|
|||||
|
By Robert Taylor The Dane County Board voted 20 to 16 to establish a regional transit authority Thursday that would oversee mass transportation planning within the county. The vote falls in line with the 22-13 vote the board sent as a signal of support to the state government for the creation of an RTA in 2007. by Matthew DeFour Metropolitan Madison residents, welcome to the Dane County Regional Transit Authority. The Dane County Board voted 20-16 with one absence early Friday morning to create a new governmental body with the power to raise a sales tax to fund bus and rail transportation options. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said she plans to sign the resolution, which will make the new body official. WE NEED YOUR HELP to make it happen! Friends, We are building strong momentum for regional transit and the formation of a Regional Transit Authority in Dane County, but Thursday evening (Nov 5) will be a critical step to moving forward – the full county board will vote on the formation of the RTA (Resolution 152) at 7pm. The creation of an RTA is the first critical step to developing a seamless, region-wide transit system in Dane County that grows our region and local economy, meets our needs, and reduces our dependence on oil. Continue reading Critical Dane County RTA Vote on Thursday, Nov. 5th! By NICK HEYNEN A proposed Dane County Regional Transit Authority received recommendations from two Dane County Board committees at a joint meeting Monday evening, bringing the long-sought planning body one step closer to reality. RACINE – Bernie Hoff, 59, of Racine, said she and her family enjoyed the comforts of commuter rail when they were living in a Chicago suburb 24 years ago before they moved to Racine. “We saw commuter rail is such an asset to the area,” said Hoff, who was at a transit forum Wednesday night. “We can’t understand why they don’t have it here.” More than 130 people attended the community forum “Tapping into Transit as a Game-Changer” Wednesday night at the DeKoven Center, 600 21st St. The forum, hosted by Racine Transit Task Force and Transit NOW, highlighted the benefits of public transit and specifics of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project. The Task Force is a group working to improve transit for Racine. Gov. Jim Doyle’s announcement Tuesday of a revised framework for establishing and funding Framework likely requires Kenosha, Racine voter OKs
BY JOE POTENTE MILWAUKEE — Gov. Jim Doyle wants to give Kenosha and Racine counties time to merge into an umbrella regional transit authority that would fund and oversee bus and rail transit across a three-county region. The Business Journal of MilwaukeeWisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday announced a framework of a proposal crafted with legislators from southeastern Wisconsin on a plan to improve bus and rail service in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine through a Regional Transit Authority. The proposal would give Milwaukee County the authority to raise local sales taxes by 0.5 percent to fund local transit and a commuter rail line. By Larry Sandler of the Journal Sentinel Even without an engineer in the cab, the train is still moving forward. Regional planners are holding public hearings next week on plans for a commuter rail line connecting Milwaukee to Racine, Kenosha and the southern suburbs. But at the moment, they have no one to whom they can report the results of those hearings. Gov. Jim Doyle says that he is willing to support “real regional transit” funded by a 0.5 percent sales tax. Fair enough. But what’s real? Doyle vetoed a budget compromise that would have set up a Milwaukee County regional transit authority with the power to levy a 0.5 percent sales tax for county transit — essentially the bus system — and a 0.15 percent sales tax for municipal public safety. Had talk radio and suburban opposition not sunk a 1997 plan, we’d be riding sleek transit by now
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. By Patrick Marley and Larry Sandler Gov. Jim Doyle will offer a plan to fund buses in Milwaukee County and elsewhere in a couple of weeks, according to legislators who have met with his staff. Legislative Democrats said Doyle aides told them he would unveil a plan to address regional transit soon – but Doyle’s team didn’t provide any details. The meetings occurred Thursday. The talks follow the collapse of efforts to forge a deal in the 2009-’11 budget. by Kristin Czubkowski Transport 2020 project manager David Trowbridge needs the fingers on both hands to count all of the mass transit and rail studies completed in Dane County in the past 30 years. Like clockwork, a study seemed to crop up every few years, with paperwork accelerating in the late 1990s as Trowbridge’s work on the Transport 2020 project began. 6/30/2009 WISPIRG Applauds State Action on RTAs [Madison, WI] — Governor Doyle yesterday signed a budget bill, which includes provisions enabling the creation of Regional Transit Authorities ( RTAs ) to help streamline transportation decision-making in four regions of Wisconsin, including Dane County, southeastern Wisconsin, the Chippewa Valley/Eau Claire area, and the Bayfield-Ashland region. “The Governor and state legislature are putting Wisconsin on the right track,” said Bruce Speight of WISPIRG. By Steve Wideman APPLETON — State government’s refusal to authorize formation of a Fox Cities regional bus transit system only cements local resolve to create the system, Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna said. Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday signed into law a two-year, $62 billion state budget more notable for its exclusions than accomplishments in the eyes of local transit system managers. The budget, which levies a new 75-cent tax on cigarettes and a 75-cent monthly fee on all phone users, does not include necessary state authorization for Fox Cities communities to form a regional bus transportation system and levy a local sales tax to replace the anticipated loss of millions of dollars in federal aid. |
|||||
|
Copyright © 2010 Wisconsin Regional Transportation Authorities - All Rights Reserved |
|||||