KRM stands for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee rail commuter system and is used whenever the cognoscenti is looking for cute short-hand.
This thing just won't go away; not because it is an idea whose time has come, but because those who want it will keep hammering us over the head until we submit to their brilliance. This system would supposedly make us the equivalent of a Denver, or San Diego or Minneapolis, or any other metropolitan area that has built such a system to rid itself of commuters on four wheels.
Rail systems simply do not reach the point where subsidies are unnecessary. Chicago's 'L' is getting a tax boost of $1 Billion and this is a system used extensively by tens of thousands of commuters daily. Even with that level of ridership, the system needs a hand-out for repairs and upgrades. Amtrak is another wonderful example. It will never get to the point of being self-sufficient; the best hope is that somehow it will get to a point where the costs will diminish.
The 'rail crowd' is enamored with how great KRM would be. It would supposedly elevate our metro area to a status it has yet to attain on its own. It would make us a daunting force in our quest to stem the outflow of jobs while it also helps to create new jobs due to all the corporate headquarters that would decide to relocate to the Milwaukee area.
Why don't we get our Milwaukee schools on the track before we build tracks if we want to keep jobs and attract new jobs? Why don't we build the added expressway lanes necessary to support current traffic demand? The answer to that question is actually very easy: the rail lovers don't want vehicular commuting to get any easier. If they keep pounding us with their message at the same time that we get caught in traffic congestion, maybe then we'll weaken and let them have their way.
KRM should become the favored acronym for those of us who don't want rail: Keep Rail Money. Buy a few more buses that can go in something other than a straight line. What a novel concept that is. Take those who wish to avoid driving to close to where they wish to get off, rather than on a straight line trip downtown that leaves one blocks or miles away from the real destination. That is especially helpful in sub-zero weather.
Which reminds me of our charming Milwaukee politicos who are giving Menomonee Falls a hard time over water rights renewal due to Waukesha County refusing to continue to subsidize the bus that ran into Waukesha County. That is another novel idea. Make suburbs as bad as Milwaukee and maybe we'll stop the outward migration that has gone on since the 70s. That's the grand old American way, isn't it?
