Say NO to the Milwaukee Streetcar

A Presentation by Bobby R.

What is it?

• Mayor Barrett proposed a streetcar project for downtown Milwaukee

• 2.1 mile loop

Cost

• $64.6 million – $56.9 million = Federally Subsidized– Leaves $9.7 million on Milwaukee taxpayers

• Utility Relocation $70 million!– Conservative Estimate of cost– Full burden of cost, one way or another,

would be saddled by Wisconsin Residents

Operation Cost

• Estimated at $2.65 million each year– In other streetcars, around 10% of operation

costs are covered by fares, sponsors, etc.– Leaves a generous estimate of $2.4 million for

Milwaukee taxpayers.

• Grand Total of over $90 million!– Represents approx. 6% of 2012 Milwaukee

County Budget.

Logistics• Relocating downtown utilities would leave

Milwaukee streets in shambles for months.

• Snow removal– How would the streets be plowed with a

streetcar running nearly at the curbside?

• Hundreds of street side parking spaces would be unusable– This would actually detract from local business

rather than encourage it (intent of the project!).

Ridership

• Is this project even worth it?– The comparable streetcar built in Portland,

Oregon has received approx. 4 million annual ridership.

– The Milwaukee system could expect just 665,000 annual ridership.

• This means the streetcar can expect just 1800 riders each day

– Individual MCTS bus routes serve an average of 3,000 people daily

Alternative

• A couple of trolley style city buses could be fully funded and paid off for many years before the cost even approaches that of the streetcar.

• A bus is not anchored to the ground in one spot, it can travel anywhere.

• A bus still works in the event of a power outage.

Summation• Who would benefit?

– A small % of those who would pay for it.

• Bang for your Buck?– Too much money for a project that would struggle to

break even, much less make a profit

• Logistics?– Logistical nightmare, many issues

• Overall, this project would defeat its own mission, to attract potential consumers to businesses on the perspective route.