Gov. Jim Doyle announced his plans Tuesday to create a Southeastern Regional Transit Authority aiming to improve rail and bus services between Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine.
""We now have a good, solid plan for a Southeastern Regional Transit Authority,"" Doyle said in a statement. ""We have the support of local communities, the support of legislators and the support of the state's business leaders.""
According to the Southeastern Wisconsin Coalition for Transit NOW, the plan includes the creation of a commuter rail line between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee that is faster and features more frequent stops. Service on the rail line is planned to begin during 2012.
Although Doyle said this project would create jobs and property tax relief, state Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, said he believes taxpayers would carry the burden of the funding for the plan.
""To me the acronym of RTA stands for regional taxing authority,"" Kedzie said. ""It is nothing but a huge taxing program that is used to subsidize the lack of ridership for programs such as mass transit and rail.""
Kedzie said the primary problem with the plan is that it ""tries to re-establish the infrastructure, much of which we gave up decades ago at the cost to reinvest and rebuild lines.""
Although Kedzie said he believes a better option would be to focus on the improvement of bus lines, Doyle said he is confident this will ultimately benefit the Milwaukee metro area.
""Regional transit doesn't just improve the way we move people and goods, it improves the overall economy in southeast Wisconsin.""
