Is Tosa really in the running for a rail station?
City doesn't even want it, mayor says
Wauwatosa has become the latest battleground for the high-speed rail debate as politicians, policy-makers and pundits have started considering the merits of the city being home to a station along the proposed train route.
The furor comes after a state Department of Transportation official said last week that Wauwatosa is one of our four communities interested in replacing Oconomowoc as one of the stops between Milwaukee and Madison. The DOT had proposed stations in Brookfield, Oconomowoc and Watertown, but dropped plans for a stop in Oconomowoc.
It's not real clear how the DOT got the idea that city officials want a station here. And in a statement released Tuesday, Mayor Jill Didier made it clear that she opposes the idea.
"While there are different opinions on high-speed rail in the Wauwatosa community, Mayor (Jill) Didier maintains her long-held stance in opposition to high-speed rail in Wisconsin and construction of a high-speed rail station in Wauwatosa," the statement said.
Neither the mayor nor City Administrator James Archambo returned a reporter's phone call seeking comment on the issue.
Plenty of unknowns
Alderman Bobby Pantuso is among those who is not sure how the city's name suddenly became linked with a possible rail station.
"It's not something that we are discussing, and I am not sure who threw the ball in our court," he said Monday. "Wauwatosa is a logical place, but we don't have a seat at the table right now, and I don't know if we are going to be invited."
Part of the $810 million in federal stimulus funds allocated for the high-speed rail project will help pay for stations regardless of where they are along the line. And it's the DOT that ultimately will decide where those sstops will be.
Pantuso is taking a cautious approach on the issue until he knows whether Wauwatosa will even be considered by the DOT as a possible location for a station.
Alderman backs concept
Unlike Didier, however, Pantuso supports the concept of commuter rail in the region.
"If you get in your car and drive an hour or an hour-and-a-half to Madison, that's an hour or an hour-and-a-half of productivity," he said. "As an employer … if I am sending an employee to Madison … that's three hours that I am not getting any productivity out of them if they are in a car. On a train, they have their cell phone, laptop and Wi-Fi, and they can get three hours of work done."
Business leaders uncertain
Meg McKenna, executive director of the Wauwatosa Chamber of Commerce, and Paulette Enders, the city's economic development director, both said it is premature to have an opinion about whether Wauwatosa would benefit from a train station without knowing the details of the plan.
"At this point, the chamber does not have a formal position on the train station, but we are listening," said McKenna, who added that the chamber will probably hold listening sessions for business owners to discuss the topic.
Bill Berdan, a leader with the Wauwatosa chapter of the Milwaukee County Republican Party, voiced his concern about the plan to spend millions of dollars on high-speed rail without knowing whether people in the city would actually use the system.
"Now is the worst time that they can possibly spend tax money on something like that because there are so many other things that are so vital to the community that (are) needed right now - and people are struggling," he said. "Even if we could afford it, someone would have to show me that people would use it."
County clerk backs idea
But Joe Czarnezki, Milwaukee County Clerk, couldn't disagree more.
He said a train station in Wauwatosa would fill a need for those commuters who live west of 76th Street and in the western suburbs. Those riders, he said, are less likely to drive east to the planned stations in Milwaukee or to the airport.
"If you drove to Oconomowoc to get on a train, you would already be on I-94 and you would probably say that you would just keep on driving," he said.
Czarnezki, who supports a train stop in western Milwaukee County, says Wauwatosa makes sense due to its proximity to the Milwaukee County Research Park, Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, Mayfair Mall and the zoo.
"There is a lot of economic activity in that area and, I think, a large population that would be very likely to utilize the train, whether it is going from Milwaukee to Madison and Minneapolis or from Milwaukee to Chicago," he said.
JUST THE FACTS
• As part of the federal American Recovery and Investment Act, Wisconsin was awarded $810 million to pay for a high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.
• The Milwaukee-Madison rail line would start operation in 2013, with initial speeds of 79 mph, but speeds are expected to reach 110 mph by 2015.
