A Call for Regional Transit in Southeast Wisconsin

Tom Rave writes an op-ed that begins by describing the sluggish performance of the Southeast Wisconsin economic before nailing down one area that needs improvement for the region to better attract new businesses: "One strategic approach is to provide efficient, connected and low cost transportation capabilities that will allow businesses to be profitable and people to move efficiently."

Holding back the region from delivering transportation improvements, according to Rave, is the fragmented governance and systems that comprise the transportation offerings in the region.

"What is needed is a new government transportation unit that serves the southeast quadrant of the state, which is larger than M7’s area, plus some of northern Illinois. This entity would manage and operate the commercial airports, the Port of Milwaukee, a regional transit system, be in position to work with railroads for both freight and passenger services, work with Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation about key roads and efficient connections among transportation assets and hopefully, re-establish a freight intermodal ramp. It would operate all of those functions on a coordinated market-driven basis to meet freight and passenger needs, and it would focus on efficient performance to spur economic growth by helping to differentiate our region."

The op-ed goes on to back up the argument with three reasons that one entity is necessary to unlock the region's transportation capabilities.