Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Today's Snowy Commute No Problem On The Train

Wasn't it great that commuters heading out of Milwaukee in today's snow burst could take the light rail to their destinations?


Just kidding...but those of you who were headed west to Waukesha County should remember that it was your then-County Executive Dan Finley and the County Board in the late '909's that killed a transportation planning process that would have added light rail and highway improvements, too.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

And on the East Coast, during the last snow storms, how were the trains doing?

Not kidding.

Anon Jim said...

As I drove home (a few miles beyond the Milwaukee county line) yesterday afternoon from my job in Milwaukee, the amount of snow went from having to clear up to 6 inches off my parked vehicle to no noticeable new snow by the time I hit the county line.

Upon reflection, the progression of conditions getting better as I moved away from the heart of Milwaukee proper is such a beautiful metaphor of just about every aspect of everyday life living in SE Wisconsin.

James – your proposed choo-choo train(s) will never be of benefit to me as far as my transit to and from work, or in any other regards as far as travel goes, but am glad you are so concerned about the welfare of Waukesha residents – seeing as your focus on Waukesha County in general borders on an obsession.

James Rowen said...

Anon Jim's contempt for Milwaukee is now available for all to see.

Well done.

Helen Bushnell said...

Anonymous, cities that had snow plow trains kept trains moving better than buses or cars. Washington, DC transit does not have any way to clear snow off their tracks, so above ground trains simply didn't run.

There was a blog post somewhere comparing the average amount of snow that Philadelphia and DC get (not very different) with their reactions (buy snow plows vs. act like snow is sign of the end times).

Bob B said...

Sure am glad that the train will pick me up and drop me off at my front door and my work place.
since anything less means I will still have to get in my car and drive at least to the Train Station along with the train crew and mait workers.

James Rowen said...

To Bob E; Somehow these issues have been managed in cities all over the country and the rest of the world.

Helen Bushnell said...

God, I hate to drive in the snow.

Apparently, in Philadelphia the first workers to get to the transit agencies walked there. In fact, people were walking and taking the train before buses or cars were moving.

Unfortunately, the people in charge of plowing Philadelphia's streets assumed that everyone would drive, so they made no plans to dig out the sidewalks which got covered when they plowed the streets. But most people were walking because who wants to drive. Besides the trains were the only reliable form of transportation.

If you are not used to snow, driving in bad weather is nasty.

Info from a TV report. Previous post based on the unsuckdcmetro blog and other east coast transit blogs.