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Originally Posted by BelmontGrad99
I read an article (sorry can't remember where...), that said Scott Walker, the guy who mainly opposes light rail, and the Mayor have called a truce with their differences on light rail for Milwaukee. What that means is, according to the article, a committee will consider both plans (Walker/Mayor) when discussing light rail for the city. Great news for Milwaukee! Should a feasible rail plan be implemented soon, every resident in the metro area will be able to enjoy downtown Milwaukee! "build it and they will come"
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I'm afraid that is not quite true anymore. Back in September, Walker and Barret did have a so-called "truce" on their competing transit proposals (County Executive Walker's cross-county bus rapid transit-only proposal, and Mayor Barrett's combination of a downtown streetcar loop and cross-county bus rapid transit proposal), and asked suburban politicians in joining them to discuss a more regional strategy for transit issues. That effort, however, lasted only a few weeks, literally, and nothing was really solved, no decisions were made, so the politicians disbanded. In other words, the truce was canceled.
The "committee" you're talking about is something completely different. It is the Milwaukee Connector Study Committee, whose job it is to evaluate various transit proposal options (originally for the Downtown area only, then it was expanded to encompass other parts of the the city) and make a recommendation to the Federal Transit Administration so the money that has already been earmarked for transit projects in Milwaukee can be "unlocked" and used to build whatever's being recommended. That is a local-based effort only, not regional in scope at all. So the committee is basically only advisory, it has not "teeth" to it at all, and cannot make any final decisions on what to do because the City, County, and State politicians all have to agree on what to use the money for.
So the Milwaukee Connector Study Committee has the job of analyzing Walker's BRT-only proposal Barrett's streetcar and BRT proposal, and also philanthropist Michael Cudahy's streetcar-only proposal. The committee will make a recommendation, but the actual local area decision-makers must come to an agreement before the Feds will consider anything.
More or less, the situation is a transit stalemate right now, as it has been for the past several years.
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Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280
I hope that light rail wins over those stupid Guided Buses!!!
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The electric guided buses (such as the Bombardier "guided light tram" and the Lohr Industries "Translohr") that were being recommended by the Milwaukee Connector Study Committee did not win the necessary votes from the City or County...so that option was eliminated well over a year ago.