Love the idea? Hate it? Either way we have all the details.
Love the idea? Hate it? Either way we have all the details. Back to the full article.
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Who possibly could ‘hate’ the idea of extending the street car system? My mother is among the few people old enough to have ridden the old streetcar as a girl, and the Hop recently as a women in her 80s. Her observation? “The new streetcar is sure a lot quieter than the old one!”
Well, any tax payer in this City that thinks what the City really needs is better housing, school funding, support of existing infrastructure.
Also, the TIFs are starting to sound like the Miller Park tax. Levy the tax with promises of future payoffs once the tax sunsets, but then just keep extending them to extract more funds and never actually realize the benefit.
Very good article, Jeramy! Thanks for the solid summaries and comprehensive reporting.
@DK MKE – The TIF districts, as defined by state law, do have a maximum life span and require an annual report stating when they will end.
You can read them all here: https://city.milwaukee.gov/MilwaukeeTIDprojectsummaries.htm
Better public transportation is at least as important as better housing in this city if we hope to expand opportunities to the economically challenged citizens here. Streetcar extensions to Bronzeville and to Walker’s Point could help citizens in those districts get to jobs downtown. Those extensions could also expand “the heart of our city.”
Jeramey,
I guess I was referring to your statement “Extending the life of six TIF districts will delay the time until the increased revenue flows into the city’s general fund.” While I can see this doesn’t mean they are extending beyond their state law limits, you are positing the can be extended longer than initially sold. I’m not opposed to any of this, but I think the Miller Park tax has at least some valid analogues.
@Thomas.
There are a gazillion buses that run within the same general traffic patterns of the streetcar. Getting people from as far away as North and MLK to downtown has never been a problem.