The Wisconsin State Journal has an article today about the potential return of passenger rail service to Madison. I covered this issue back in October and, while the WSJ article covers much of the same material, it does update the situation a bit.
The idea has languished for years without federal support, but proponents like Plasterer say that high gas prices, growing passenger train use and a change in Congress mean that its time may have finally come. Backers say Doyle's proposal, which would raise the state's borrowing limit for the project to $80 million from $48 million, would help the region's economy by making Madison one of the first cities to benefit from a proposed increase in federal aid for such projects.
Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi is quoted as saying "The way I see it is it's eventually going to unlock the economy between Illinois and Wisconsin." and Mark Bugher, director of the University Research Park and chairman of Madison's Economic Development Commission says, "I think it's inevitable that the (two) communities will be joined from an economic development perspective," Bugher said. "I think it can only help Milwaukee and Madison both." My question is "But how?"
What is meant by "unlocking" the economies of Wisconsin and Illinois? What industries are hampered by the lack of passenger rail service to Madison? Is Busalacchi referring to tourism? Regarding Bugher's comment, exactly how will passenger rail service boost economic development in Madison & Milwaukee? I don't mean to sound skeptical but these kind of generalities annoy me. What needs unlocking and how does intercity passenger rail spur economic development? The Hiawatha route between Chicago and Milwaukee is doing quite well with dramatic increases in ridership over the past few years. What has this done for the economies of those two cities? I'm not looking for specific numbers, but how about a high-level view instead of just "the economies will get better".
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