Saturday, May 18, 2013

Milwaukee TV News Leaves Rail History Out Of Road-Congestion Reporting

Just once...I'd love to see a Milwaukee television news report that shows the relationship of highway-building-and-congestion and the region's politically-inspired rail-free history.

Conservative legislators, talk radio and then-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker not only killed light rail, they sank the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter train line that could have run parallel to the torn-up I-94 North-South project, as its home page discloses, and offered a travel choice to the south suburbs and cities all the way to the Illinois line:

UPDATE: This proposed project has been put on hold indefinitely due to the dissolution of the Southeast Regional Transit Authority, the sponsor of the project. See more
Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) Commuter Rail
Connecting Milwaukee-Chicago economic corridor
with 9 stops in WI and connecting to 25 communities
on the Chicago Metra U.P. North line.
The Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee corridor has a unique and exciting opportunity to develop high-quality commuter rail service in an existing rail right-of-way. The existing Union Pacific freight rail line would be upgraded to add a commuter rail that would connect to the very successful Chicago Metra that now ends at Kenosha. It is envisioned that the KRM Commuter Rail service would connect the lakeside communities of Milwaukee, Milwaukee-south side, Cudahy-St. Francis, South Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia, Racine, Somers, and Kenosha--and connect to the Chicago Metra service to NE Illinois and Chicago.
Quick Stats
  • 33 Miles
  • 9 Wisconsin stops
  • Use upgraded existing freight railroad
  • 14 weekday daily round-trips are planned
  • 2.1 million projected passengers/yr
  • Bi-directional service at peak travel times.
  • Provide access to nearly 1 million existing jobs between Milwaukee and Chicago.
  • Provide access to
    1.97 million people
    within 3 miles of stations between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Map and facts (pdf 225k)
Back to top
  • 360,000 jobs and 525,000 in population projected within 3 miles of WI stations
  • Used for daily and occasional commuting.
  • Stops are about 5 to 20 minutes apart.
  • Each coach will be wheel chair and walker accessible.
  • Fares similar to a bus.
  • Highly reliable in all weather conditions.
  • Connect densely populated or rapidly developing communities along the SE Wisconsin lakefront between Kenosha and Milwaukee
And better reporting could expand on the loss of light rail line as killed in the 1990's and how it could have provided relief to the Zoo Interchange project, the impending West Side/Story Hill billion-dollar+ expansion debacle and the I-94 widening on the books sometime after 2016 or from the Zoo Interchange to the Jefferson County line.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woody Vos was intent on killing the commuter line. Incredible shortsightedness. Let's hope these lawsuits turn their heads.

Anonymous said...

your sugar-daddy journal communications uses its airwaves and print assets to diseminate this type of propaganda 24/7.

And you want to make this about one tv station?

You really are a shameless self-promoter that is entirely in-bed with the leaders of the mighty wurlitzer.

And then you pretend that somehow you astute observations that always hide the role of the media you troll for.

You are hypocritical to the extreme -- your reporting DAILY leaves out major facts:

1. The mainstream media is actually responsible for the dysfuctional politics and elections in WI

2. Walker and the other GOP hacks are merely passing laws and politics from out-of-state corporate interests

It is not possible to follow your blog and be informed because you are even more misleading, multiple times every day, than the tv stations rail on here.

James Rowen said...

Sugar Daddy? Where's that check?

Anonymous said...

@9:35 - I am confused by your ramblings. I can attest that Rowen is not a sugar daddy. Misleading? Not in the least.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Looks like someone's newspaper was delivered late...AGAIN.

Anonymous said...

Isn't reverse discrimination actions the reason Affirmative Action is in jeopardy?