Familiar critics of the Hop are also voicing opposition to a recently announced spending plan that would further extend the streetcar system into other nearby neighborhoods, and are urging residents to let their voices be heard by elected leaders.
Last week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett unveiled a $46.8 million package that would finance the construction of an extension of the streetcar line up to the Wisconsin Center and also put money toward preliminary engineering work for a three-mile expansion to the Bronzeville and Walker’s Point neighborhoods.
The proposal, which needs Common Council approval, will be introduced early this month for consideration in the next council cycle. It has the backing of a number of aldermen and groups such as the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8.
This morning, long-time streetcar skeptics aldermen Bob Donovan and Mark Borkowski said they are similarly opposed to the plan to further extend it. In a joint statement, the two urged residents who feel the same to voice their opposition to their colleagues in the Common Council.
Borkowski and Donovan note in the statement that city infrastructure, such as alleys and street lamps, as well as services such as the police department and libraries, are in need of resources even as Barrett and others are pushing to spend more money on the Hop.
“To our friends and neighbors throughout Milwaukee who will never know a moment’s benefit from the Milwaukee Streetcar, please know that we hear you and share your frustration with an administration that has chosen to ignore you,” they said.
Similarly, Alderman Tony Zielinski called the proposal “a financially irresponsible initiative.” He said the money could be better spent on things like addressing potholes or updating the city’s snow plowing equipment.
Zielinski, who is running for mayor in 2020, said if he were elected he would assemble a team to figure out how to best handle the situation.
Alderman Robert Bauman, who supports the streetcar and the proposed extension plans, said these arguments have been made by streetcar opponents since the project was first proposed about a decade ago.
Bauman said that residents have had the opportunity in two elections since then, one in 2012 and another in 2016, to vote for or against elected leaders who were in favor of the streetcar.
“This same argument has been made consistently,” he said, of pitting other city services against the streetcar project. “We’ve tried to rebut that argument with fact and policy and logic. Some folks will never be convinced.”
Bauman said in particular he favors the idea of extending the streetcar into the Bronzeville neighborhood. The proposed route would terminate at the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and North Avenue. He said this route has “tremendous potential to take advantage of renewal that is already taking place in the Bronzeville neighborhood.”
However, the planned extension southward, which would stop at the intersection of First Street and Pittsburgh Avenue, doesn’t go far enough into Walker’s Point, he added. Bauman said he agrees with his colleague Alderman José Pérez, who last week argued the streetcar should instead be extended to 6th Street and National Avenue.
In a statement last week, Alderman Russell Stamper said that continuing the streetcar would also mean more job opportunities for the community, noting that construction of the current route captured 38% minority contractor participation.
“We see the streetcar extensions bringing a constant buzz of job opportunities for the community in construction and the trades, and those jobs will benefit families, businesses and neighborhoods across our city,” he said.
