WISDOT CZAR PENS RAIL OP-ED IN MO PAPER
Busalacchi Lauds Rail to Outstate Crowd While Promoting Freeway Expansion Here Agency Releases Plans for 2009 I-94 N/S Construction
Report: $7 Gasoline by 2010
New Blog Announced!
Report: $7 Gasoline by 2010
New Blog Announced!
Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com
By Michael Horne
and the MilwaukeeWorld Hound Dog Team
For nearly a year, Milwaukeeworld has been following, with horror, the Doyle administration's proposals to expand I-94 to eight lanes from the current six. Governor Jim Doyle and his handpicked Secretary of Transportation, Frank J. Busalacchi, have been tone-deaf to the need for a transit system that includes a significant rail component. Neither has used a shred of their power to move rail projects forward in Southeast Wisconsin, cynically leaving such decisions to fractious local factions. Instead, they will use $1.9 billion to widen the freeway at precisely the time when petroleum costs have begun to cripple the economy, and when Vehicle Miles Driven has plunged to its lowest postwar levels, as reported here. Mass transit and urban revitalization are making staggering gains in communities where they have been encouraged by foresighted leaders.
The Doyle - Busalacchi transportation policies will soon be proven to be a colossal blunder and an economic and social disaster. If Barbara Tuchman were alive, she'd have another chapter for "The March of Folly."
===================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/
===================================================================
BUSALACCHI TALKS A GOOD GAME -- OUT OF ONE SIDE OF HIS MOUTH!
The situation would not be so bad if Doyle and Busalacchi were merely innocent naifs who failed to grasp the concept of multimodal transportation. or if they were staunch defenders of the automobile as the ideal means of transport for all. In fact, the pair show at least some degree of sophistication on rail issues. Busalacchi, for instance, is the president of the States for Passenger Rail Coalition.
He touted this credential in an "As I See It" opinion piece published on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 in the Kansas City Star entitled "Passenger train ridership soars along with gas prices." The piece was written as a "Special to the Star," an editor told Milwaukeeworld, and was not part of a general release. It did not appear in any other media, but has been linked to the rail coalition website.
In the article, Busalacchi says, "As never before, Americans are frustrated by the soaring cost of filling their cars with gas and they are flocking to passenger trains" ... "Amtrak, America's passenger railroad, is on track to carry an all-time record of 27 million passengers this year, 2 million more than in 2007" ... "Intercity passenger rail consumes 21 percent less energy per passenger mile than autos" ... "If this bump in ridership is sustained, it will help hold down oil consumption." ... "We don't want gasoline prices to double again before we begin the major upgrades that America's passenger rail system needs."
Busalacchi also notes an "astounding 84.4 percent" increase in the ridership of the Kansas City - St. Louis route, and that "we again have standing-room-only problems on our Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago, even after working with Amtrak to add coaches to trains just a year ago."
Busalacchi ends by saying Congress should approve the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 [HR 6003] calling for an 80% federal and 20% state funding ratio for intercity passenger rail.
The folks in Missouri must think Busalacchi is a serious devotee of a sane transportation policy; and they could be excused if they think Wisconsin has a transit advocate in its department secretary.
We know better. If Frank Busalacchi is so crazy about trains, why did he not include them in his ambitious freeway plan? If Busalacchi is worried about gasoline prices doubling again, why is his long-range planning based on gasoline prices half of what they are today?
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
STATE ISSUES UPDATE ON I-94 CONSTRUCTION PLANS
The State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation released its Summer 2008 "Corridor Communications" I-94 North-South Corridor project information electronic newsletter today, Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008. The department is thrilled that the Federal Highway Administration issued a Record of Decision on May 30th approving the plan to reconstruct and expand the freeway in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties without a rail component. The Airport Spur and its freeway interchange will "be designed as a focal point and gateway to Milwaukee, the airport and the state. Features in that area may include enhanced landscaping, decorative lighting and unique signage." In Milwaukee County, construction will commence in 2009 at Grange Avenue, at the Westbound Airport Spur west of 14th Street, at 27th Street and Layton Avenue and at College Avenue. Work is scheduled to continue in Milwaukee County through 2016, by which time the freeway will have eight lanes.
