BAUMAN I-94 TRIUMPH SETS STAGE FOR CITY - STATE BATTLE

BARRETT TO SIGN BAUMAN RESOLUTION

By Michael Horne

When Mayor Tom Barrett signs his name to Common Council Resolution 07114 in a City Hall public ceremony on Thursday, December 13^th, 2007, he will also be drawing a line in a City – State battle with billions of dollars at stake.

The “Bauman Resolution,” calling for “a new strategic approach to transportation investments in Southeastern Wisconsin,” is a direct slap at the administration of Governor Jim Doyle and his obeisant Secretary of Transportation Frank Busalacchi. The resolution places the city government in opposition to the planned $1.9 billion, 8-lane reconstruction of I-94 from the Illinois border to the Mitchell interchange and beyond. It calls for a 6-lane plan with any savings to be dedicated to transit options, and it pits Barrett against one-time gubernatorial rival Doyle.

The resolution was sponsored by Ald. Robert Bauman, who has been a longtime critic of state highway plans and what he feels is the slow pace of transit development in the region. It passed in the Common Council on Tuesday, December 11^th on a 10-4 vote, with only Alds. Witkowski, Bohl, Puente and Dudzik opposed. Bauman’s coalition building and longtime outspokenness makes the first-term alderman the point person on the largest public works project ever proposed for this state, a role he appears to relish.
Bauman says state highway projects – even those calling for massive appropriations – generally do not face community opposition because the state does not mandate a local funding mechanism for highways, but it does for transit. Finding a local funding source is seen as the principal stumbling block to the development of the KRM rail system. Bauman says his resolution would remove the local funding requirement for the KRM system, and replace it with savings from not expanding the freeway to eight lanes. He says his plan would save energy, reduce omissions, and create higher real estate values in the corridor.

The I-94 highway reconstruction, announced in January, 2006 and unveiled in November, 2007, has already been challenged by the 27th Street Business Association, and others opposed to the elimination of a direct exit at S. 27^th St. Along with affected neighbors, community groups and such standbys as transit advocates, Bauman may have formed a coalition as disparate as that which successfully fought the Park East Freeway thirty years ago.

He says the state continually ignores the needs of Milwaukee, and that the myopic planning for the freeway is an example. He questioned during the council meeting whether the Department of Transportation had prepared the plan “in secret,” two years ago.

Bauman reserves part of his wrath for Secretary Busalacchi, echoing comments made by former Mayor Norquist in a Milwaukeeworld interview earlier this year. “Busalacchi talks a good game on transit, but it is just talk,” Bauman told milwaukeeworld in a telephone interview. “He serves on all these boards, but his only interest is in building highways.” Norquist told Milwaukeeworld in September that “the road builders have Busalacchi and Doyle in their pocket.”

Among “all those boards,” Busalacchi serves on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, which is expected to deliver its “Transportation for Tomorrow” report in January, 2008, after 18 months study.

According to his biography on the commission site, Busalacchi indeed sounds like a transit advocate:

“The Secretary also plays a leading role in national passenger rail issues. In 2005, he accepted the post as chair of the States for Passenger Rail Coalition, an alliance of 23 state DOT's calling for expanded federal support of intercity passenger rail. Secretary Busalacchi has testified to Congress about the importance of passenger rail and is working to improve existing Amtrak service and plan for new high- speed rail service in Wisconsin.” [Emphasis added.]

As chairman of the States for Passenger Rail Coalition, Busalacchi sends out press releases praising growth in passenger rail, calling on congress to fund intercity passenger rail and writes op-ed pieces such as “Dedicated Congressional Funds Key for Passenger Rail Growth.”

As recently as December 6^th, 2007, Busalacchi’s Passenger Rail Work Group released a study entitled “Vision for the Future: U.S. Intercity Passenger Rail Network 2050,” calling for 80 per cent federal and 20 per cent state funding for intercity passenger rail projects.

In a March, 2007 interview with Paul Snyder of The Daily Reporter, Busalacchi said, “I make no bones about it -- I’m a highway guy and a builder, but I think the future of this country is headed toward mass transit.”

Strangely, this conflicts with Busalacchi’s real-life actions, according to Bauman. “Do you know what the sum total of Busalacchi’s rail accomplishment has been since he’s been secretary?’ the alderman asked.

“He added one car to the Amtrak train. Not one train, one car. That’s it.”