• Three stops are proposed between the two cities.
• The Milwaukee-Madison connection eventually would become part of a larger rail system that would connect Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities
→ Guest column: Why station makes sense in Tosa. Page 12
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15 COMMENTS
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Welcome to --------------- - http://www.newgoing.com
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Welcome to --------------- - http://www.newgoing.com
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I agree with yes to new ideas. The important thing is that we develop the
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The reason Brookfield will not get a station is because of attitudes like Brookfield Vinces. He is misinformed in stating that we will be sending more money overseas for to purchase trains and equipment. It is just the reverse. Most people who follow the news are aware that train cars will be built by a Spanish company in Milwaukee at the tower automotive site adding hundreds of jobs as well as millions of dollars to not just the U.S. economy but specifically to the Milwaukee area economy. The reason Brookfield won't get a station is despite the federal government paying the entire cost of the station they will not spend any money to invest in the future. Penny wise and dollar foolish is a saying I seem to have heard from my parents. As far as the speed is concerned the 79 mph is only a starting speed until the rail bed is improved and it will increase significantly if we eliminate stops in Brookfield and Oconomowoc as it seems we are about to do. With no stops in between Madison and MSP there are no reasons why trains can't go the same speeds as in Europe if they use the similar equipment. As I previously stated maybe the line will go directly between Chicago, Madison and Minneapolis which incidentially has a light rail system from the airport to downtown which takes 10 minutes and costs less than a bus ride in Milwaukee. My family ran a business in Brookfield that employed about 20 people for over 25 years and a system like this would have benefited us and increase our bottom line in service alone. The line will be built across the country and if it buypasses Wisconsin or Milwaukee we will lose millions of dollars to western Illinois and Iowa instead of Spain as seems to concern you so much. As a business man we used to do a cost benefit analysis on every project which compared costs to total benefits to determine the break even point on an expenditure. If you do one in this case instead of just using emotionalism you will see the benefit outweighs the cost.
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We too are looking at a stop but I hread that 3rdgentosan said they rode the European high speed trains and everything was great. Rememer this...what is being proposed as high speed rail here will never be "high speed". For years the train will run at 70-80 mph and then eventually up to 110 mph approx. From what I understand of high speed rail speeds are 150 mph. So what is being proposed is at the fastest , medium speed rail. Also from what I understand the medium speed cars or maybe its the medium speed locomotives are from Spain. Not even made in USA. Oh well, lets send MORE money outside the US. Last thouht to the cities who are looking to be a stop. Those cities are on the hook for 20 years to maintain those stations.
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If Mayor Didier wants this train she LOST my vote in the next election.
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I agree with 3rdgentosan that the poll is not truely scientific as regard to Tosans only. But the only way to restrict the poll to Wauwatosa residents would be to have a referendum or a house to house or phone poll, clearly not practical. Besides the station would affect residents of Milwaukee, Brookfield, West Allis, Elm Grove and anyone else who would use the train to get to Madison. Considering the fact that the federal government is paying the entire cost of the rail system and $5,000.000 for the cost of constructing the station there is little cost to the citizens of Wauwatosa. If the station were built on the county grounds or the Medical Center no land would need to be taken off tax rolls. Since there is no referendum pending and there is no position taken so far by the city of Wauwatosa including the common council Jill Didier does not speak for Wauwatosa but only as an ordinary indivdual with an opinion. This whole issue is just a smoke screen for those who want a high speed rail system and those who don't. Would people be happier if the system went from Chicago to Madison to Minneapolis skipping Milwaukee altogether? Or maybe from Chicago to Davenport Iowa to Minneapolis and skip the state of Wisconsin. We keeping saying no to development, no to business, no to the future and we wonder why we have a brain drain here and companies like Oshkosh Corp. and Harley Davidson consider moving elsewhere. Maybe old slow trains are just right for old slow thinkers.
