Saturday, October 21, 2017

With Zoo Interchange unfinished & I-94 E/W widening dead...

Consider that today's I-94 congestion west of Milwaukee has been made worse because a passenger rail option like this - - 
 
with construction funding in hand could have opened in 2006, but was killed by the suburban and and anti-urban GOP right, as this 2008 article explains
A starter light rail system was recommended for Milwaukee County in a major state-funded regional transportation study in the 1990s that had considerable public and private sector support.
But conservative AM talk radio and opposition in Waukesha County blocked further study of light rail for Milwaukee, even though $241 million in federal funds was set aside specifically for transit improvements in Milwaukee County.
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.

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