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
STUDY: $7 PER GALLON GASOLINE BY 2010
A study by CIBC World Markets Inc., released on June 26th, 2008, entitled "Heading for the Exit Lane" predicts $7 per gallon gasoline in 2010, just when the Doyle - Busalacchi cabal's freeway widening scheme will be getting seriously underway. "Over the next four years, we are likely to witness the greatest mass exodus of vehicles off America's highways in history. By 2012, there should be some 10 million fewer vehicles on American roadways than there are today," writes study author Jeff Rubin. "Average miles driven will likely fall by as much as 15%, while the market share of light trucks, SUVs and vans will be literally halved."
The author notes that high gasoline prices in Europe coupled with "the broad infrastructure policies" that give residents access to public transport, "certainly took people off the road. ... In marked contrast, America built massive highways and freeways for a population that owned and used their own cars to get around. Hence, we must narrow our focus on those Americans where a European style shift in driving habits is currently feasible. There must be at least a public transport alternative."
The author notes that automobile ownership among Americans earning less than $25,000 annual income is at 80 percent. "With gasoline bills surging to record highs, they will be the first to come off the road. ... Our analysis suggests that about half of the number of cars coming off the road in the next four years will be from low income households who have access to public transit. At their current driving habits, filling up the tank will have risen from about 7 percent of their income to 20 percent, an increase that will see many start taking the bus."
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
SO LET'S "GET" FRANK!
Meanwhile, the State of Wisconsin, thanks to the not-so-benign neglect of Doyle-Busalacchi, is committed to the insane policy of widening a freeway and ignoring transit when its priorities should be quite different. There is no sense waiting to say "I told you so" about this disaster in the making.
I've decided to launch http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/. Over the next weeks I'll be data mining all information on our Secretary of Transportation and his insistence on his shortsighted, failed policy. You are welcome to help -- visit the site and add your suggestions and information to this treasury. Why don't you take a quick tour right now, and sign up for my e-mail updates? Our leaders are failing us. Doyle and Busalacchi talk a nice game, but they're not the only players.
--Michael Horne
By Michael Horne
and the MilwaukeeWorld Hound Dog Team
For nearly a year, Milwaukeeworld has been following, with horror, the Doyle administration's proposals to expand I-94 to eight lanes from the current six. Governor Jim Doyle and his handpicked Secretary of Transportation, Frank J. Busalacchi, have been tone-deaf to the need for a transit system that includes a significant rail component. Neither has used a shred of their power to move rail projects forward in Southeast Wisconsin, cynically leaving such decisions to fractious local factions. Instead, they will use $1.9 billion to widen the freeway at precisely the time when petroleum costs have begun to cripple the economy, and when Vehicle Miles Driven has plunged to its lowest postwar levels, as reported here. Mass transit and urban revitalization are making staggering gains in communities where they have been encouraged by foresighted leaders.
The Doyle - Busalacchi transportation policies will soon be proven to be a colossal blunder and an economic and social disaster. If Barbara Tuchman were alive, she'd have another chapter for "The March of Folly."
===================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/
===================================================================
BUSALACCHI TALKS A GOOD GAME -- OUT OF ONE SIDE OF HIS MOUTH!
The situation would not be so bad if Doyle and Busalacchi were merely innocent naifs who failed to grasp the concept of multimodal transportation. or if they were staunch defenders of the automobile as the ideal means of transport for all. In fact, the pair show at least some degree of sophistication on rail issues. Busalacchi, for instance, is the president of the States for Passenger Rail Coalition.
He touted this credential in an "As I See It" opinion piece published on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 in the Kansas City Star entitled "Passenger train ridership soars along with gas prices." The piece was written as a "Special to the Star," an editor told Milwaukeeworld, and was not part of a general release. It did not appear in any other media, but has been linked to the rail coalition website.
In the article, Busalacchi says, "As never before, Americans are frustrated by the soaring cost of filling their cars with gas and they are flocking to passenger trains" ... "Amtrak, America's passenger railroad, is on track to carry an all-time record of 27 million passengers this year, 2 million more than in 2007" ... "Intercity passenger rail consumes 21 percent less energy per passenger mile than autos" ... "If this bump in ridership is sustained, it will help hold down oil consumption." ... "We don't want gasoline prices to double again before we begin the major upgrades that America's passenger rail system needs."
