“(The rail) provides a necessary alternative to the automobile. The freeway will be under construction for the next 15 to 20 years. It will create redevelopment and provide increased accessibility. Fifteen percent of households in the area do not have cars.” – Ken Yunker, director of the Regional Planning Commission

In mid January, public information meetings will be held to discuss the costs and benefits of a proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail that would connect Milwaukee and Racine to the existing Chicago-Kenosha Metra.

Those in support of the commuter rail argue that its benefits of increased job accessibility and economic growth outweigh the $237 million cost reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Working along with the Milwaukee 7 — a consortium of business and government entities that works in planning project in southeast Wisconsin — the project is being managed by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. The proposed KRM commuter rail will consist of stations located in Somers, Racine, Caledonia, Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, Cudahy-St. Francis and on Milwaukee’s south side.

The proposed commuter rail will make the northern Illinois and Chicago area more accessible than it currently is to KRM-area residents. Although separate from the existing Metra rails linked to Chicago, a transfer at Kenosha would be conveniently timed so that riders can get off one train and step onto another.

Estimated fare for the commute is relatively cheap. A one-way ticket from Milwaukee to Chicago would cost about $8, according to Ken Yunker, deputy director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

“There are a number of reasons (for the commuter rail),” Yunker said. “It provides a necessary alternative to the automobile. The freeway will be under construction for the next 15 to 20 years. It will create redevelopment and provide increased accessibility. Fifteen percent of households in the area do not have cars.”

The resulting economic growth is an obvious benefit. However, funding for the project seems to be an issue. Yunker said the operating cost for the rail is $14.7 million and fare would only cover $3.8 million.

There have been several ideas for where the funding would come from.

“We will try and identify federal and state funds that hopefully would fund 90 percent of the capital cost and 10 percent of operating cost,” Yunker said.

Another possibility is a discretionary grant program, which will cover half of the project’s cost. Required federal approval has not yet been given.

Either way, the project will ultimately be funded by federal or state tax dollars. Milwaukee resident Darrin McCambridge is opposed to the idea of a commuter rail for this very reason.

“I think it’s a waste, period. I wouldn’t want to spend any money on the rail system. Nobody rides them and those that do should pay for them,” McCambridge said.

This concern has been acknowledged and alternatives to the KRM commuter rail have been proposed. One possibility is a bus service.

According to a Power Point presentation available on their Web site, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority explains that new transit stations could be added to existing stations in Kenosha and Racine. These additions would be in Oak Creek and Cudahy-St. Francis.

The Regional Transit Authority also compared the bus alternative to the proposed commuter rail. Although it is not as costly, trip time would be almost doubled. For example, a trip from Milwaukee to Kenosha would take only 52 minutes by commuter rail, but could take almost two hours by bus, according to the Web site sewisrta.org.

Discussion of the bus alternative, along with presentations, exhibits and a comparison of costs and benefits of the proposed KRM commuter rail will be provided at the upcoming public information meeting. A location for the meetings has not yet been decided on.

The public will be able to express its support or opposition to the project by submitting written comments at the public information meetings. These comments will then be reviewed by the Interregional Transit Authority.

In either February or March, a public hearing will be held on the issue. There, the Regional Transit Authority and local governments should come to a final decision on whether or not to go ahead with the KRM commuter rail.

The public information meetings and public hearing are just initial steps.

“The KRM is years away from completion. If everything goes well the earliest it will be operating is 2011, 2012,” Yunker said.

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