by jboullion | Sep 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article on BizTimes Daily:
When the new high-speed rail network is established in the Midwest, it will create 13,000 new jobs in Wisconsin, eliminate 780,000 car trips every year and conserve 2.76 million gallons of gasoline annually, according to a new report released today by the WISPIRG Foundation.
The organization attributed the estimate of the jobs created to the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association.
Kyle Bailey, program associate with WISPIRG, said the 13,000 jobs include both private development in and around intermodal stations and rail lines, manufacturing jobs related to train and car construction, and the development, maintenance and operations of the trains and intermodal stations.
Bailey said he did not know how many of the 13,000 jobs would be with private companies or the state.
“High-speed rail is part of the solution – boosting our economy and creating jobs, modernizing our transportation system and helping to solve our nation’s oil dependency, worsening congestion and pollution,” Bailey said. “High-speed rail gets us moving in the right direction.”
Bailey noted the growing popularity of the Amtrak Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee, which saw a 63-percent increase in ridership from 2004 to 2008, when more than 766,000 passengers rode the line.
Wisconsin’s Midwest regional rail line upgrades will speed the Hiawatha service up to 110 mph, reducing trip time from Chicago to Milwaukee to about an hour, and extend it to Madison and eventually La Crosse or Eau Claire and the Twin Cities.
by jboullion | Sep 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by in The Business Journal:
The city of La Crosse this week dedicated its new Grand River Station, a seven-story facility in the downtown district designed as a “one-stop transportation hub.”
The new transit center can hold six buses and includes 12,000 square feet of retail space and 92 apartments. The center is said to be the only type of its kind in Wisconsin that combines housing, retail and transit developments under one roof, officials said.
“It’s a terrific example of what community transit leadership can accomplish by involving local, state, federal agencies and private developers,” said Gary Goyke, legislative representative for the Wisconsin Urban and Rural Transit Association.
by jboullion | Sep 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Adam Tobias in the Watertown Daily Times:
Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger didn’t get to weigh in on the federal government’s plan to bolster high-speed passenger rail service throughout the county, nor was he asked to give any input on the state’s decision to accept the $810 million in stimulus funds for the project. But since the project is moving full speed ahead, Krueger says it’s vital for Watertown to have the train stop in the city.
“The common council and myself are not going to get into the debate about whether the federal government should be spending $8 billion on developing and starting a better passenger rail program and we are also not going to get into a debate about whether the state of Wisconsin should accept the money or not,” Krueger said during a recent interview in his office. “But – and I know the majority of the common council feels as I do – if the trains are going to run between Milwaukee and Madison, and eventually Chicago and the Twin Cities, we want them to stop in Watertown because if we don’t jump on this the first time around and it gets going, it will be years and years and years before we get another opportunity.”
by jboullion | Aug 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article on BizTimes.com:
The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is hoping that opponents of high-speed rail in the state will reconsider their position after its analysis of their arguments show them to be based upon incorrect data and misplaced assumptions.
“It’s time for everyone to hit the ‘reset’ button, look at the facts, and resume the historic bi-partisan support of passenger rail development in Wisconsin,” said Scott Rogers, an Eau Claire businessman who co-chairs the coalition along with long-time transportation professional Owen Ayres.
The group, which advocates a Chicago-Twin Cities route via Eau Claire and Hudson, also recently issued a joint statement with the La Crosse-based Empire Builder Coalition urging continuation of the state’s development of high-speed rail, which was begun under the administration of former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. The two groups jointly sent letters to public officials and candidates for state and federal office with the same message.
“If everything the opponents were saying about high-speed rail were true, even we would have a hard time supporting it,” Rogers said. “But the reality is, this is a good deal for the state of Wisconsin and a project important to our future economy.”
The group is urging officials and political candidates who have opposed rail to “look fully and fairly at the costs, value, return on investment and priority of building a high-speed rail system for Wisconsin.”
The coalition has posted a blog that rebukes Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker’s points of opposition against high-speed rail.
by jboullion | Aug 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Sandler in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Congresswoman tried but failed to block funds until transit system was secure
A proposed Milwaukee-to-Kenosha commuter train line has a new nemesis: U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore.
Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, recently unsuccessfully sought to freeze federal action on the KRM Commuter Link, a $283.5 million rail line that would connect downtown Milwaukee to Kenosha, Racine and the southern suburbs with 15 round trips daily.
Like Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, Moore says she’s not opposed to commuter rail but believes funding for Milwaukee County’s embattled bus system must come first.
“A new commuter line between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee will undoubtedly offer new benefits to our communities,” Moore said in a written statement. “But I think it’s important for (the Milwaukee County Transit System) to have a dedicated source of a funding because any new expenditures could come at the cost of current bus service. That’s unacceptable.”
Moore’s action adds yet another layer of political complications for the KRM. The rail plan has drawn broad support from business, labor and community groups, but it has split transit advocates and is opposed by fiscal conservatives who don’t want any new taxes. KRM foes have pushed anti-tax referendums onto the Nov. 2 ballot in Racine County and several Kenosha County communities.
Beset by rising costs, falling ridership and state and federal aid cuts, the Milwaukee County Transit System is facing a $10 million shortfall next year. County Executive Scott Walker has said he won’t eliminate any bus routes, but he has not said whether he would seek fare increases or service cuts. Supervisors want a local sales tax to replace property tax support for the bus system, an idea that voters backed in a 2008 advisory referendum but that Walker opposes.
Transit supporters had hoped for a package deal that would have empowered a regional transit authority to fund both the KRM and the bus systems in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties. But when the Legislature voted instead for a compromise that would have set up a separate Milwaukee County transit authority with sales tax power, Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed it, leaving the new Southeastern Regional Transit Authority in control of only the KRM.
Federal Transit Administration officials have indicated they could approve preliminary engineering for the rail line but would not authorize funding for construction until the bus system is stabilized financially. Planners are counting on federal money to cover two-thirds of KRM construction costs, with one-sixth from the state and the rest from an $18-a-car rental car tax.
