Alderman Bob Bauman of the 4th District, which includes Marquette, is proposing a plan to put a slow-moving streetcar system that would run from north to south on East St.,”

Plans are in motion for a downtown streetcar system that advocates say would promote tourism and economic development.

Alderman Bob Bauman of the 4th District, which includes Marquette, is proposing a plan to put a slow-moving streetcar system that would run from north to south on East St. Paul and Juneau avenues and east to west on North Van Buren and Fourth streets.

According to Bauman, the streetcar system would cost about $40 million to build but would be free to ride.

"The streetcar system would serve primarily as a downtown development tool," he said.

The tracks would serve tourist attractions and travel near newly developing areas like the Pabst Brewery project, the redeveloped Amtrak Station and the Park East Corridor.

The tracks could also extend to the Summerfest Grounds, Potawatomi Bingo Casino, the Bronzeville district and possibly Miller Park in the future.

"People could come up from Chicago on the Amtrak for a Marquette game and get on the streetcar system and take it to the Bradley Center, then down to Water Street for cocktails after the game," Bauman said.

Bauman said he envisions the Amtrak Station on North Fourth Street and West St. Paul Avenue as becoming a hub for people coming in and out of Milwaukee.

The streetcar would move at a slow pace, about 10 to 12 miles an hour, and would be powered by overhead power lines.

Bauman said the streetcar system would work seven days a week, 365 days a year and have extended hours on weekends for people on Water Street.

This proposal is being advanced by Bauman and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has shown interest in the project, according to Bauman. Currently there is a proposal to study the feasibility of the project. If that is approved in the spring, it would then go to the mayor, the Common Council and the Milwaukee Connector Project for approval.

According to Eileen Force, communications director for the mayor's office, Barrett has discussed the proposal with Bauman and is also familiar with some of the successes that Kenosha has had with similar technologies.

"The streetcar proposal is included in his discussions of various transit options he is carefully reviewing at this time," she said in an e-mail.

Bauman is requesting the feasibility study on his proposal, and if the idea is engineered well and financially sound then Bauman is requesting that the county go forward with it.

It would then fit under the title of the Milwaukee Connector Project headed by the Wisconsin Center District, a downtown economic revitalization organization.

The organization applied for and received funding from the federal government for analysis of a potential downtown transit system.

Barrett voted against another transit concept, which would have replaced the existing bus system with a guided electric bus system.

According to Bauman, the idea was too expensive and would have decreased the quality of service to Milwaukee County.

"The new concept cost $260 million less then the vetoed project," he said.

According to Julie Granger, vice president of communications at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the association was an advocate of the old Milwaukee Connector Proposal because it connected University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with downtown.

"There was a real need to connect UW-Milwaukee with downtown for recruitment issues," she said. "There is a good potential for economic development with a transit plan."

“