Streetcars attracting people back downtown in Kenosha, Wis.
Trolley and streetcar systems are by no means cheap. Nor are they self-sufficient, typically operating with the help of taxpayer money. They also aren't a magic solution to urban traffic congestion.
But for some cities that have incorporated trolley systems into their transit systems, the success comes from spurred development and interest in areas that previously went under utilized.
The city of Kenosha, Wis., used a streetcar system to help transform a nearly 70-acre brownfield that once housed automobile production to create about $150 million in new investments along Lake Michigan and the city's core, according to Kenosha's transportation director Len Brandrup.
"It was being used as an impetus to bring people back to the old downtown of Kenosha rather than continue sprawl," he said.
Part of a citywide master plan, the tax-subsidized system is nearing its seventh year in service. It cost about $5 million to build from scratch, has a $300,000 annual operating budget, counts some 60,000 passengers each year - about as many per hour that board the city's buses - and charges a quarter each time you hop on.
Brandrup admits the $5 million pricetag to build Kenosha's two-mile line could not be duplicated today based on costs, and it's no money-maker for the city of about 100,000 residents. However, commercial advertising - often used by public transportation to capture revenue - is not allowed on the five streetcars they have in operation.
The streetcars are an economic tool to "re-densification of the urban community," he said.
"It's about the only trick left in the bag," Brandrup said. "It's a worthwhile public investment, but make sure it's for the right reason."
Investments along the streetcar line include condos, a new museum, and a museum that has since reopened. Expansion of the streetcar line is in the works...
Have you used the streetcar, pk? How was the ride?
Actually yes I have been on them several times. The first time we went to see the Tall Ships at the Harbor and jumped on the Trolley to check it out. Another time I took my children to the Kenosha Museum which is near a trolley stop and we got on for the ride. Then one time we had friends visiting and we took them on the trolley.
It's especially fun for the kids to ride on it. And for only 25 cents it's a cheap way to entertain them for a while. lol
I'll take some pictures and post them next time I am down there and they are running.
KENOSHA - A Kenosha filmmaker with 32 documentary films under his belt is trying to jump into feature films with a horror picture that will debut here soon.
Local independent filmmaker Mark Gumbinger will hold the premier showing of "Mortuary Girls," shot entirely in Southeastern Wisconsin, at the Brat Stop here on May 2. Gumbinger chose that date because there will be a full moon that night to accompany the on-screen mayhem and murders.
"It's tough to break into Hollywood films," Gumbinger, 46, said Wednesday. But horror films and their devoted cult following lend themselves to making that leap.
"I've always wanted to do it, and the timing was right," he said. The plot came to him in 1990, but the technology then would probably have required him to shoot on 16 mm film. "It would have probably cost 10 times more," he said.
"Mortuary Girls" falls into the film cost category of "ultra-low budget" at less than $175,000, Gumbinger said, although it's hard to calculate an exact cost. For example, he worked for nothing for more than a year, passing on the chance to make the Great Lakes, lighthouse and shipwreck documentaries he usually produces.
Here's an interesting news article about a story that unfolded 50 years ago in Kenosha concerning a photographer, Buddy Holly, great music, and an event that never was forgotten.
Wisconsin photographer remembers Buddy Holly
Nine days before the music died amid the twisted wreckage of a Beechcraft Bonanza in a frozen Iowa cornfield, it was very much alive in a downtown Kenosha ballroom.
Fifty years ago on Jan. 24 — it fell on a Saturday in 1959, just as it will this year — Kenosha photographer Tony Szikil was impatiently glancing at his watch. He had been booked for a wedding at what was then known as the Eagles Ballroom on 58th Street, but the current of what would endure as timeless music was fiercely tugging at him.
One floor above where the then 24-year-old Szikil was wrapping up his wedding assignment — or so he thought he was — Buddy Holly was strumming his Fender Stratocaster guitar to an audience of 1,500 energized kids
Here's an interesting news article about a story that unfolded 50 years ago in Kenosha concerning a photographer, Buddy Holly, great music, and an event that never was forgotten.
