A new transit plan for Milwaukee
Last week, Mayor Tom Barrett outlined a strategic, comprehensive transit plan for Milwaukee. In it, he proposed the following:
- A central hub, at the current Amtrak station, to transfer between city bus, circulator, commuter rail and Amtrak systems.
- COMET, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system with two lines serving places such as the Milwaukee Research Park, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bayview, and Mitchell Airport. (See Kansas City MAX for an example of this type of system. It wasn’t bad when we used it to get around in 2005.)
- Light rail in the downtown CBD, on a circulator system connecting the Summerfest grounds, Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee Public Market and Third Ward, the Bradley Center and the lakefront.
The intermodal hub at the Amtrak station will also connect to KRM commuter rail to Kenosha and Racine, as well as Amtrak’s popular Hiawatha Line with frequent service to Chicago and also their Empire Builder with daily service between Chicago and Seattle.
Definitely Mayor Barrett’s proposal is new for Milwaukee, but many years overdue. The burdened Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is abysmal at best, making it difficult to attract and retain people in the inner-city area. In addition, more than 20% of Milwaukeeans do not own vehicles, and the current system is dependent upon park-n-ride lots and, according to an agent I called for assistance once, assumes riders have access to “other” transportation.
I am excited about this new transit initiative for the city; it will finish the development of a truly intermodal system (with the completion of the Marquette Interchange forthcoming) and spur more development and industry in the city.