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Milwaukee Biz Blog
Posted August 13, 2009
Milwaukeeans and the few million other residents of the region should let out a collective three cheers for Gov. Jim Doyle for his leadership and vision on high-speed rail in Wisconsin.
The governor deserves credit because decreasing travel times and increasing train frequencies on the current Chicago-Milwaukee Amtrak service and inaugurating 110 mph inter-city service between Milwaukee and Madison will have a dramatic, positive economic impact on Milwaukee and the region.
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July 24, 2009
Gov. Jim Doyle will join other Midwestern governors for a high-speed rail summit in Chicago on Monday, the governor’s office announced.
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Milwaukee Talkie
Television and newspaper coverage of the new Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has emphasized the $300 million annual cost of traffic congestion to Milwaukee area commuters while also acknowledging that Metro Milwaukee’s traffic conditions are tame when compared to other urban areas.
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Had talk radio and suburban opposition not sunk a 1997 plan, we’d be riding sleek transit by now
By JIM ROWEN
Originally Posted: Sept. 14, 2008
The Associated Press recently reported that spiking gas prices have brought double-digit ridership increases this year on light rail trains in Baltimore, Minneapolis, San Francisco and St. Louis.
Even small cities such as Norfolk, Va., are building light rail lines with their signature short, sleek electric trains, while other cities are showing solid ridership gains on longer-distance commuter rail lines using bigger trains.
Though a Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter line remains under study, Milwaukee is still among the few major American cities without light rail or commuter rail.
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PRNewswire
COLUMBUS, Ohio,
July 1, 2009
Private investors affiliated with Value Recovery Group, Inc. (VRG) of Columbus, OH, have acquired the Colorado Railcar DMU and will resume manufacturing this modern domestically produced passenger train in a new manufacturing facility to be established later this year pending state/local incentives and final round investments.
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Mayor Dave’s Blog
June 23, 2009
The legislature is in the final days (we all hope) of its budget deliberations, and it looks like they will authorize the creation of a Dane County Regional Transit Authority. Since Governor Jim Doyle included an RTA in his original budget, it seems likely that he will approve it once the budget hits his desk.
Continue reading RTA OK
by Tom Rave
May 28, 2009
Milwaukee Biz Blog
With three airlines announcing expanded flights to Milwaukee in just two days last week, it is clear that “outsiders” see major growth potential in our M7 and northern Chicago region. It’s a shame that many residents and lawmakers in our region do not share the same enthusiasm about growth in the future.
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by Jo Egelhoff,
FoxPolitics.net
May 1, 2009
“It will be a few hours before we learn the whys and wherefores of legislators’ objections to a Fox Cities RTA; it may be the structure is there for a future Fox Cities RTA, pending approval of the Winnebago, Outagamie and Calumet county boards. I hope so. ”
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Dan Cody – “Left on the Lake”
May 1, 2009
Details are still trickling in, but it turns out that the wait and last minute push by myself and countless others in Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin paid off.
Overnight, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted to create a commuter rail authority in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties funded through a rental car fee.
They also voted to allow Milwaukee County to impose a 1% sales tax that would allow the County to remove transit, parks, cultural programs and emergency medical services from the property tax levy.
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By Greg Bump
WisPolitics.com
April 30, 2009
Fox Cities RTA fails After approving two RTAs, the committee voted against approving an RTA for the Fox Cities region.
Five Dems voted with the four Republicans on the committee to defeat it: Sens. Miller, Hansen, Lehman, Lassa, and Taylor.
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James Rowen
May 1, 2009
New services regionally could be added and coordinated, bringing the region up competitively and better connecting it with Chicago………….
In response, conservative talk radio this morning sounded the Sky Is Falling alarm.
Since Bill Clinton’s election, and with the minute-by-minute on-air catastrophizing since the emergence of Barack Obama as a political force, today’s Sky Is Falling alerts put the number of alerts at 17,328.
Really.
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May 1, 2009
I’m a little bleary eyed this morning as I spent some quality time at the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee last night and early this morning (The Madison City Council’s got nothing on these guys). I was there with County Exec Kathleen Falk, County Board Chair Scott McDonnell and Dick Wagner, lobbying for the Dane County Regional Transit Authority. And I’m happy to say that after many tense hours, we came out on top. With some minor changes, the RTA was approved pretty much as the Governor proposed it in his budget. The vote was 12-4.
Continue reading Mayor Dave’s Blog – A Good Tired
by Greg Bump
WisPolitics.com
April 30, 2009
De Pere City Administrator Larry Delo sent an email to JFC members today urging them to support the creation of a regional transit authority for the region. The JFC is scheduled to vote today on regional transit authority proposals for the Fox Cities, which includes Outagamie, Winnebago and Calumet counties, Dane County and southeast Wisconsin (Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties).
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Dustin Block
Racine Post
April 29, 2009
Sen. John Lehman looks ready to play the KRM spoiler role this week by voting against Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposal to create a regional transit authority to pay for commuter rail and local bus systems. Here’s his quote in the JS:
“I’m not sure many people around the state realize the aversion to sales taxes there is in Racine County,” Lehman said, adding that people are still mad about “that little one-tenth of one percent of a sales tax for Miller Park.”
Here are 8 reasons why Lehman’s assessment is wrong:
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There was more good news last week on prospects for connecting Madison to Milwaukee, Chicago, the Twin Cites and other points in the Midwest with high speed rail. President Obama announced that in addition to the $8 billion for high speed rail projects in the stimulus bill, he planned to put another $1 billion a year in his budgets for high speed rail in each of the next five years. Continue reading Mayor Dave’s Blog – High Speed Progress
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Regional Transportation Authorities can create jobs and a stronger economy by empowering communities to operate cost-effective, balanced transportation systems.
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