Transit Ridership Still Booming - - Except In Milwaukee

Thanks to Scott Walker and Milwaukee's railophobes on conservative talk radio, the national boom in transit ridership is bypassing Milwaukee.

Heck: we can't even get a regional transit authority funded in southeastern Wisconsin, a body which Waukesha County continues to boycott.

There's still $91.5 million in federal transit funds for Milwaukee sitting idle because County Exec Walker will not meet Mayor Tom Barrett halfway and split the funding between express bus service and a downtown trolley loop.

Walker would rather drive the failing bus system off a cliff than make a deal on rail service for the downtown and county bus riders because he fears the wrath of Belling, Sykes et al.

Milwaukee continues to be the country's urban rail-free zone, and while the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line has the best chance among regional rail options for eventual construction, the RTA's stall remains an obstacle, regardless of the business community's growing support.

What the business community could do to get things moving is to give Walker the ultimatum it should have delivered years ago: get off the dime on transit, or we withdraw our political and campaign war chest support.

Walker's pact-with-the-devil relationship with the righty talkers puts Milwaukee at an even greater economic disadvantage served by a national recession.

This means Milwaukee's recovery will lag - - for political, not economic reasons.

If Walker were the CEO of a financial institution or the chairman of the board, we'd say he'd forfeited his fiduciary responsibility and should be removed from his position.

Instead, Walker is hoping to transfer his politics to the State Capitol, and is planning a 2010 run for Governor.

You transit advocates out there, from Kenosha to Madison to Green Bay, take note.