Number
100912
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. COGGS, BAUMAN, HINES, KOVAC AND HAMILTON
Title
Resolution expressing the City of Milwaukee’s support for development of a high-speed passenger rail network in the Midwest, including an extension of Amtrak’s Hiawatha service from Milwaukee to Madison.
Analysis
This resolution expresses the City of Milwaukee’s support for development of a high-speed passenger rail network in the Midwest, including an extension of Amtrak’s Hiawatha service from Milwaukee to Madison.
Body
Whereas, In 2004, nine Midwestern states released plans for a Midwest Regional Rail Initiative that would consist of a “hub-and-spoke” passenger rail network on 3,000 miles of track in those nine states, using modern train equipment operating at speeds up to 110 miles per hour to connect Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis and other cities; and
Whereas, In 2010, the Obama administration authorized the expenditure of $8 billion in federal stimulus money for the development of 13 high-speed rail corridors throughout the nation, including $810 million for an extension of Amtrak’s Hiawatha service from Milwaukee to Madison, $1.1 billion for the Chicago-St. Louis corridor and $244 million for the Chicago-Detroit route; and
Whereas, Development of high-speed passenger rail service in Wisconsin and the Midwest will produce numerous and substantial benefits for Milwaukee and the entire region, including:
1. Providing a time- and cost-competitive alternative to automobile and air travel that will be increasingly attractive as energy prices rise, highway congestion grows and security rules continue to slow traffic through airports.
2. Giving Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Midwest an advantage -- over other parts of the country that do not have high-speed rail available -- in terms of competing for new employers and young workers who are attracted to locations with multiple, efficient transportation options.
3. Creating thousands of jobs, not only in designing and constructing the system, but also many new permanent jobs (an estimated 9,500 new jobs in Wisconsin alone).
4. Stimulating economic development in the Midwest by linking people with job opportunities, connecting the region’s major research and development centers with its top universities, and generating new development and investment around stations on the network.
5. Increasing the productivity of workers, who will be able to avoid hours of traffic congestion and air travel delays, and instead use their time to read, make cell phone calls, work on laptop computers and otherwise conduct business while traveling.
6. Bringing more tourists and other visitors to Midwestern cities by making these cities accessible and by reducing travel times, thereby giving visitors more time to spend at their destinations.
7. Lowering energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases, as trains use less fuel and emit less pollution than airplanes or automobiles.
; and
Whereas, The estimated annual operating support for the Milwaukee-Madison extension -- $7.5 million - is miniscule compared to the State of Wisconsin’s annual transportation budget ($2.4 billion), not to mention the total State budget (over $31 billion), and may be largely funded through federal aid; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the City of Milwaukee supports development of a high-speed passenger rail network in the Midwest, including the extension of Amtrak’s Hiawatha service from Milwaukee to Madison; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall send copies of this resolution to all members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation Frank Busalacchi and Governor-Elect Scott Walker.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB123550-1
JDO
11/30/2010