Eyes on Milwaukee
Streetcar Track Construction Starts in April
System on track to start service in late 2018, project is on-budget
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System on track to start service in late 2018, project is on-budget Back to the full article.
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Onward to a bright, progressive, multi-modal future!
Hopefully, the next stages can take us forward/backward to horses and gas street lighting.
Thank you for your concise and informed report.
WashCoTroll, that joke wasn’t funny when you first made it two years ago. Repeating it doesn’t improve it. Right-wingers just aren’t funny.
Now that Trump is President, we can be sure there will be NO new grants to extend this albitross. It’s uselessness will become clear even to our dear Mayor.
WashCoRepub, it’s “integrated multi-modal transit.”
If you had ever owned a vehicle, you’d know the worst thing for it is stop-and-go driving.
Employers love the street car. Their workers can ride it and work.
John Savage (post 4): I wouldn’t be so sure about Trump cutting off future streetcar funding. His inaugural address included this sentence:
We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. (Emphasis added.)
Besides, he’s from New York City—where more people commute by rail than by automobile, so he knows the value of rail.
I’m excited to see this finally get going. I look forward to using it.
It would be nice to see this integrated with light rail. The rails are already in place, from the airport to the downtown station and from Tosa to the downtown station and back (for the medical complex). From there commuters could actual use the street car to get to and from work/home. Help funding by selling naming rights to the different lines as well. Also county/city owned parking lots at the train stations would boom and be another source of funding and tax relief.
@Sean – I think you are probably referring to what is usually called “commuter rail” rather than “light rail.” I agree there is merit in considering such a system but I think you may be underestimating the challenges in setting up commuter rail on a relatively busy railroad mainline and also overestimating the revenues that would be generated by naming rights and parking fees.
At any rate, the region came close to getting commuter rail a number of years ago with the KRM proposal (commuter rail linking Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee). At this time, though, it does not seem like there is support on the regional and state level for improved and expanded transit service (unfortunately, in my opinion). I tend to believe that any such improvements and expansions will need to be largely driven by Milwaukee city and county at this point.
I should add that the city and county face significant restrictions in coming up with additional funding for expanded transit services, unless and until there is a supportive state partner. I am reasonably confident that any commuter rail service would require action at the state level and I cannot see such action taking place anytime soon.
Sean…. there are plans for BRT lines operating their own right of way. These should integrate with the streetcar.