Proposal requires more money, more trains and Kenosha terminus
By LARRY SANDLER
lsandler@journalsentinel.comPosted: Nov. 24, 2006
As soon as next month, regional leaders could start discussing whether to get aboard a $237 million plan to link Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and the southern suburbs with commuter trains.
Rail backers are touting the plan's expected economic benefits, while the new Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority is wrestling with how to pay for the service.
If the effort succeeds, it would bring back a mode of transportation that disappeared from Milwaukee about 40 years ago. Commuter rail lines run on existing freight tracks, connecting a major city and its suburbs. They're designed for local trips, unlike intercity Amtrak trains such as the Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line.
In its latest form, the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, or KRM Commuter Link, would offer more frequent service and more stops - but at a higher cost - than the version that emerged from a previous study in 2003. Passengers would have to change trains to continue into Illinois.
The project's steering committee is recommending KRM trains run 14 round trips each weekday, and seven on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. With the aid of connecting buses and shuttles, workers could ride trains to and from their jobs, while others could use trains to reach colleges, shops, entertainment and festivals.
Trains would stop at downtown Milwaukee's Amtrak station; new stations on the south side (probably Bay View), Cudahy, South Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia and the Town of Somers; Racine's renovated train station; and Kenosha's Metra commuter train station. Some trains could continue to Waukegan, Ill.
Shuttle buses would run from the downtown Milwaukee station to other downtown destinations; from the Cudahy station to Mitchell International Airport; and from the Somers station to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Fares would be similar to Chicago's Metra trains, at less than $10 one-way between Milwaukee and Kenosha.
Separate from Metra
For years, the proposed rail line has been described as a Metra extension. But the new version would be a separate system connecting with Metra at Kenosha or Waukegan.
Metra, an Illinois governmental agency, has said it could not provide service to another state. The Union Pacific railroad pays for service between the state line and Kenosha because that is less expensive than building a new facility for trains to turn around at the border. And the South Shore line, from Chicago to South Bend, Ind., is largely funded by Indiana taxpayers and run as a separate system, in coordination with Metra.
Wisconsin planners also found the KRM line would have more flexibility if it wasn't directly tied to Metra, said Fred Patrie, chairman of the KRM steering committee.
The 2003 study called for a $152 million line with seven round trips on weekdays and three on weekends and holidays. Patrie said closer study found a 14-train schedule would be more cost-effective, drawing 1.43 million rides a year. The price tag rose because of the increased service, inflation and the need to build a rail yard and shops instead of using Metra facilities, said Ken Yunker, deputy director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
Also, the 2003 study didn't include the Bay View stop, which was pushed by Milwaukee city officials and neighbors.
If authorities move quickly enough, service could start by 2010, providing an alternative to driving on I-94 when freeway reconstruction moves into high gear between Milwaukee and the state line, Patrie said.
Consultants also found that the rail line would spur development near stations; provide better access to jobs, colleges, cultural events and Mitchell International Airport; and help reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and urban sprawl, Yunker said.
But officials still don't know how they'd pay for the service. At a regional transit authority meeting Monday, Yunker suggested the federal government could pick up as much as 90% of the capital cost. Kenosha Transit chief Len Brandrup, an authority member, called that estimate unrealistic. Congress has authorized $80 million for the line to date.
Operating costs would run $14.7 million a year, with fares covering $3.8 million. The Virchow Krause & Co. consulting firm is studying nearly 20 options to pick up the remaining $10.9 million, ranging from sales, gas and property taxes to tax-incremental financing districts that would use tax growth from rising property values near stations.
Brandrup said new property taxes would be "dead on arrival." Milwaukee County public works chief George Torres, another authority member, and state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) said they were intrigued by the tax-district idea. Brandrup said it would take years for property values to grow enough to produce a revenue stream.
It will be up to the regional transit authority to push the process forward for federal approval and to recommend how to finance it. New or increased taxes would need the approval of the state Legislature or local governments. Public hearings are expected in late December or early January.
Before that happens, the idea will be discussed by the Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha mayors and county executives. Leaders of the Milwaukee 7 regional development group will discuss it Wednesday.
From the Nov. 25, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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