NEWS
Alders decide not to send trolley referendum to voters this April
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by Courtney Johnson
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
The Madison City Council overwhelmingly rejected placing an advisory streetcar referendum on the Apr. 3 election Tuesday night.
It is possible the streetcars will be put to a later referendum, however, as the city awaits the results of a $300,000 streetcar feasibility study expected to be completed this summer.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz formed the Streetcar Study Committee to determine the effects and costs of an electric streetcar system, a proposal he has long supported.
His support for that proposal — which if implemented, is likely to cost the city a lot of money — has been a favorite target of all three mayoral challengers.
"Streetcars are blamed for the fact that Badgers can't hit the 3-point shot, and gingivitis, and the fact that it's very cold in here tonight — you name it," Cieslewicz joked at the meeting. "It is, in my view, somewhat overblown as an issue."
The mayor hopes a city-wide streetcar system would improve Madison's economic development while providing a more environmentally friendly alternative to cars or buses.
Despite his opposition to a Madison trolley system, mayoral candidate Ray Allen spoke at the City Council meeting against adding the issue to April ballots. He said the $25,000 it would cost to add a streetcar referendum to ballots is too expensive.
"Madison taxpayers have already paid $300,000 of local funds to study streetcars," Allen said. "I don't think we should have to pay one more dime, much less $25,000, on this ridiculous idea."
The City Council voted in 2005 to allow public funds to pay for the Streetcar Study Committee, a point some alders brought up when voicing their opposition to the proposed referendum.
"Right now we are studying the feasibility of streetcars, and for us to go to referendum after authorizing and paying for most of the report before we have the report before us … we [would be] really doing things in the absolute wrong order," Ald. Ken Golden, District 10, said.
Speakers at Tuesday's meeting also expressed doubt that Madison voters would fully understand what they would be voting on, as no definite costs or route information will be available until after the streetcar study is completed.
"My main objection to the referendum now is that it gives no implication to the ordinary citizen about the huge fiscal implications of this," said Rosemary Lee, member of the State-Langdon Neighborhood Steering Committee.
Lee requested that, if the City Council did decide to add the referendum to April ballots, the referendum include a general price range of the streetcar system for voters.
Also speaking out against the trolleys was mayoral candidate Will Sandstrom.
"We must not build a trolley which the cost of will (be) placed on the property tax — that is a very negative tax," said Sandstrom, who garnered less than 2 percent of the vote in his 2003 mayoral bid. "We must not fall into that trap."
Sandstrom also expressed concern that dirty money might be used in building a streetcar system, in particular funds from a "Madison Mafia."
The mayor announced last week he would seek a binding streetcar referendum after the Streetcar Study Committee presents its findings this summer.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 7:07am):
Picture caption: Judo CHOP!
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 7:50am):
DUMP THE TROLLEY IDEA--
Madison taxpayers say no to a what will be essentially a free trolley for a few former bus riders to ride around in. The Portland trolley has a free ride zone and the Tacoma trolley is free. The trolley will require millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to build and operate. The feds won't help. Most riders will be former bus riders--so what is being achieved? The lumbering trolley will clog the streets like the slow-moving, double-parked beer trucks do now. The trolley will add to congestion. The trolley will make only an infinitesimal difference in overall transit ridership. The trolley may well actually add to the air pollution because it may slow down traffic resulting in more idling cars stuck behind it. Madison Metro is now using the low sulfur diesel gas which uses 97% less sulfur than the gas it replaced mitigating the need for a trolley system based on the less polluting vehicle argument. Madison has many more pressing needs like affordable housing than building a second transit service that will bankrupt the city.
The astronomical costs of the trolley would harm the bus system by sucking-up all of the money like a vacuum. The cost ratio is like $20 to $1.
Building rail has hurt the bus riders in other cities like in LA.
The LA bus riders sued and won over the issue of rail interests taking all of the money-- http://www.busridersunion.org/engli/index.html
As a result the LA transit system operated for 10 yrs under a judge's consent decree.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 10:46am):
What is Phil Jackson doing at the council meeting?
-Mr. Pirate
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 10:52am):
Hey weird loser guy that's always hating on Ashok - when you post twice within one minute of each other, we know it's you both times!
I think, whoever you are, you should run against him, only so that he can trounce you like he did all the other opponents and then perhaps you'll slink back to wherever you came from.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 12:14pm):
Forget putting it on a ballot, the locals should be concerned about spending $300K on a study... no palms are being greased there! Pay me half that much and I will give them an answer in 10 minutes. Political corruption at its best, no wonder taxes need to be raised.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 2:02pm):
It's not like this would have been the first time people would have voted on a referendum they didn't understand.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 2:35pm):
I actually sat next to both of the ashok posters, they were seperate.
Anonymous (February 7, 2007 @ 2:40pm):
Shouldn't Ray Allen be out knocking on doors instead of posting on this forum? I'm sure the local republican party could get him a list of names or something.
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