Busalacchi also notes an "astounding 84.4 percent" increase in the ridership of the Kansas City - St. Louis route, and that "we again have standing-room-only problems on our Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago, even after working with Amtrak to add coaches to trains just a year ago."
Busalacchi ends by saying Congress should approve the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 [HR 6003] calling for an 80% federal and 20% state funding ratio for intercity passenger rail.
The folks in Missouri must think Busalacchi is a serious devotee of a sane transportation policy; and they could be excused if they think Wisconsin has a transit advocate in its department secretary.
We know better. If Frank Busalacchi is so crazy about trains, why did he not include them in his ambitious freeway plan? If Busalacchi is worried about gasoline prices doubling again, why is his long-range planning based on gasoline prices half of what they are today?
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
STATE ISSUES UPDATE ON I-94 CONSTRUCTION PLANS
The State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation released its Summer 2008 "Corridor Communications" I-94 North-South Corridor project information electronic newsletter today, Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008. The department is thrilled that the Federal Highway Administration issued a Record of Decision on May 30th approving the plan to reconstruct and expand the freeway in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties without a rail component. The Airport Spur and its freeway interchange will "be designed as a focal point and gateway to Milwaukee, the airport and the state. Features in that area may include enhanced landscaping, decorative lighting and unique signage." In Milwaukee County, construction will commence in 2009 at Grange Avenue, at the Westbound Airport Spur west of 14th Street, at 27th Street and Layton Avenue and at College Avenue. Work is scheduled to continue in Milwaukee County through 2016, by which time the freeway will have eight lanes.
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
STUDY: $7 PER GALLON GASOLINE BY 2010
A study by CIBC World Markets Inc., released on June 26th, 2008, entitled "Heading for the Exit Lane" predicts $7 per gallon gasoline in 2010, just when the Doyle - Busalacchi cabal's freeway widening scheme will be getting seriously underway. "Over the next four years, we are likely to witness the greatest mass exodus of vehicles off America's highways in history. By 2012, there should be some 10 million fewer vehicles on American roadways than there are today," writes study author Jeff Rubin. "Average miles driven will likely fall by as much as 15%, while the market share of light trucks, SUVs and vans will be literally halved."
The author notes that high gasoline prices in Europe coupled with "the broad infrastructure policies" that give residents access to public transport, "certainly took people off the road. ... In marked contrast, America built massive highways and freeways for a population that owned and used their own cars to get around. Hence, we must narrow our focus on those Americans where a European style shift in driving habits is currently feasible. There must be at least a public transport alternative."
The author notes that automobile ownership among Americans earning less than $25,000 annual income is at 80 percent. "With gasoline bills surging to record highs, they will be the first to come off the road. ... Our analysis suggests that about half of the number of cars coming off the road in the next four years will be from low income households who have access to public transit. At their current driving habits, filling up the tank will have risen from about 7 percent of their income to 20 percent, an increase that will see many start taking the bus."
==========================================================================
New Blog! http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/.
==========================================================================
SO LET'S "GET" FRANK!
Meanwhile, the State of Wisconsin, thanks to the not-so-benign neglect of Doyle-Busalacchi, is committed to the insane policy of widening a freeway and ignoring transit when its priorities should be quite different. There is no sense waiting to say "I told you so" about this disaster in the making.
I've decided to launch http://gettingfrank.blogspot.com/. Over the next weeks I'll be data mining all information on our Secretary of Transportation and his insistence on his shortsighted, failed policy. You are welcome to help -- visit the site and add your suggestions and information to this treasury. Why don't you take a quick tour right now, and sign up for my e-mail updates? Our leaders are failing us. Doyle and Busalacchi talk a nice game, but they're not the only players.
--Michael Horne
posted by Michael Horne @ 11:01 AM
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1 Comments:
As requested in an earlier post, The Hound Dog Team has remained on point on this vital issue. The K.C. tidbit is astounding. Can you say "flip flop"?
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