Congestion In The Rail-Free Zone: A Look Back
As gas prices continue to rise, and road construction in the Milwaukee area will make intense congestion the norm for years, a few paragraphs from a Crossroads op-ed I wrote in 2008 (the piece had a wonderful map) struck me as still relevant, especially on traffic-heavy Opening Day at Miller Park.
The railroad not taken
Had talk radio and suburban opposition not sunk a 1997 plan, we’d be riding sleek transit by now
...spiking gas prices have brought double-digit ridership increases this year on light rail trains in Baltimore, Minneapolis, San Francisco and St. Louis.
Even small cities such as Norfolk, Va., are building light rail lines with their signature short, sleek electric trains, while other cities are showing solid ridership gains on longer-distance commuter rail lines using bigger trains...
Milwaukee is still among the few major American cities without light rail or commuter rail.
A starter light rail system was recommended for Milwaukee County in a major state-funded regional transportation study in the 1990s...But conservative AM talk radio and opposition Waukesha County blocked further study of light rail for Milwaukee...
Had plans unfolded on schedule, the starter light rail, with an estimated 21,000 riders on weekdays, would have opened in 2006 and run about 10 miles from the Third Ward to Summerfest, downtown, Miller Park, the Milwaukee County Zoo and the County Grounds.
Talk about a missed opportunity. It would have provided Milwaukeeans with a spiffy transit option in the face of $4-a-gallon gasoline...
Extensions to Milwaukee's north side and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee would have generated support, and light rail could have assisted Waukesha County commuters because years of Zoo Interchange and I-94 reconstruction are planned west of Milwaukee.
No comments:
Post a Comment