{"id":6826,"date":"2023-11-02T20:16:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=6826"},"modified":"2023-11-02T21:59:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:59:34","slug":"congressman-steil-tries-to-save-city-of-milwaukee-from-further-waste-and-embarrassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=6826","title":{"rendered":"Congressman Steil tries to save City of Milwaukee from further waste and embarrassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/congressman-steil-tries-to-save-city-of-milwaukee-from-further-waste-and-embarrassment\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Congressman Bryan Steil is still waiting to hear back from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about his request to please make it clear Milwaukee does not have to run \u201cThe Hop\u201d streetcar through a closed construction site on Sundays \u2014 and Sundays only \u2014 during the winter in order to meet the requirements of a federal grant.<\/p>\n

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City of Milwaukee officials started running the streetcar on the so-called \u201cL-Line\u201d last Sunday \u2014 although the first train was reportedly delayed a couple hours<\/a> because construction workers left some equipment on the tracks. They apparently didn\u2019t fathom that anyone would possibly want to run a streetcar through a closed construction site where no one can get on or off.<\/p>\n

As noted in a prior Badger Institute piece<\/a>, the city has suggested the odd decision to open the L-Line is because of a federal grant deadline \u2014 although they have not requested that the deadline be waived.<\/p>\n

\u201cA requirement of the grant is to begin service by 10\/31\/2023 on the L-Line,\u201d wrote Tiffany Shepherd, a marketing and communications officer for the Department of Public Works in an email to the Badger Institute in October. \u201cWe could have requested an extension, but choose to use this an opportunity to provide access as soon as possible, even though it\u2019s only one day a week. By operating on Sundays, we are providing the opportunity for the operations staff to become more acquainted with the new L-Line and how it interacts with the M-Line and become ready for the busy summer of 2024.\u202fThis will also allow the public to become familiar with the L-Line, as this will be the first time they will be seeing and interacting with the streetcar on Michigan St. and Clybourn St.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steil\u2019s subsequent letter to Buttigieg<\/a> requested that he waive the grant requirement, noting that both he and Buttigieg have \u201can obligation to the people we serve to reduce government waste\u201d and called on him to take \u201caction to save Milwaukee taxpayers thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you may know, the Hop is a $128 million streetcar transportation project largely funded with federal grant dollars\u201d through the Federal Transit Administration. \u201cIt opened in November 2018 and operates on a 2.1-mile route in downtown Milwaukee. For 2023, the average daily ridership is 1,408 individuals, a 74.5% decrease since its peak in 2018,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hop has long faced substantial concerns about the financial viability of the project, its dependence on federal dollars, and questions about demand for the service. A federal requirement mandating operation into a construction site, which is unlikely to generate significant ridership, further exacerbates these concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steil\u2019s office did receive confirmation from Buttigieg\u2019s office that it received the letter, but as of Thursday had gotten \u201cno direct response to the letter itself or the request to waive the grant requirement,\u201d according to Chavonne Ludick, Steil\u2019s communications director.<\/p>\n

I asked a spokesperson for the City of Milwaukee if the city will stop running streetcars through the construction site if Steil is successful with Buttigieg.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we are operating under the current guidelines,\u201d she emailed back, not really answering the question.<\/p>\n

I also asked her how many riders rode the L-Line last Sunday but was told they don\u2019t have an official count yet.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more background:<\/p>\n