From:	Davis Sr., Joe
Sent:	Tuesday, December 16, 2014 11:21 AM
To:	CC_ALL
Subject:	Fwd: street car

FYI, for real! 

 
Begin forwarded message:
From: Don Hougard <pastor@benediction-lcms.org> 
Date: December 16, 2014 at 8:43:15 AM CST 
To: jldavis@milwaukee.gov 
Subject: street car
Dear Alderman Davis,

As a pastor of a congregation on the far northwest side of Milwaukee, I would 
like to express concern with regard to the streetcar project.

If I understand this correctly the tax collections from the TIFF district will go only 
toward this project, which means that they will not be going to schools, police 
services, etc., which are vital to the members of my congregation on the northwest 
side. Secondly, this will be millions of dollars for something that the people on 
the northwest side will probably never ride, but will be paying for for decades.

I agree that Milwaukee County has vital transportation needs, but it is not a 
downtown streetcar, which does what buses can easily do. The county needs a 
better system of moving passengers across the city and county at a faster and 
more convenient pace. I have never taken the bus a long distance myself, but I am 
amazed when members of my congregation tell me how difficult it is to move 
across the city.  

Here is an example. Last spring I spent two weeks taking one of my members to 
the the courthouse for the trial of the men who murdered his roommate in the 
Dollar Store robbery. There were two days in which I could not bring him home 
from the proceedings, and he took the bus. It took him over 2 hours to get home 
with long layovers and multiple stops on each bus. He is in poor health, and these 
rides were exhausting and caused him to spend 2 weeks in the hospital. I was 
amazed at how onerous and long it was for him to get from downtown to his 
apartment, which is near a main road. 

With this kind of investment, I believe that the city and county needs to tackle a 
comprehensive transportation system, which will serve all of its residents, rather 
than a short line downtown, which will only serve a few.

Sincerely,

Rev. Don Hougard
Benediction Lutheran Church
Milwaukee, WI