The downtown Milwaukee Streetcar is a two mile starter Streetcar system being recommended to connect the heart of the central business district with the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and high-density residential areas just north of downtown. The Streetcar would provide many benefits, including increased mobility, enhanced multimodal connections and economic development.

The initial system will have five vehicles powered by an overhead electric contact system. The vehicles operate in mixed traffic with 10-minute headways throughout most of the day and 15-minute headways during early morning and late evening hours. The vehicles would be modern low-floor Streetcars similar to those operating in the City of Portland. The initial route would have 12 station pairs strategically located within walking distance to numerous parking structures to facilitate Milwaukee's "Park Once" concept.

Two route extensions that would add 1.55 miles and seven stations to the initial route are also recommended. The 4th Street extension would connect the Intermodal Station and several large entertainment venues within the Park East and Brewery redevelopment areas. The Prospect/Farwell extension would provide Lower East Side residents and the Brady Street commercial district with a direct connection to downtown. Service characteristics would be identical to the initial system, however, the additional route length would require one more Streetcar vehicle to maintain the planned headways. Federal funding under the Exempt Discretionary Program Grants (Section 5309) for Urban Circulator Systems is being requested to implement the extensions. If funding is approved, the goal would be to implement the extensions concurrently with the initial route.