati by Nate Wessel (and funded creatively utilizing Kickstarter).

Improved Bus Stops

The average sheltered bus stop in Milwaukee is okay. When it’s raining or snow, there is a decent chance those underneath won’t get wet. When it’s not freezing outside, the benches provide a fairly comfortable rest while one waits for the bus. All in all, the average bus stop is certainly better than standing on the sidewalk, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Obviously physically improving the bus stops is going to cost money, so I would like to propose a quasi-privatization method by which better bus stops can be obtained. Wherever possible and desired, the bus stops should be turned over to area business improvement districts. Business improvement districts are well-suited for this because they already frequently invest in streetscaping and have a self-interest in approving the attractiveness and accessibility of their district.

The business improvements could make a number of improvements to their bus stops, including but not limited to.

• Posting paper schedules
• Utilizing open data to display an LED countdown timer for scheduled data (eventually migrating to real time data)
• Installing four-sided shelters to protect from the elements better
• Installing heaters that would operate on user-request for a few minutes at a time during the hours of operation of the bus route

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel produced a infographic that details the fare increases and route reductions over the past ten years, but it can be best be summarized that starting in 2001 MCTS has been forced to raise fares and/or reduce service every year. Over the past 10 years, riders have been asked to pay more for less service. The fact that the system is losing riders shouldn’t come as a surprise. Further ridership losses can only be expected over the next two years with Governor Scott Walker, who was Milwaukee County Executive during almost all of the 10-year period,  proposing to reduce state aid to MCTS and reclassify mass transit as a social service (moving it from Transportation fund to the General fund) by $7 million in his Executive Budget proposal, .

A recently released study by the Brookings Institution appears to contradict the expectation that MCTS ridership should be falling faster (or rising slower) than the national average though, announcing that Milwaukee ranks 14th out of the 100 largest US metropolitan areas in terms of job access and system coverage.

While the coming state aid cuts to MCTS and other area transit systems will substantially drop access to mass transit for Milwaukee-area residents, and render the 14th ranked job access and system coverage argument mute, let’s explore for a moment why Milwaukee supposedly has great access to mass transit, but fails to take advantage.

Why does Milwaukee’s ridership not reflect the quality access and coverage it supposedly has? A few hypothesis.

Time

The report concludes that jobs are accessible if a transit trip takes 90 minutes or less to get to them. Given that the average commute time in the Milwaukee region is 22 minutes, it’s tough to imagine many people opting for a much longer commute via bus even if it saves them money. It would be interesting to know how Milwaukee would fare in the rankings if jobs were considered accessible only by a 60 minute commute.

Lack of Fixed Guideway System

From New York City and Chicago to Portland and Minneapolis, cities that have fixed guideway systems may not consistently score as highly as the Milwaukee region’s  bus-only systems did on the “Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America” study rankings, but they have what ultimately matters at the end of the day, riders. The cities that have fixed guideway systems such as light rail, commuter rail, or subways consistently have higher ridership numbers both in terms of total riders and mode share (percentage of commuters using mass transit) than Milwaukee.

Fixed guideway systems often allow riders to travel at faster speeds, covering greater distances and better connecting a region than traditional bus service. Their speed, and frequently higher-quality ride, do a much better job at attracting choice riders than traditional bus service.

Urban Design Patterns

One potential reason a higher level of transit adoption isn’t seen in the Milwaukee region could be because of how job centers are configured. The study indicates that 49% of jobs are accessible via transit (within 3/4 of a mile of a stop), but how many of those jobs are configured to allow easy access? Riders are likely to be discouraged if they have to traverse entire parking lots, cross massive arterial streets, enter through the rear of buildings, or don’t have covered bus stops to wait in.

Service Frequency

The report concludes that rush hour headway in Milwaukee is 6.4 minutes. My transit-rich  residence rates at a 2.8 minutes, which would be nice, but is far from practice. My guess is that the 2.8 minutes is calculated based on the three bus routes that cross the area (15, 21, 30), ignoring the fact that is impossible to wait for all three at the same time (although nearby access to two of the routes was a big factor in deciding where to live). Furthermore, only two of the three buses could be used to head downtown, with Route 21 being largely irrelevant to my daily needs. My effective headway is much greater than reported by the Brookings Institution, something that I think could be found all over the region. Look for yourself.