TheSaratogaLife: @Saknika Park for the Victorian Stroll at the Amtrak Station or at the NYRA track lot, they have free shuttles - MAP - link
about 6 hours ago
sethdill: @jimcorreia and he happens to have a live search running for "old guy" or "Amtrak"
about 8 hours ago
urbanbohemian: @xtopher1974 I remember hearing about people who commute daily from DC to Delaware or Philly via Amtrak. No freakin' way.
about 12 hours ago
bendystraw: treating myself to Amtrak over Chinatown bus or SEPTA/NJ Transit for girls' weekend in nyc
about 13 hours ago
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Amtrak already rolls through downtown Tosa, why not stop it for a couple minutes to let people get on and off? |
 | By Bobby Tanzilo   Managing Editor E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Bobby Tanzilo |
| Published Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:19 a.m. |
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Talking about Amtrak this morning with a co-worker, I wondered aloud why there's no stop for the Amtrak train in Wauwatosa.
If you've spent any time in downtown Tosa, you know that a few trains pass through each day. You also know that there's a place a street level -- where the recently rehabbed little red store is located -- just off Harwood, that would make a perfect stop. The building was Tosa's first railroad depot; why not make it Tosa's newest one, too?
There's already a parking lot and some street parking nearby and I suspect there's space for another parking lot, if necessary.
Pop in a ticketing machine (like the one at the airport Amtrak station) and, there you go, folks on the West Side could hop the Amtrak to Chicago (or Columbus, Minneapolis and points west) without heading downtown, adding to traffic congestion, parking issues, etc.
The trains are going past anyway. Factoring a five-minute stop into the schedule can't be all that complex. There's no cost to buy trains, improve tracks, etc.
You know what? Make a short hop between Tosa and Downtown Milwaukee inexpensive and you could take a few cars off the road during rush hour, too, I bet.
Certainly someone else has thought of this before. After all, I'm no transit savant. Simple options like this can help us edge closer to getting more people to ride mass transit.
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10 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Recent Talkbacks ...
Posted by speakthetruth on Oct. 7, 2009 at 7:58 a.m. (report)
NEWSFLASH: suburban people don't want light rail because they don't want the ghetto rats doing the reverse commute and infiltrating their tony neighborhoods.
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Posted by compujeramey on Sept. 30, 2009 at 2:57 p.m. (report)
I expected reasoning powers for you to realize that not stopping at lights meant that the lights would chance automatically. Bus-rapid transit (express busing) is as about as close to you can get to a light rail vehicle (in fact they look almost identical). If you want light rail we're going to have to fund our bus system first (says the FTA). That means supporting sales tax referendums to fund transit (like that one last November) and getting transit road blocks out of office like Scott Walker. When it comes to bus-rapid transit, don't knock it until you've tried it.
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Posted by Pistol Pete on Sept. 30, 2009 at 2:49 p.m. (report)
Express buses don't stop at lights?! That sounds dangerous. I agree with Luvva. Give me light rail or a train and I'll ride it happily. Offer me a bus and I'll wave at it as I drive past.
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Posted by compujeramey on Sept. 30, 2009 at 2:46 p.m. (report)
@MKE Luvva Expressing bus doesn't stop at lights (it has signal priority) and stops infrequently, as opposed to the standard MCTS. Plus it's a higher capacity vehicle with more modern features than most of the MCTS fleet. In short, it's a higher quality, faster service. Not a bad option, especially if the suburbs can't agree to invest in the even higher quality light rail or street car alternatives.
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Posted by MKE Luvva on Sept. 30, 2009 at 2:41 p.m. (report)
Busing is a bad solution because no one wants to take buses. The only people who take them (with some exceptions) are people who have no choice. Buses sit in the same traffic, stop at every light, etc. Spending more money on more buses is a waste of time. If that's the suggested solution, widening freeways is a better idea. (And we all know that's really a crappy idea.)
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Show me the other 5 Talkbacks
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