KRM is a worthy investment

By Mike Fabishak

What do contractors rely on? Business growth.

What keeps businesses healthy and growing? Good connections to a large and diverse marketplace, work force and resource base.

The Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail is a potential 33-mile train route connecting the Milwaukee and Chicago lakeside communities with nine stops planned for Wisconsin and connections to 24 communities and Chicago on the Chicago Metra North Line. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to solidify our regional connections and our link to one of the nation's largest and most dynamic economies and populations - metro Chicago.

Nearly 2 million people live within three miles of the existing and proposed stations between Milwaukee and Chicago, with one-third of those living north of the state line. Some of the nation's highest education levels, income brackets and home values are in cities with Metra stations on that line.

Easy access to that kind of broad marketplace and work force is a major attractor for the development of business, retail, residential, and arts and entertainment expansion. Modern, convenient access to this diverse and compact marketplace will move us into a whole new league for attracting development.

Demographics, market demands and consumer preferences are shifting strongly toward an urban marketplace that places a high priority on regional transit connectivity. The timing couldn't be better to leverage those shifts to our advantage with KRM.

Metro Milwaukee has many valuable assets that fit the market shifts. KRM is ready to help us put our assets to work for us. As we grow and prosper, so will the state of Wisconsin.

Metro Milwaukee needs KRM as a springboard to move us solidly into the realm of a viable competitor. As a metro area, we are dabbling at the edges of being a contender.

Without commuter rail connections, we simply cannot be competitive. Nearly all of the top 50 cities have or are building rail transit. Many have more than one rail transit option. Connecting the corridor's assets with commuter rail will make us a stronger global competitor.

The expensive part of building KRM is done: assembling the right-of-way in a densely populated, high-value lakefront corridor. For a few million local dollars a year to build and operate KRM, we get one of the best development opportunities known today.

The return on development investments near the stations alone will far exceed the costs of KRM. It has been shown that KRM will spur and support development within one mile of the KRM stations, resulting in an increase in property valuation of $7.8 billion and an increase in retail sales of $750 million.

In addition, the expanded tax base can support improved services, schools and amenities that will make our entire region more attractive and valuable.

KRM is as obvious as it gets. The Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee is joined by the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Milwaukee 7, Realtor associations, chambers of commerce along the corridor and many others in putting KRM commuter rail at the top of the "get it done now" list.

To put our best foot forward in competing for the federal dollars needed to move the KRM project forward and meet critical project deadlines, consensus on a local funding source must be reached now. The local funding source then needs to be enabled by the Wisconsin Legislature by June 2007. If the deadline is missed, we could very easily lose the opportunity to gain KRM for a very long time.

Put KRM on your priority list. Let your local and state elected officials know what you think about the KRM commuter rail project. Submit your comments about KRM commuter rail for the federal record at www.krmonline.org. Let the Regional Transit Authority know your thoughts at www.sewisrta.org.

The AGC-GM sees KRM commuter rail as a small investment with amazing returns for our members and the economy. If it takes a small tax increase, it is an investment in prosperity that we are ready to make.

With KRM we win; without KRM we lose. It's that simple. Let's come together and get this done.

For more information, visit www.transitnow.org.