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I agree with you about the poll oldtimer. It is certainly not an extraordinarily valid instrument for measuring true public support for a high speed rail station in Wauwatosa. My use of the poll in my comment was not to characterize it as the monolithic voice of the people of Wauwatosa. It is not necessarily the product of a "representative sample". Nevertheless, it remains more representative than Mayor Didier's statement, which only represents her personal opinion.
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There are several problems with the poll. It is not a random poll.
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We have ridden the high speed rail system in Europe and were able to travel
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Load more comments View all comments Back to topchengmo - Sep 07, 2010 10:29 AM - Report Abuse
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chengmo - Sep 07, 2010 10:24 AM - Report Abuse
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3rdgentosan - Sep 05, 2010 7:34 PM - Report Abuse
infrastructure for the rail system and speeds can be upgraded as needed.
Regardless of what Scott Walker or Jill Didier want, high speed rail is coming
to the United States. We can take advantage of an offer by the federal
government now to pay for building the infrastructure or we can pay dearly
for it ourselves as a state later, after we have already been passed up by
other cities and states that took advantage of the economic benefit a high
speed rail system would bring.
Also I love that Scott Walker keeps saying he will stop the high speed rail
system and use the money for roads. The money is not for roads! If we
don't use it for high speed rail we lose all of it! Building the high speed rail
system would create a lot of jobs immediately while we are in the current
economic downturn. It also would create a strong economic corridor
between Milwaukee and Chicago which would strengthen our economic
future as well. Scott Walker's rejection of the high speed rail system is
nothing more than a game he is playing to score political points. We don't
need a governor who plays games with Wisconsin's future. Wisconsinites
are too smart for these games. We should be leaders, as we have been in
the past. Let's secure high speed rail in order to secure Wisconsin's future!
yes to new ideas - Sep 05, 2010 3:20 PM - Report Abuse
Brookfield Vince - Sep 05, 2010 11:10 AM - Report Abuse
Lita in Tosa - Sep 04, 2010 9:32 AM - Report Abuse
yes to new ideas - Sep 04, 2010 2:09 AM - Report Abuse
3rdgentosan - Sep 03, 2010 8:57 AM - Report Abuse
My point was that the only polling information I know of, be it flawed methodologically or not, suggests that the majority of Wauwatosans feel exactly the opposite of Mayor Didier's characterization.
I support high speed rail as a faster, more efficient, more sustainable method of travel. Whether there is a station in Wauwatosa or not high speed rail lines in Wisconsin will create valuable opportunities for strengthening economic partnerships with Chicago and the Twin Cities and improve travel conditions for train riders and car drivers alike. We in Wisconsin can endorse a promising economic and travel tool or we can continue to watch as other cities around the nation surpass Milwaukee in development because of our own shortsightedness.
oldtimer - Sep 03, 2010 8:03 AM - Report Abuse
To me the more important problem is that one can only make conclusions
about those participating in the poll. One cannot use the results of the poll
to make conclusions about the opinions of Wauwatosa residents concerning
the placement of a station in the city. One does not have to be a resident of
Wauwatosa to be a participant in the poll.
I also do not think most people clearly understand that placing a station in
Wauwatosa would not be a characteristic of a high speed rail line.
3rdgentosan - Sep 02, 2010 10:46 PM - Report Abuse
efficiently, affordably, and comfortably. I would much prefer high speed rail
to plane travel. It seems that others who have had experiences on high
speed rail feel similarly.
I am very disappointed in Mayor Didier's handling of this situation. She told
the Journal Sentinel that Wauwatosa does not want a high speed rail station.
What is this based upon? The only polling that I am aware of regarding this
issue is on this site, and there is a noticeable majority supporting the building
of a high speed rail station in Tosa. Mayor Didier's statement is either
alarmingly uninformed or blatantly deceiving. I have grown tired of
politicians masking their own partisan views as the desires of the American
people or Wauwatosans. It is cheap political theater that is insulting to our
intelligence. If Mayor Didier insists on ignoring the voice of her citizen's
majority, I hope she isn't counting on the votes of said majority when she
runs for reelection.