Need for a New Transit System Development Plan
Study Report, Brochure, Newsletters, and Public Meeting Materials
Milwaukee County Transit System Development Plan: 2007-2011
At the specific request of Milwaukee County, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is preparing a short-range 3 to 5 year transit system development plan for the Milwaukee County Transit System. The preparation of the plan will include an evaluation of the performance of the existing transit system; an identification of unmet transit service needs; and the design and evaluation of transit system improvement alternatives to address the identified performance deficiencies and unmet transit service needs. The final plan will recommended a set of transit system operating and capital improvements for the next five years, identify the costs associated with implementing those improvements, and provide recommendations with respect to the funding of those costs. The preparation of the new plan is a joint effort by the Milwaukee County, transit system, and Commission staffs and will be completed in late 2007.
What's New
A meeting of the Milwaukee County Transit Planning Advisory Committee to consider transit service improvement concepts was held on Wednesday September 12, 2007. The meeting agenda and materials can be found here. The improvement concepts were developed by the Commission, Milwaukee County, and transit system staffs based on the findings of the performance evaluation of the existing transit system--including the identified unmet transit service needs--and comments received at the four public informational meetings held in late February and early March of this year. Over 130 people attended those public information meetings: the Record of Public Comments summarizes the comments received and the meeting proceedings.
Purpose of Study
The study to prepare the new Milwaukee County Transit System development plan will focus on needed transit service changes and improvements for the fixed-route bus services provided by Milwaukee County within Milwaukee County, that is, the bus services that are sponsored by Milwaukee County for Milwaukee County residents and funded in part with Milwaukee County property tax dollars. To a limited extent, the plan will also review other publicly sponsored intercounty commuter bus services that provide important connections for Milwaukee County residents who need to travel to adjacent Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha, and Racine Counties for work, school, or other purposes.
The transit system development plan will not consider service options to the existing County bus services that include fixed-guideway transit services, including light rail, bus on exclusive guideway (facilities on existing freeways and arterial streets that are separated from adjacent traffic lanes or new facilities in their own right-of-way), and guided electric buses. Federal regulations require such fixed-guideway transit alternatives to be the subject of corridor transit alternatives analysis studies which consider both short- and long-range transit service needs. One such study, the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Corridor Transit Study, has recently been completed for the extension of commuter rail from Kenosha to Racine and Milwaukee. A second study that is currently underway, known as the Milwaukee Downtown Transit Connector Study, is considering the operation of buses in exclusive lanes on arterial streets and the operation of guided electric buses as potential service improvements within central Milwaukee County. The Commission’s adopted regional transportation system plan for the year 2035 identifies potential corridors in Milwaukee County which may support such fixed-guideway transit services.
The plan also will not include any comprehensive analyses of the Transit Plus paratransit service for disabled individuals provided by the Milwaukee County Transit System. Any changes to the service area and operating characteristics of the Transit Plus service that may be needed in response to the changes in the County’s fixed-route bus services that are recommended under the transit system development plan will, however, be identified.
This website is one method the Commission is using to provide information and encourage the sharing of comments and perspectives for the new Milwaukee County Transit System development plan. Throughout the preparation of the new plan, this website will serve as a source of comprehensive information regarding the planning process and the study findings and recommendations. You are invited to visit other portions of this website that provide specific information on: