Monona Terrace train station makes sense

Thursday, May 13, 2010

From an editorial in The Capital Times:

Real cities are served by trains, and those trains stop in their vibrant downtowns.

As such, the signal from state officials — led by Gov. Jim Doyle — that Madison’s new Amtrak station should be located at or near Monona Terrace is a sound one.

There are still details to be worked out. The Department of Transportation must choose an exact location to recommend. Three state-owned office buildings — at 101 E. Wilson St., 121 E. Wilson St. and 1 W. Wilson St. — are in the running. And the plans to retrofit the existing structures as stations are innovative and intriguing.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz responded with appropriate enthusiasm, declaring that Gov. Doyle “made absolutely the right decision, and in some ways a courageous decision, and one that is going to benefit the city of Madison for generations to come.”