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Mayor proposed express transit and streetcars for Milwaukee
Committee voted to move along on analysis
By Brian McComb
We are standing out by our refusal to do anything.
An express bus route linking the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to downtown, Amtrak, Marquette University and Miller Park might be in Milwaukees not-so-distant future, according to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barretts new transportation proposal.
On Wednesday, a study committee voted 3-1 to further analyze Barretts plan, according to WTMJ-4.
Barretts proposal to improve the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is the latest in a line of proposals presented to determine the best way to invest $91.5 million in federal transit funds that have been unused for the last 16 years.
We are standing out by our refusal to do anything, Barrett said.
However, Barrett said he knows nothing can happen without support from the community.
In this latest proposal, Barrett suggests using the $91.5 million plus a federally required $16.15 million local match, totaling $107.65 million on several forms of public transit.
According to this new proposal, available on Barretts website, part of the money would go toward building two Bus Rapid Transit lines that would connect Milwaukees downtown with General Mitchell Airport, Miller Park, UWM, Marquette, Columbia-St. Mary Hospital and many others.
In these new express routes, called County of Milwaukee Express Transit (COMET), busses would save travel time by running in new priority lanes and limiting stops.
These priority lanes would be run as another traffic lane, but with expected stops at COMET stations.
Instead of the bus pulling to the side of the road to make its stops, the side of the road at bus stops would be built curved out to meet with the priority lane.
Priority bus lanes would allow cars to also drive in them, said City Engineer Jeff Polenske, but cars driving in those lanes would expect to stop behind the busses.
According to Polenske, the priority lanes would not interfere much with the limited parking on campus either.
Parking is an issue around the UWM campus and around the city, said Polenske. Instead of the bus leaving the lane to make stops, the stops would be built out to the lane.
An additional time-saving COMET feature would be the introduction of ticket kiosks at stops. Instead of paying a fare after boarding the bus, passengers would purchase tickets from an electronic ticket machine, similar to an ATM, before the bus arrives.
The initial phase of COMET would use $46.8 million in available federal funds and $8.26 million in local match, costing a total $55.06 million.
Another part of Barretts plan involves the construction of a three-mile electric streetcar loop called the Downtown Circulator. This rail-based loop would make downtown streets less congested by providing quick transit between locations like Cathedral Square, the Maier Festival Grounds and the Bradley Center.
These new means of public transportation, along with the existing system, would all be connected to a central station located at the Amtrak station on 433 West St. Paul Ave., which is currently undergoing a $10 million renovation.
The Downtown Circulator would use the remaining $44.7 million in federal funds and $7.89 million in local match, costing a total $52.59 million.
After these proposals are submitted, the project moves into an 8-to-11 month long analysis phase, then into the engineering phase lasting 18-to-24 months, and finally into the 12-to-18 month long construction phase, an initial report indicated.
But if all goes smoothly Milwaukee could potentially have a greatly renovated MCTS by fall of 2010.
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