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Across the county, in cities like Minneapolis, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C., plans are underway to bring streetcars back. There are now streetcar systems in more than 40 cities, according to the website railwaypreservation.com. Milwaukee is about to join this group, but it’s getting there with far more partisan bickering than in some cities.

Take St. Louis for example – the St. Louis hybrid-electric streetcar plan was the result of joint efforts by both Democrats and Republicans at various levels of government and private sector investors, including real estate developer Joe Edwards, who all made it possible for St. Louis to apply for federal grants. That’s according to Maggie Hales, interim executive director at East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the Metropolitan Planning Organization overseeing the project in St. Louis.

a proposed milwaukee streetcar (rendering provided by the city of milwaukee)

“We have received strong bipartisan support for the trolley project from diverse political stripes. In the St Louis area we understand the importance of urban, rural, and suburban (living).  It is absolutely imperative for us to be competitive with other metropolitan regions, to attract employers. We think it’s important to have (good) public transportation,” Hales says.

The trolley plan in St. Louis was designed to alleviate traffic congestion while connecting visitors and residents to golf courses, museums, cultural centers, universities, shopping, art and entertainment in a 2.2 mile loop, according to Edwards – just a bit longer than Milwaukee’s planned route of 2 miles.

Why were St. Louis Republicans and Democrats so united in supporting a streetcar? Their top reasons, according to Edwards, were “economic development, tourism and neighborhood stabilization.”

Minneapolis is in the preliminary stages of a streetcar route that will travel nine miles, and the city has plans for as many as six more routes. According to Charleen Zimmer, a consultant to the city, the issue hasn’t come down to Democrats versus Republicans. “There are people here who support it and those who question it, but it’s not a partisan issue,” said Zimmer.

Milwaukee native and now Minneapolis resident Jonathan Strauss says he supports street car plans in both cities. Strauss, an attorney named one of ten of Minnesota’s “Up & Coming Attorneys,” worked on transportation litigation matters pertaining to the Minneapolis light rail system.

“The sad thing is that in the 1950s Minneapolis had one of the best networks of streetcars in the country, but they tore it down in the interest of urban renewal; and now most people regret it. Milwaukee had streetcars, too. I remember my father telling me about taking (the streetcars) to Braves games from Downtown Milwaukee,” Strauss says.

Strauss also says the issue has had its moments of partisan disagreements in the Twin Cities:  “Republicans have expressed their opposition to streetcars in Minneapolis, too.”

Still, the Milwaukee situation is pretty unique: There was bickering over how to use $235 million in federal funds for transit in Milwaukee going back to the early 1990s. Democrats like former mayor John Norquist were at odds with Republicans over how to spend the money, and the issue was rejoined by Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican. Barrett worked through Democrats in Congress to get approval to use $54 million of the federal money for streetcars, a decision Walker still contests.

“It should be used to improve and upgrade the existing (county bus system), not to create transit that will compete with the buses,” Walker contends.

But Milwaukee city officials argue streetcars will actually improve bus ridership numbers because the proposed route will not only provide links to several bus routes but will also connect to the intermodal Greyhound/Amtrak station in downtown Milwaukee, providing additional modes of transportation for commuters, tourists and residents.

“There isn’t a major American city that isn’t developing streetcars.  Once you start, people will want it. We are confident with our ridership numbers and projections,” says Patrick Curley, chief of staff to Mayor Barrett.

However, Walker argues that street cars are not necessary to foster economic development, citing the success of Milwaukee’s Third Ward sans street cars. “The bottom line for us … even if you like street cars, (the federal money) could have all been (better) spent on the bus system,” Walker reiterates.

Walker and Barrett have also argued over whether the streetcar system will divert state funding that now goes to buses to the new streetcar system. Walker says yes; Barrett says no.

Meanwhile, the city of Charlotte is planning to build a 1.5-mile streetcar starter route with six stops and three replica trolleys in advance of a future 10-mile streetcar route, according to Azania Z. Herron, spokesperson for the Charlotte Area Transit Systems. Odds are the system is being built with a lot less partisan wrangling.

Streetcar projects in other cities

Charlotte: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/Center+City/Home.htm

Minneapolis: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/public-works/trans-plan/StreetcarStudy.asp

Milwaukee: http://www.milwaukeeconnector.com

St. Louis: http://www.looptrolley.org/

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