County needs more transit options if economy to thrive, business leaders say
Wauwatosa groups host meeting on KRM, high-speed rail and more
Milwaukee County needs more mass transit options if it is to draw people and business opportunities, local business and planning leaders said at a recent meeting held in Wauwatosa to advocate for mass transit.
Stewart Wangard, president and CEO of Wauwatosa-based Wangard Partners, pointed out that today's 20- and 30-somethings have different desires than the preceding generation when it comes to where they want to live.
People ages 25 to 30 want to live in urban areas, he said, and transit choices will appeal to them as they buy homes and apply for jobs.
"This will create a spot where people want to be long term," he said of initiatives such as the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail, streetcars in the city of Milwaukee, a Milwaukee County rapid bus line and high-speed rail.
"No one likes additional taxes but if there are no transit choices Milwaukee will be held back," he said. "And a modern economy needs to move forward."
Wangard also is the transportation committee chairman for the Wisconsin Chapter of NAIOP, an international commercial real estate association.
He was one of several speakers at the meeting hosted by the Wauwatosa West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, Village Business Improvement District and TransitNOW.
Disconnect between jobs, workers
Ken Yunker, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, said the county's existing bus system has been effective in some ways, with a total operating cost per rider 31 percent below the average of 22 peer systems. For the last eight years, however, the system has suffered reductions in routes, service hours, frequency and express services.
This leaves 40,000 jobs that are now not accessible by transit in Milwaukee County, he said.
A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Institute for Survey and Policy Research study of the economic impact of the KRM showed that construction related to the rail line would generate 4,700 jobs and have a $560 million impact on the local economy. It would connect people to more than 1 million jobs within one mile of stations, according to TransitNOW officials.
Graef USA Regional Vice President John Kissinger, also chairman of the Milwaukee County Workforce Investment Board and the Greater Milwaukee Committee appointee to the Milwaukee County regional transit planning group, said Milwaukee County is full of people who want to work but do not have transportation that can get them to available jobs.
"This is an issue to employ people in the community," he said. "There are people that could add a lot to our community, but they don't have the resources to get there."
Opponents cite tax concerns
Realizing a new transit option can be an uphill battle, in large part because of fears about increased taxation or that roads will fall into disrepair if money is shifted to other transportation options, Yunker said.
Former state senator Barb Ulichny, now representing Robert Mariano, Roundy's Supermarkets, referred to such transit opponents as NOMS - None of My Money Spent. She said something must be done because the county bus system is on the brink of collapse.
"It would be a humiliation to have MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) go bankrupt, and that is a very real possibility," she said.
Despite the obstacles, business leaders expressed optimism that a new mass transit option may soon be realized. And they said that's essential if Milwaukee County is going to transition into a modern economy.
"We can't afford to be left behind, we must start thinking collectively and take responsibility for each other," Ulichny said.
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