Comments on: Southeastern Wisconsin Business Leaders Advocate for KRM & Mass Transit in Editorial

By: Ryan K

Ryan K — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:43:07 +0000

Timothy Sheehy may represent the MMAC, but he doesn’t represent me. At times, I question how well the MMAC truly represents regional businesses. What Timothy says in the article is true regarding the need for business development, but his statements do not make any logical connection to how a KRM line is going to spark this development.

Is everyone “united” in believing that a KRM line will accomplish this? I think not. KRM is an expairiment, not a proven solution.

I cannot blame the MMAC whatsoever for getting on board (no pun intended) with an “investment” program created by liberal idealogues who wish for Milwaukee to mimmic Boston, because any support for business in WI is hard to come by from state government.

I question if its actually light rail, or even subsidized public transportation, thats truly holding regional business back, and I don’t think KRM is a solution that addresses this problem.

By: mwarden

mwarden — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:48:13 +0000

Dan, thanks for the response. I think you make some great points there regarding the expansion of Chicago city limits, if you will. I believe that is currently the case with areas to the south and east of Chicago, yes? I’ve ridden a train from Michigan City to a Cubs game once before.

By: Dan Cody

Dan Cody — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:07:32 +0000

No, that’s a fair question Matt… I can’t say with 100% certainty obviously how people in Chicago would react or if the scenario you paint would happen.

What I can say is I know a fair number of couples who split jobs between Milwaukee and Chicago and that a good commuter rail option would open up the possibilities to where they could live and raise their kids. I think there would be people from Chicago who would look at moving closer to Milwaukee if they could commute easily to their jobs in Chicago or on the north side.

That would be a big win for Milwaukee, as I think we have clear quality of life advantages of the Chicago suburbs. If we could draw a few thousand people to the Milwaukee area and let them and their families plant roots here, that’s a positive and something every city is trying to do.

Would people go the opposite way? I’m sure there are some who would, but I think if you look forward, the fates of Chicago and Milwaukee are linked and we should start making plans to benefits from that eventual megalopolis.

If you look at it that way, Milwaukee doesn’t win or lose and Chicago doesn’t win or lose. The region as a whole wins.

By: mwarden

mwarden — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:44:45 +0000

(This is a genuine question, even though I can’t figure out a way to phrase it without it sounding like I’m taking a jab.) Do you think they believe that Chicago citizens will commute to their Milwaukee businesses to work rather than the other way around? Given the population densities and the collapse of the financial sector (of which Chicago is heavily invested), I find it unlikely that there would be an abundance of jobs in Chicago such that they would need to import Milwaukee citizens. However, I could see how a sudden merging of the two job markets would put downward pressure on the wages of Milwaukee jobs, since there would be a larger pool of labor.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:49:27 +0000

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