Milwaukee- Too many exurbs!

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

I wish West Allis, St.Francis, Cudahy, South Milwaukee, Butler, Brown Deer, West Milwaukee, Greenfield and Hales Corners were just annexed by the city of Milwaukee. I would also get rid of all 5 counties and just make it one big Milwaukee county. Also I would expand Wales, Caledonia, Racine, Richfield to make them all large suburbs like Germantown. I also would expand all freeways to five lanes in the Milwaukee area and build more freeways as well. I would make one RTA without taxing authority and all bus lines/train lines would expand to all of the area so I wouldn't have to hop on three different bus systems.

I hope none of those planners will listen to you. Why would you go through the work of integrating the Milwaukee transit system and then not give it taxing authority? Expanding every freeway in Milw. would cost billions of dollars, and still wouldn't mitigate congestion as much as a coherent and reliable transit system. Unless you have good public transit, there is little incentive to develop the core city of Milwaukee, add freeways and you will promote further sprawl and disinvestment at the core of the metro area.
Having a single county would be good, but it would be damn near impossible, and would also integrate county services. It is a good idea, but people like their local government. What Milw. needs at minimum is a intercounty planning organization that can usurp the power of individual counties and municipalities. For instance, Racine shouldn't be developed as a suburb because it isits own city. If a rail line linked it to Milwaukee, you could have suburbanesque commuters that would not clog freeways and could live in a small city setting, thus helping to turn around a downtown area that is hurting (to my recollection).

[ARrocket]

Originally Posted by city414

the bolded

Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor


It's not much, I'll have to look for more...but it's out there!

oh, don't forget about the plan to extend the Chicago train/subway system to Milwaukee.

[MILWCITY]

They will never extend chicago cta lines or metra. The plan was close 3yrs ago but Ill backed out of the plan. It's always funny when I meet people from Madison or Green Bay and they say "well isn't Chicago like 2.5hrs from Milwaukee" Thats when I have to explain that from Milwaukee's city limits to Chicago's city limits is only 65 miles and that our suburbs touch. This is also why in 2009 construction starts from ILL to the Mitchell interchange on I-94 will be expanded to 4 lanes each way.

[ARrocket]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

They will never extend chicago cta lines or metra. The plan was close 3yrs ago but Ill backed out of the plan. It's always funny when I meet people from Madison or Green Bay and they say "well isn't Chicago like 2.5hrs from Milwaukee" Thats when I have to explain that from Milwaukee's city limits to Chicago's city limits is only 65 miles and that our suburbs touch. This is also why in 2009 construction starts from ILL to the Mitchell interchange on I-94 will be expanded to 4 lanes each way.

You're right, it's not much of a drive.

[slamont61]

Milwaukee and Madison will not "meet-up" anytime soon. Once you exit Waukesha County it's all farm land right up until you hit Madison and her Suburbs.

Oconomowoc is on the leading edge of development heading Westward. The Lake Country region of Waukesha County is the best of the best in Suburban life when you consider Milwaukee.

That is where it ends though, there is no way in my life time or my kids that the gap between Waukesha and Madison will be brought together urban style.

Fear not the developers. Plenty of land for all.

[MILWCITY]

Yeah I agree, I can see more development going on around the I94 corridor south to Winthrop Harbor. That's why there expanding it to 4 lanes each way next year.

[lyndontree7812]

[quote=claudelle;6166001] Most of Kenosha already commutes to Chicago. /quote]


No. Not by a long shot.
Check this document of 2009 stats. Scroll down to page 2 where it breaks down the # of commuters. 70% of Kenosha County (that includes Pleasant Prairie) works in Kenosha or in Wisconsin.

https://edis.commerce.state.nc.us/do...e/WI/55059.pdf

[caieva]

Waukesha county may become pretty urban, Dane county already is,
but Jefferson county never will. It's just too far a commute to either Milw or Madison,
and nothing people would want to endure a long commute for - ie good schools, kettle moraine like woods, etc...

[Milwaukee City]

Waukesha county may become pretty urban, Dane county already is,

I would say they both are, however you get outside of madison and it's all farmville and Waukesha county is turning into just one big subdivision.

Milwaukee County 960,000
Dane County 480,000
Waukesha 390,000
Brown County 230,000


Just curious when they do these county or city populations do they count students as full time residents or are they not counted at all?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Wisconsin_population_map.png (broken link)

[urbanismistheonlyoption]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Just curious when they do these county or city populations do they count students as full time residents or are they not counted at all?

I worked for the Census Bureau this past Spring and can tell you that people are counted where they are living on Census Day (April 1, 2010).

Students are residents of whatever municipality they reside in during the school year (like an other renter). Even if they use their parent's address as a "permanent mailing address," that is not their primary place of residence.