Most of Milwaukee’s riverwalk system has been built as a public-private partnership as new developments occurred, but a file before yesterday’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development committee proposed that the City of Milwaukee fund a short section of the system. City staff determined that an 80-foot stretch along Erie St., between River Renaissance and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, is unlikely to see new development in the foreseeable future.

The previously announced new express bus service from the Milwaukee County Transit System, MetroEXpress, has likely made its impending arrival to regular riders with signs posted on affected bus stops all over Milwaukee County. MCTS has just recently released the full list of stops for the MetroEXpress routes and other affected routes.

According to the Oil Price Information Service the average U.S. family spent $4,200 on gasoline in 2011. To put it in perspective, with that much money you could buy eight iPad 2s, or eight Trek 7.1 FX bicycles, or you might even purchase one expensive cruise to Dubai to see what your gas money is building.

We kickoff 2012 with three predictions about how three projects, which have the potential to change Milwaukee’s landscape, will unfold in 2012. The projects? The reconfiguration of the Lake Interchange, the Milwaukee Streetcar, and Kohl’s potential re-location to downtown Milwaukee.

As the US economy continued it slow recovery from the Great Recession, Milwaukee was left with a couple of failed development projects to complete or redefine, a changing real estate market, the opportunity to make small infrastructure changes, and questions about the future of transit.

The Milwaukee County Transit System has unveiled a name for the new express service, and for the three new express routes. The express service will be known as MetroEXpress, and will begin service January 29th, 2012.

In 1992, Marquette proposed closing Wisconsin Avenue to vehicular traffic between North 11th and North 16th streets, as well as North 12th and North 13th streets between Wisconsin Avenue and Wells Street. Closing a section of Wisconsin Avenue was intended to make the campus safer and more attractive, and it certainly would have had a big impact on the university and city, but would it have been positive?

At the November 22nd, 2011 meeting of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee funds for the construction of new infrastructure within the Reed Street Yards were approved. The 17-acre property, known as the Reed Street Yards, is located between South 6th Street and South 3rd Street, and has been targeted by the City of Milwaukee and the Water Council as the future center of Milwaukee’s water industry.

On Wednesday, November 16th, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00, there will be a Public Hearing on the Draft Environmental Assessment Document for the Milwaukee Streetcar. During this meeting attendees will be able to provide a comment on the record regarding the Milwaukee Streetcar project.

This week there are two important public meetings regarding the future of Milwaukee’s built environment.