Dane County, rail service make perfect couple

Saturday, August 25, 2007

From a guest column by Al Matano in The Capital Times:

Dane County is on the cusp of an exciting opportunity. Transport 2020 is a study that represents a progressive, regional vision of transportation improvements to strengthen our economy and our community.

The isthmus compresses transportation routes into a narrow corridor -- too narrow to fit a freeway. Commuter rail would transform it from a bottleneck to a transportation asset, allowing us to support a transit system that a much bigger city would normally support. Our land and neighborhoods are much too valuable to squander by paving them over.

Rail transit generates development and density. Plans to redevelop the Department of Transportation property are oriented toward a future rail stop, as is the redevelopment of the city of Sun Prairie's downtown.

In Washington, D.C., a new rail line transformed a sleepy area with ramshackle shops and restaurants into a highly developed corridor. The density created still more ridership. Washington's Metro suffers the enviable problem of overcrowded trains.

Regional bus service would bring people in outlying communities to the rail line, taking cars off the road and benefiting transit riders and automobile commuters alike.

Al Matano is a member of the Dane County Board and the Transport 2020 commission.