Not only is there a planned ground breaking ceremony this Thursday, May 19th, for the Milwaukee Fix, but also a ribbon cutting for the redesigned S. 2nd Street. Both of these developments are ground breaking events for Milwaukee.

2010 appears to be the summer of road construction, more so than any summer in recent memory anyhow. The S. 2nd Street project, which was approved in December 2009 by the Common Council despite Alderman Dudzik’s last minute attempt to derail the project, officially gets going today.

A variety of infrastructure improvements can be utilized to build a quality city, big items such as well designed parks, and little things such as eliminating unnecessary curb cuts can all play a role. Recently, the City of Milwaukee has been moving forward with street improvements such as the “complete street” reconstruction of S. 2nd Street in Walker’s Point which is scheduled for construction this summer, and the conversion of one-way streets to two-way streets such as the E. State Street project currently under construction, but there is more that can be done to enhance streets in Milwaukee to build a better city.

This past Friday a public meeting was held to discuss the reconstruction of S. 2nd Street in Walker’s Point from National Ave. north to the train tracks. As had been proposed here at UrbanMilwaukee.com, and more importantly fought for by business owners in Walker’s Point, the reconstruction will now include many features of a complete street.

Broadway is the center of the action in the Third Ward, it works for business, pedestrians, and even automobiles. But just across I-794 it is a wasteland of surface parking lots and empty storefronts. While there are surely numerous factors in place that have hurt the vitality of this street, an area that can be addressed by the city to make it more attractive to business is to improve the pedestrian environment.

The first thing most people see of Milwaukee’s streets is the vast wasteland of potholes that mark each and everyone of them. I’d wager a guess that most people see this as a problem, I do too, but I also see this as an opportunity. It is an opportunity because in the near future these streets will be rebuilt, and when these streets are rebuilt it is a chance to complete our streets.