Time for regional transit is now, say Racine advocates

From an article by Christine Won in the Racine Journal Times:

RACINE - Bernie Hoff, 59, of Racine, said she and her family enjoyed the comforts of commuter rail when they were living in a Chicago suburb 24 years ago before they moved to Racine.

"We saw commuter rail is such an asset to the area," said Hoff, who was at a transit forum Wednesday night. "We can't understand why they don't have it here."

More than 130 people attended the community forum "Tapping into Transit as a Game-Changer" Wednesday night at the DeKoven Center, 600 21st St. The forum, hosted by Racine Transit Task Force and Transit NOW, highlighted the benefits of public transit and specifics of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project. The Task Force is a group working to improve transit for Racine.

Different community leaders appealed on the behalf of the community, businesses, labor unions and students for a public transit system.

Mayor John Dickert, one of the speakers, stressed the importance for interconnectivity of commuter rail, high-speed rail and buses to work together to move Racine forward. He addressed concerns about how much the commuter rail project would cost and pointed out putting in another lane in I-94 is costing $1 billion.

Posted in: Transit