A victory for Milwaukee County

You may have recently heard the news that Milwaukee County will receive 40 percent of the $91.5 million in federal transit funds that have been idle for 18 years. These dormant funds could have easily been diverted to other purposes outside of Milwaukee County. That’s why I applaud the efforts of Senator Herb Kohl, Representative David Obey, and Representative Gwen Moore to break this funding log-jam and preserve these funds for local transit projects. The fact that we stifled the use of this money for almost two decades sent a strong message to the federal government. It illustrated that, while other communities streamlined the process to use federal funds for new local transit options, we chose to be left out. Thankfully, that is now behind us.

The outcome forged in Congress means Milwaukee County will receive $36.6 million to enhance the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), most likely in the form of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system utilizing hybrid buses. The remaining funds will go to the city of Milwaukee to potentially fund a downtown streetcar system. While I am not in complete agreement with the portion of the funds allocated to the city of Milwaukee, it is reassuring that we have finally been able to move beyond this impasse and start to look at the bigger picture. Milwaukee County residents have been sharply critical of this divide, and I am pleased that we can finally move forward on their behalf. I look forward to playing a role in determining how these funds are used in Milwaukee County. 

This is a major milestone for transportation progress in Milwaukee County, and we must build off this victory. The next step is reducing property taxes while securing a local dedicated sales tax for transit, which was approved by Milwaukee County voters last November in an advisory referendum. Without dedicated funding, transit riders risk losing night, weekend, and freeway flyer service. In addition, due to service cuts in recent years, 40,000 jobs are already out of reach from a bus line. MCTS has numerous long-term capital needs that also must be addressed. We must do everything we can to reverse these trends. Freeing up these dormant funds will help modernize the system and, hopefully, encourage more residents to use mass transit.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.