If Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics, Wisconsin better get that Amtrak connection to Milwaukee and Chicago done beforehand if it plans on hosting some cycling events.
The track is there, but there are upgrades needed, along with a Madison station.
Passenger rail used to run from Madison through Milwaukee to Chicago, but was killed off, like so much train service in the US.
Telling media, Olympic visitors and competitors to come to the games in Chicago, then take the train to Milwaukee before switching to a bus or rental car to get to Madison will make Wisconsin look bush league.
Great examples of needed comprehensive regional planning for mass transit (that could be applied statewide eventually) including integration of bicycle, pedestrian and auto hubs to the main passenger rail lines, with inclusion of numerous parks and green space social gathering points, and more efficient integration of public utilities, can be found with a few quick searches about the London 2012 Games.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this elsewhere but public television's program, e2, (e-squared) ran an instructive show about London's 2012 plans recently.
At least they should be able to get a 2 hr 15 Madison to Chicago train into place in 7 years. The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad 400 trains made this haul in that time frame 60+ years ago.
ReplyDeleteIf we can't run trains at least as well as in the 1940s, it will prove we are unworthy of hosting the Olympics, and show that the US continues to be hell-bent on the course towards third world cheap labor tinpot dictatorship cesspool status.
As James Howard Kunstler has famously stated, our railroad system would be an embarrassment to Bulgaria.
You think anyone going to ride two+ hours on a train then jump a bus to see the Olympics?
ReplyDelete1) No their not when you can watch the games in real time for far less cash the coming to them.
2) Spend BILLIONS for a system that might get used for a few weeks is not worth it.
3) I have not read of an Olympics that has even come close to covering the cost far better uses for the cash
4) Chicago is a prime target for B.O. pals you the ones who want to destroy Israel "in a sea of fire" after 4 years hell 2 years of B.O. being in government Chicago may not be there.
Moving on...
ReplyDeleteI think it's the hope of Chicago Olympic officials that upon receiving the 2016 bid, money would be allocated for upgrading the CTA, METRA and extending the rail connections to Madison and Milwaukee. The latter upgrades do not necessarily need to be tied to the Olympics, but it would hopefully provide the boost that those projects need right now.
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ReplyDeleteTo Red Rosa: I'm not seeing much logic there.
ReplyDelete