US-Madison is opening a branch of its far west side research park in the city's downtown.
Meanwhile, UW-M is still intent on opening its new engineering school in Wauwatosa on the County grounds, inconveniencing students and faculty, and separating them from the intertwined business, commercial, housing, entertainment and academic resources in downtown Milwaukee.
Imagine being an engineering student also taking a class in architecture, English, history or communications.
Will you be driving back and forth across town to Wauwatosa? Taking a cross-town bus?
But if you live on N. Murray or N. Oakland Ave. on the East side, you're halfway between both the campus and downtown, and on a direct bus line, too.
Milwaukee is too often a step or two behind the times. $4-per-gallon gasoline should have already elevated the downtown location, but so far, UW-M officials still want the suburban ideal, with, no doubt, plenty of parking lots.
How about a high speed rail line linking the two?
ReplyDeleteIn the late 90's, WisDOT estimated the cost of upgrading the Milwaukee-Madison rail line at $33 million.
ReplyDeleteThere were other hurdles, but the cost was not excessive.
I just hope it does not become an excuse for gentrification. Its a nice working class neighborhood. It would be sad if the west side eggheads priced them out of their homes.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that more of these projects should be located in the middle of the city. I just wish they weren't so egghead heavy.
What's really wasteful about the Tosa plan is that it duplicates so much infrastructure that has been built and is available downtown.
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