From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, By Michael J. Cudahy, October 14, 2007

IA solution for city's public transit

Milwaukee needs to pull out of its funk in public transportation. As a former businessman, I have been working hard on trying to get new industry into southeastern Wisconsin, and it's not easy when we have to explain that all we have are buses and the system is going broke. That's not so nice for workers, either, who have to get to work and can't afford a car.

To live with this problem, Milwaukee County has been cutting bus routes and raising fares. If this were a manufacturing business, the last thing you would do is cut losing product lines. It would surely dry up your company like a prune!

The answer is to fix our problems of public transportation with some bold and courageous moves. A new approach would be good for everyone - getting workers to their jobs, developing depressed areas, connecting universities, bolstering business development and even improving tourist trade.

We have a wonderful starter to do this: $91.5 million of federal funding just waiting for something to happen. And we had better do something or the money will surely disappear. Someone in Washington will find some other use for it, and we'll be out of luck.

What I propose is a solid master plan that can grow over the years and that we can afford: a modern streetcar system, developed in phases, with the first phase having great benefits for all.

Why a streetcar? Why not light rail?

First, light rail is nothing but a very heavy streetcar so the tracks must have a very deep foundation. Installation would cause big disruptions in Milwaukee and would cost way too much. Most cities that implement light rail are ones that already have some heavy track in place.

Then what's wrong with buses?

Not easy to explain. Some people just don't get it. It's subtle at first but quite obvious when you see examples of "rail-guided transportation" in action, as in Denver and Portland, Ore.

You see, to have a bus service from Point A to Point B, you only need to get a bus and hire a driver. To change the route is just as easy, so people like builders, real estate planners, developers, etc., just don't take bus routes very seriously.

But install any kind of rail system, and they conclude, rightly, that those tracks are going to be around for a long time - so serious investments can be made along the route. In other words, rail builds the community along its route.

True, streetcar tracks cost more to build than just having a bus route. But federal aid helps by paying half.

In Milwaukee's case, we already have this $91.5 million in hand from the past to build with. And a modern streetcar system will create ridership. No pollution, no noise. Slick, new vehicles with low floors so the disabled can board with a wheelchair.

I have been working with HNTB Corp., local transportation consultants. I've also been talking with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Common Council and have taken the mayor, the county executive and several experts to Portland and Denver to see firsthand what these cities have done to develop public transportation.

With this background, here is the Cudahy Plan.

Phase I: A new streetcar system that goes from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to downtown at the end of Prospect Ave., intersecting with Wisconsin Ave. There, it heads west on Wisconsin to 27th St., with a spur south on 4th St. to the new Amtrak station. It also heads north on 4th across Wisconsin past the Bradley Center and Milwaukee Area Technical College. From there, it turns west on Juneau Ave. past the development at the former Pabst Brewery and angles northwest on Winnebago, across the new bridge over the freeway to Vliet St. From there, it heads west to 12th St. until it intersects with Fond du Lac Ave. and then heads on Fond du Lac to North Ave.

Trust me, this will revolutionize the northwest side.

This route intersects or comes very close to the following:

The UWM campus
Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital
Brady St.
The lakefront - Summerfest, Discovery World, Milwaukee Art Museum
The new Amtrak train station, the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee rail link
Major hotels
The Bradley Center
The new Pabst development
The near northwest side
Marquette University

Many other locations are covered by this route, leading to economic development and, in turn, presenting countless job opportunities.

Phase II: Some years after Phase I has proved itself, Phase II could be implemented as a natural extension in two directions, as follows:

Extending the Fond du Lac arm to Center St. and beyond to further improve and develop the entire northwest side.

Extending the Wisconsin Ave. arm past Miller Park to the Milwaukee County Zoo, the Medical College of Wisconsin and associated hospitals. A likely addition might be the new UWM Engineering School across from the Medical College.

I have personally examined the routes of the first phase and found very adequate street widths for the streetcar plan with the exception of north-south Farwell and Prospect avenues. Here, one track on Prospect for northbound and one on Farwell for southbound would work.

The first phase is in the neighborhood of 7 linear miles. At $23 million per mile, we'll have a total cost of $161 million. Portland's cost was about $25 million per mile over much more difficult terrain. Thus, I believe $23 million per mile is a fair estimate. This includes equipment and terminals.

With the $91.5 million in hand, we then have a net of $69.5 million for Phase I, half of which will be paid by the federal government, leaving a shortfall of $34.75 million, which I believe can be raised from businesses, universities and the private sector.

Come on, Milwaukee. Let's get this thing done before I croak. After all, I'm 83 years old!

Michael J. Cudahy is a local philanthropist and former businessman.

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