Transit politics in overdrive in Milwaukee - Pt 2

Milwaukee WI - The Milwaukee Small Business Times gives us the second round in the fighting over the proposed streetcar line for the city. This time, it is Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman (D) who responded to criticism of the streetcar proposal by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (R).

What Alderman Bauman fails to understand, while he kneels facing west and prays to the Holy See of Light Rail in Portland Oregon, is that Milwaukee can barely afford to run what it has now. He is so obsessed with getting an expensive toy for his city that he looks through a pair of rose colored glasses and sees nothing but positives.

Milwaukee's transit system is literally falling apart. The last thing the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) needs is an expensive streetcar that they have to pay to operate when they are already having major problems. Bauman can't see that simple fact in his rush to jump on the rail bandwagon.

While I don't agree with Walker's statement that fewer people will need public transit if the economy is better, he is right in one repect on this. That is the fact that you need a better economy. Streetcars won't bring you that better economy.

Bauman can't seem to understand that simple point. He is determined to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a rail line when he can't even cough up the money needed to run the transit services they already have in place.

Bauman sees the streetcar as the "saviour of the city" and refuses to even acknowledge that there will be many problems and it won't do as advertised. It won't clear the air, it won't reduce traffic congestion, it won't spur massive development and most importantly, it won't solve the transportation problems that the transit system is currently having.

On the contrary, it will have a negligible effect on air quality, traffic congestion will increase, development will only occur after the city makes costly sweetheart deals with developers that will cost the city billions of dollars and it will further overburden the existing transit system financially.

Bauman is your typical Democrat. He's chomping at the bit to spend millions of tax dollars on a transit project that will do nothing but cost the residents of Milwaukee millions of dollars more each year to operate. He can't see that you need to fix what you have already because that's too simple and won't cost as much.

Slapping a rail line down won't save the MCTS. It won't save the city. All it will do is break the back of the faltering MCTS and cost the city millions to keep the operation afloat. Most politicians don't seem to understand that expensive transit projects are a nails in the coffin for the existing transit system, especially when that transit system can't afford to operate what it already has.

This rail fight in Milwaukee is only going to become uglier as time goes on.