Creating connectivity: Couture Transit Concourse brings The Hop, BRT to Milwaukee's lakefront

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new public transportation hub is open at Milwaukee's lakefront.

The Couture Transit Concourse is located underneath The Couture apartments, the city's newest and tallest residential building.

The concourse is accessible from Clybourn and Michigan street.

it houses a new Lakefront stop for The Hop streetcar, and soon, an MCTS Connect 1 BRT stop.

City and County leaders held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, April 11. 

"Where transit goes, money flows," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

The Hop's new L-Line is now fully operational, arriving at the Lakefront stop every 20 minutes.

The new bus route starts June 2, just in time for Summerfest and tourism season.

"Transit serves as a lifeline to jobs, opportunities, and to improve communities and people's lives," said Kelly Brookins, regional administrator for the Federal Transit Administration.

Much of the expansion is funded through grants from the Federal Transit Administration.

"The federal investment in these projects, the BRT, the streetcar, and the Transit Concourse is in excess of $110 million," Brookins said.

The Couture Transit Concourse has been ten years in the making.

Alderman Robert Bauman, a supporter from the start, said it's crucial for the city's lakefront.

"Connectivity, economic development, and additional tax space which allows us to maintain and expand our public services throughout the city," Bauman noted.

With the new line in action, he wants to see The Hop continue to grow.

"Hopefully we'll be able to expand the Lakefront Line all the way up to Fiserv Forum in the very near future, and we're going to start working on that right away," Bauman said.

Public transit expansion remains a priority for Milwaukee County and city leaders.

"This is how we move our greatest commodity, which is our people," said County Executive David Crowley. "If we're going to make, not just Milwaukee County, but southeastern Wisconsin a place for folks to come, work, play, and live, we have to continue to grow our transit."

Click here to see The Hop's full schedule.

Click here to learn more about MCTS Connect 1 Bus Rapid Transit.