MKE Streetcar: Personal Blog
by John December / Updates/More Info: johndecember.com/mke
Please see my caveats about my blog before reading this. I have been reading in the area of urban geography, transportation, urbanism, and history and this has influenced my writing in this blog.
- Streetcar Virtual Right of Way Analysis and Service 2024-07-10
- Observations of streetcar operations show a slowing down of service due to wait times at traffic signals and automobiles parking or otherwise blocking the streetcar path. Methods to simplify routing to alleviate passenger confusion (e.g., combining The Hop's Lakefront and Main Lines) also add to longer ride times. An analysis of operations and routing alternatives might help speed up service and increase rider satisfaction. more...
- Added book notes for The 15-Minute City, Escaping the Housing Trap and Rethinking Parking 2024-06-04
- These books examine issues of urban planning, housing, and parking policies. All of these issues impact how public transit works in a city and the potential of public transit to work better.
- Four Years of Transit: by Foot, Rail, and Bus: Part I: I Completed a Fourth Year of Using Transit and Walking As My Sole Mobility 2024-04-22
- For a fourth year, I have continued to live car-free and rely solely on walking and transit for mobility. This first part describes the continuing activity and development I saw along the streetcar route. The new buildings, the increasing presence of people downtown, and the rising numbers of people using transit revealed the connections among land use, development, and transit ridership. more...
- Book Notes: Shifting Gears: Toward a New Way of Thinking about Transportation by Susan Handy 2024-03-18
- In this book, Susan Handy shows how we can re-examine long-held core ideas about transportation and reconceptualize them to build a better transportation system. more...
- Three Years of Transit: by Foot, Rail, and Bus 2023-08-04
- For a third year, I have continued to live car-free and rely solely on walking and transit for mobility. This essay covers what I experienced during these years, changes accelerated by the pandemic, and insights into car-free travel, transit modes, and urbanism. more...
- Two Years of Transit: by Foot, Rail, and Bus 2022-05-23
- I didn't think my pandemic-inspired pattern of using only public transit and walking would extend another year. But by March 2022, I had added to my "Year of The Hop." For my second year, I continued to use The Hop streetcar, but I added MCTS buses and a trip on the intercity Amtrak train. more...
- Comment on Connect 2050: Planning NOW for the future of transportation in Wisconsin 2022-01-23
- I envision a Wisconsin in 2050 where land use and transportation serve the full spectrum of diverse rural, suburban, and urban communities. People will have many choices for living options and utilize a range of active, multimodal, intermodal, public, and private transportation modes and systems on land, water, rail, and air. A legal and financial framework for cooperatively funding, planning, building, and operating infrastructure and transportation to meet community needs continually works toward the goals of health, equity, livability, and prosperity for everyone. more...
- Comment on the I-94 East-West Corridor Study, Milwaukee - Milwaukee County 2021-03-19
- I'm a Milwaukee resident and know the importance of our highway system and the significance of our city in Wisconsin's transportation network. I believe that your presentation supports the repair of I-94 at its current six-lane capacity, but your claim on eight lanes is not supported by evidence. Your material lacks attention to modern or multimodal transportation management methods and insufficiently addresses equity, climate, and economic issues. Therefore, I write this letter in support of the proper repair, update, and management of the highway, within a multimodal context, at six lanes, but not at eight lanes. more...
- Letter to The Honorable Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation 2020-02-09
- I congratulate you on beginning your service as United States Secretary of Transportation. I want to share with you some perspectives on a transportation mode that is available now, which, in my experience, has already helped the city where I live improve the health, equity, livability, and prosperity of our community. more...
- Comment on the Milwaukee North-South Transit Enhancement Study 2021-03-30
- This project presents an opportunity to remove barriers for underserved residents, address equity concerns, and strengthen our economy by providing quality transit. As a Milwaukee County resident, transit rider, and car-free household, I rely on public transportation and walking to get around. I live in Milwaukee's lower east side, and I've traveled to 27th Street by bus for shopping and medical appointments. I'd like to offer my insights to help fill in some specifics of what a car-free person experiences. Also, I can shed some light on the transit modes of your study, as I use The Hop streetcar for transit and have a good idea of its use in comparison with bus transportation. It is a privilege for me to use transit, and I hope that my comments can enhance transit for the entire community. more...
- Why I Support Streetcars 2021-04-08
- I've utilized The Hop in Milwaukee since its opening in 2018. During that time, I've learned more about transit and streetcars by riding daily, observing streetcars in the city, and studying academic and technical literature. I've developed comments about my support for streetcars used for transportation and city development. I have two sections: Support for Streetcars in General, and then Support for The Hop Streetcar in Milwaukee in specific. more...
- Book Notes: Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit by Christof Spieler 2021-04-08
- I present an overview of this book that profiles 47 US metropolitan areas that had, at its writing, rail transit or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), including The Hop streetcar when it was under construction. The author also presents a remarkable, concise overview of transit concepts and an agenda for the future of transit. more...
- Advantages of Streetcars 2021-03-10
- I've utilized The Hop in Milwaukee since its opening in 2018. Riding The Hop well over 1,000 times, I have learned more about transit and streetcars. By observing its operation and studying academic and technical literature. I've compiled a list of what I see are advantages of Milwaukee's streetcars used for transportation. more...
- Year of The Hop: by Foot and by Rail 2021-03-10
- As news of the global pandemic spread in 2020, I established a pattern of using Milwaukee's Hop streetcar and walking as my sole transit modes. more...