Wisconsin photographer remembers Buddy Holly
Nine days before the music died amid the twisted wreckage of a Beechcraft Bonanza in a frozen Iowa cornfield, it was very much alive in a downtown Kenosha ballroom.
Fifty years ago on Jan. 24 — it fell on a Saturday in 1959, just as it will this year — Kenosha photographer Tony Szikil was impatiently glancing at his watch. He had been booked for a wedding at what was then known as the Eagles Ballroom on 58th Street, but the current of what would endure as timeless music was fiercely tugging at him.
One floor above where the then 24-year-old Szikil was wrapping up his wedding assignment — or so he thought he was — Buddy Holly was strumming his Fender Stratocaster guitar to an audience of 1,500 energized kids
Clerk killed in armed robbery; suspects still at large
A Kenosha teenager was killed and another man was injured in an armed robbery of a Kenosha drive-in restaurant.
According to Kenosha Police, the robbers shot an 18-year-old Kenosha man, who was working as a clerk, and a 43-year-old Kenosha man, a manager, at Shirl’s Drive-In Restaurant, 7943 Sheridan Road, around 9:39 p.m. on Sunday. Both men were taken from the scene by Kenosha Fire Department rescue personnel to Kenosha Medical Center.
I woke up this morning to this awful news about an 18 year old shot and killed at one of our local ice cream restaurants. Is nothing safe for our children to work at? How terrible this must be for the family that is left behind.
What also hit me was the fact that my oldest daughter and her son was just at Shirl's about 2 hours or so prior to this happening. I'm so thankful they were out of there way before this happened.
We certainly hope they catch the two men that did this so they will not hurt anyone else.
Our thoughts and prayers are with this family.
__________________ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
The 2 suspects are still being sought after. They are both described as Hispanic, around 5'10' to 6 feet with one having longer hair. Full description in the link to the story below.
Any person with information about this situation is encouraged to call the Kenosha Police Department 605-5210. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 can call Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 656-7333 or (800) 807-8477 (800) 807-8477.
__________________ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
Kenosha police said there's a manhunt in the Green Bay area for two men they're seeking in connection with the fatal shooting of Robert W. Wilde, a teenage clerk, at Shirl's Drive-In restaurant Sunday and the shooting of the drive-in's manager.
Police Chief John W. Morrissey said authorities want to question Daniel Gonzalez, 23, and Julian Jerome Miller, 28, in connection with the shooting. He said both men are dangerous.
Morrissey described the two as "a couple of pieces of garbage" who have struck fear in the Kenosha community. He said they were being tracked by authorities in the Green Bay and Ashwaubenon area as of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and were in Milwaukee and Franklin as recently as Tuesday night.
Any person with information about this situation is encouraged to call the Kenosha Police Department 605-5210. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 can call Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 656-7333 or (800) 807-8477 (800) 807-8477 (800) 807-8477 (800) 807-8477.
__________________ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
I read this several times thinking OMG my youngest daughter (16) gets off the bus at that same High School about 12:10 a.m. I usually get there about 15 minutes early to pick her up and then we sit for a few minutes talking. They captured the guy just a few minutes after we would have left. That means he could have been right there at the time that we would be sitting there.
Good news, she was suppose to finish her job this Friday. We both had such a strong feeling she should quit a few days early. That is so not like us to do something like that but it kept bugging me to let her quit. Wow, makes me wonder if there was a bigger reason why we felt that way.
__________________ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
UW-Parkside celebrates anniversary
Laughter and pride filled the University Ballroom at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday night as the school looked back on 40 years and talked of continued growth.
Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, Wisconsin's last operating dog racing track, announced Tuesday that it will close with the conclusion of racing on Dec. 31.
KENOSHA - Now in its second year, Kenosha HarborMarket becomes Winter HarborMarket and has moved indoors to the Rhode Center for the Arts, 514 56th St.
Around 11:00 last night (Jan 10th, 2011) a blast that could be heard for over 4 miles occurred from a possible gas leak that leveled a house in Kenosha.
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