MILWAUKEE | Transit Developments
For the past couple of years, Milwaukee has been working on a modern streetcar proposal that would link Downtown to nearby neighborhoods (Historic Third Ward to the south, Lower East Side to the northeast). Today the Common Council voted in favor of advancing the proposal to the final engineering stage.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8...etcarroute.jpg This map showing the proposed route and how it relates to adjacent activity generators was cropped from the Public Meeting Displays (PDF link) that were shown at a recent public information open house. Initial Route (Phase 1) Length: 2.1 miles, running from Milwaukee Intermodal Station (Amtrak, Greyhound, and other regional and intercity bus services), through the Historic Third Ward, up through the central business district, to the dense residential areas in the northeastern section of Downtown. Estimated Construction cost: $64.6 million, including vehicle acquisition, maintenance facility, trackwork, etc. Does not include utility relocation costs, which are still being worked out. Proposed Funding: $54.9 million from Federal transit money already granted to Milwaukee, plus $9.7 million from local tax-increment financing. Estimated Operating Cost: $2.65 million/year, proposed to be covered by fares (single rides, daily/weekly/monthly/yearly passes), parking fees, and advertising/sponsorship revenue. Route Extensions (Phase 2) Two extensions are also proposed, and could be built in conjunction with the Initial Route if more Federal funding is secured in the near future (two previous attempts in the past couple of years were unsuccessful). One extension would run to the Pabst brewery (redevelopment already in progress) via 4th Street and Juneau Avenue, passing major activity centers like the downtown shopping mall, convention center, sports arena, and Park East Freeway redevelopment site (awaiting development proposals). A second extension would run up through the high-density residential neighborhoods on the Lower East Side. The combined estimated construction cost for these extensions is $40.2 million, and an additional $2.24 million for operating costs. The final engineering stage is expected to be completed by Fall 2012, and construction could begin soon after. Streetcar operations are anticipated to start in Fall 2014. Here are some links: Milwaukee Streetcar Project Website - More information about design, costs, economic development potential. Part 1 - Milwaukee Streetcar DRAFT Environmental Assessment (link to PDF) Part 2- Milwaukee Streetcar DRAFT Environmental Assessment (link to PDF) Milwaukee streetcar plan on track for passage (Journal Sentinel article from July 14, 2011) Milwaukee aldermen approve downtown streetcar line (JS article from July 26, 2011) Milwaukee streetcar approval comes with spending safeguards (Business Journal article from July 26, 2011) |
Cool city and plan!
It's impossible to see the keypoints of the city but from this visitor I would say musts should include access close to these tourist points:
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I hate these stupid tourist-oriented proposals. The second phase should extend north to UWM and west to Marquette to give the streetcar a year-round ridership.
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Ideally, the first complete streetcar "spoke" ought to be a continuation of the line up through the East Side to hit UW-Milwaukee. That part of town already has some of the highest bus ridership and highest densities in the city...it's a natural candidate for a complete upgrade/replacement to streetcar, and would certainly be successful. Places like the Harley Davidson Museum, the Aloft hotel, or the art museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering are all within a few blocks of the proposed routes, easy walking distance in each case. As proposed, with the Initial Route and two Route Extensions : 100% of Downtown hotel rooms 91% of Downtown occupied first-floor retail and commercial spaces 90% of occupied office space 77% of Downtown housing units 70% of Downtown public parking facilities would be within a one-quarter mile walk of the streetcar line. |
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Previous proposals called for a Menomonee Valley streetcar line, linking the baseball stadium and the lakefront festival grounds, passing the casino in the middle. That one didn't even go to Downtown or any residential neighborhoods. Another proposal called for just a loop through Downtown, just a few blocks' diameter. Didn't hit any residential areas at all. This proposal does a pretty good job of balancing a route though high density residential areas, high density employment areas, and high redevelopment potential areas. One of the more common criticisms vocalized for this proposal is that it doesn't serve tourist destinations (lakefront museums and festival grounds, baseball stadium, theater district, etc.). |
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Nice plan good luck dealing with the anti's
i think that Cincinnati's has more potential thou...... are the Bucks getting a new arena?? |
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The site will be chosen/announced by the end of the month or so and once that's done they will be drawing up the design, which I'm sure is already started. A solid cost figure sometime after will let all the pieces come together. I fully expect demolition/construction to be well underway a year from now. |
I'm a big time Milwaukee booster, but can someone please explain to me how a Streetcar is even remotely better than a bus?
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^ Has a much smoother, quieter, nicer ride causing people to like them better and attracts riders, more energy efficient, can be made longer enabling it to carry more people, and if you want a dedicated transit lane, it takes less road space with a streetcar since the lane can be narrow due to the rails keeping it in place. Also streetcars last longer.
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The permanence of the route is a selling point for real estate development. Knowing that there will always be a streetcar stop out in front of a building that will take you right to someplace to shop or work or the lakefront, Summerfest, the arena etc. will be an amenity.
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Streetcars are slow-ish and have many stops. It might take 40 minutes to go from downtown to Miller Park or UWM. Too long to be useful. You need a heavier system for that. |
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That would be expensive for such a limited value though and they already run game day shuttle buses. Maybe Potawatomi and the Brewers could pitch in some money. |
well, after a long and contentious political battle, the milwaukee streetcar downtown starter line has FINALLY been passed by the milwaukee city council, paving the way for the long planned line to finally move forward.
ground breaking on the line is now expected to start by the end of this year with service on the new line beginning in 2018. it's a brand new day for rail transit in milwaukee! Quote:
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^ Awesome! Chicago's little brother gets non-bus transit!
Let urbanism in the Great Lakes region continue to spread.... |
Great news!!!
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Finally!!! Long overdue!!!
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