CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Eastern Air Lines used to be a part of the fabric of business travel in the northeast. Everyone in New York knew about the Eastern Shuttle to Washington. Departures every hour on the hour, from LaGuardia to National Airport. No reservations required. If the plane was full, they’d roll out a second plane that would depart 10 minutes later.
But smart travelers knew to take Amtrak. Before there were Acelas, Amtrak’s MetroLiner took you from downtown to downtown in 3 hours. Faster than flying when you considered the taxi or limo rides to and from the airport.
The train’s only advantage is downtown-to-downtown travel.
In the next five years, train service will return to Madison. Lets see if our brightest minds remember the downtown-to-downtown rule, or if they make some silly politically correct choice. This is an important statewide issue, because federal funding will eventually run out for operating the new train and the state will have to make up the difference. A train that no one rides because the station is in the wrong place is a tax-drain for everyone.
Eight locations for a new Madison train station are being considered. The one – the only – correct choice is the Monona Terrace sight. The station would be underneath the state’s administration building. It’s the right choice because it’s in the heart of the city, and within walking distance of the state capitol. Seven other sites are wrong, and frankly, stupid. There are three other “downtown” locations, five blocks, nine blocks, and twelve blocks further away. In winter, the interest in walking 12 city blocks is zero.
The city is also considering other “equity” sites. The Oscar Meyer plant is shut down, putting the train station there would revitalize the neighborhood and eliminate an eyesore. But it would drop passengers off where no one wants to go. Locations near the Dane County Airport are also useless.
Madison is actually fortunate that it has a downtown site that can work. In other cities land acquisition makes downtown rail prohibitively expensive. This new service has potential: Chicago-Milwaukee-Eau Claire to Minneapolis is a well traveled corridor that used to support multiple trains a day. Madison is a busy city where no one travels by train; the closest station is Columbus, a half-hour bus ride away.
I’m a train guy; let’s get this right, and we have a chance at a new, well-used, successful transportation service.
Let’s see if Madison’s leaders land on the right choice.
Chris Conley
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