Common council approves Connector
The Milwaukee Common Council voted 9-6 to approve a network of guided electric buses in the city today.
The Milwaukee Connector project has been under study for years now. The panel has ruled out light rail, and endorsed guided electric buses as the preferred alternative.
I'm in favor of rail transit in Milwaukee, if it's done right. Rail has all kinds of benefits that buses don't. Rail has its own right of way whereas buses get caught in the same traffic jams as cars. Like freeway exits, rail stops are better for business investment since they have dedicated stops. Buses aren't static, and routes change all the time.
Ald. Robert Bauman has raised legitimate concerns about the lack of vision in the current plan. Also, I need some convincing as to why we are going with a technology that is provided by a single company and is only used in two other cities.
posted by Scott @ 1:40 PM
5 Comments:
Aren't these train/bus things just going to drive on the regular city streets with an overhead electic line? I thought that is what the Journal article said when I skimmed through. This makes no sense. Why not just keep the bus system as is? It's basically the same thing. The Simpsons Monorail Episode. That's what this is.
-Ed Fest
I believe it would occupy a lane of traffic, but would have its own right of way so it wouldn't have the same kind of inconsistent timing that buses have when getting stuck in traffic.
It's not worth considering mass transit unless you're going to correct past mistakes and knock down some houses.
$300 million gets us a bus from downtown to Miller park, 35th and center, and UWM? It's not even worth the investment.
The current plan has its problems, and I think Ald. Bauman was right to oppose it today. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let him change his vote to yes so that he could delay it from going forward.
This plan is so typical of the way we do things in this area. We do these projects half ass, because we try to suck up to everyone and end up alienating the community in the process.
It would take leadership to get a more ambitious and visionary transit plan passed, and with the exception of Bauman, there's a lot of timidity on this issue.
That deep tunnel sewer thing doesn't seem to work. They could turn that into the Milwaukee Subway. Ha ha.
Turnbow Bobblehead Night RULES!
-Andrew
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