Since December 2010, the Milwaukee County Transit System has been proposing splitting up Route 23 Fond du Lac Avenue on the northwest side. This plan has been finalized by the Milwaukee County Board’s Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee and will proceed on March 27, 2011.

The plan calls for turning the segments of Route 23 that serve northwest side industrial parks into a new Route 223. The segments were created in 2004 when Route 101 Silver Mill-Park Place Shuttle and Route 102 West Loop Shuttle were eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. The Mill Road Transit Center at 76th/Mill was also closed.

It seems strange that MCTS is taking a segment of existing service and branding it as a new route. According to an article about the change produced by the bus system the route is being ‘created’ to ‘serve businesses’. On the other hand, a report from the Managing Director of the bus system to the Transit committee says that the current Route 23 is hard to manage and requested the route.

The real threat here is that the full-service ends of this route, at Vincent High School and at 107th/Fond du Lac will be redesignated as Route 223 and be reduced to limited service. Scott Walker has attempted to eliminate these parts of Route 23 in the 2008 County Budget.

The 91st Street branch of Route 23 has full service up to Vincent High School at Granville/Calumet. The Mill Road branch has full service up to 107th/Fond du Lac, where a sizable, transit dependant residential district is.

Little has been released about the changes yet. We will publish updates soon.