MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin needs to invest in transit if the state wants to move forward, according to Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

Local officials and others interested in mass transit gathered in Milwaukee Friday to hear Bernstein, a transit consultant from Chicago, talk about the value of spending on mass transit in Wisconsin.

Regional transit was the focus of the Community Development Summit hosted by the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin.

"The benefits of moving forward with these decisions are irrefutable," Bernstein said. "It's time to start acting like a region, because you can't afford not to."

State and local officials are trying to put together a system that connects regions like southeastern Wisconsin, including plans to build a commuter rail extension from Kenosha to Milwaukee. The state also plans to build high-speed rail.

Bernstein, the event's keynote speaker, said Milwaukee once had one of the best mass transit systems in the world, but it's gone. The state needs to make the necessary investments in transit if it expects the economy in places like Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha to improve, he said.

The panel discussion following Bernstein's talk included Karl Ostby, chairman of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority and Jeff Van Koningsveld, a union leader from Racine and co-chair of the Racine Transit Task Force.

Van Koningsveld said he is involved in the largest coalition he has ever seen, involving union and corporate leaders, faith-based groups, small business owners and people of all political persuasions. Following the conference Van Koningsveld was optimistic about the prospects for transit in the region.

"We have to keep moving forward. We have to start running a campaign. I know in the city of Racine what we're going to start doing is narrowing our message and trying to educate the population and educate our leaders and our aldermen and our supervisors of what this will do to the economy and what good this will do for Racine," Van Koningsveld said.