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Panelists define urgent need for better transit and
Regional Transit Authority at March 1 briefing:

Seeking Clarity on Transit/Transportation  Issues

The event was a collaborative effort Wauwatosa Assoc. of Commerce, Wauwatosa Village Business Improvement District, and Transit Now.

  
Particpants at the event heard the latest about the many mass transit projects and critical issues that are in discussion, in planning, proposed, and envisioned from these people in the know and heard from businesses on the importance of these efforts on economic development.

Following a presentation by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) regarding the need for a good public transit system, the transit funding crisis, a look at how other transit systems are funded and an overview of current legislation, panelists made their remarks:

• Barb Ulichny, on behalf of Chairman Bob Mariano of Roundy's Supermarkets Inc.: Chairman Bob Mariano came to Milwaukee from Chicago almost eight years ago, and brought with him an ethos and appreciation for public transit.  He rode the commuter rail in Chicago on a regular basis and remains an enthusiastic supporter. Upon arriving in Milwaukee, the chairman was appalled by "NOMS" - the "none of my money spent" mentality of the region. The bus system is on the brink of bankruptcy and has been rescued only by the stimulus money and stretching of capital costs. We believe the system is on the verge of total collapse, and this is unacceptable for southeastern Wisconsin.
  
  On Chairman Bob Mariano’s behalf, I’d like to stress this issue is about our civic pride, no other urban areas of our size have had a bus system go bankrupt. The area's CEOs view transit as a necessity as it would be a humiliation to have MCTS go bankrupt, but that is a very real possibility. In conclusion, we can't afford to be left behind, we must start thinking collectively and take responsibility for each other.

• John Kissinger, Regional Vice President of GRAEF-USA, Chairman of the Milwaukee County Workforce Investment Board GMC appointee to the Milwaukee County regional transit planning group and a resident of Wauwatosa: The Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) has consistently stated the need for a permanent funding source for transit and the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail. The business community is behind this plan. This has been going on for a long time and we see an opportunity to finally move ahead in an important way and create a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) with dedicated funding.
  
  As Chairman of the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, transit is very important as far as jobs, because a large number of the unemployed population does not have access to automobiles. The transit issue is a huge economic development drain and needs to be fixed as soon as possible with this legislation. In my role I see people that could add a lot to our community, but they don't have the resources to get to jobs.

• Stewart Wangard, President and CEO of Wangard Partners, Inc. and Chairman of the Transportation Committee for the Wisconsin Chapter of NAIOP, an International Commercial Real Estate Association:  NAIOP as an organization believes that transit choices are very important and NAIOP realizes that without them, we will be held back.  The whole idea of transit is a connection to the world and a flow of people between where the jobs are and where the talent is and that is critical.

Stewart Wangard summarized the meeting and our sentiments toward the current situation when he simply said “we need strong leadership from our elected officials and business leaders to say this is what we need now." It is our goal to see these bills through committee and on to passage this spring.