Johnson backs compromise: modernized freeway with smaller footprint, some development.
Johnson backs compromise: modernized freeway with smaller footprint, some development. Back to the full article.
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Absolutely depressing, Mayor Johnson. Although I do agree with: “(…) developable land already exists downtown in the form of surface-level parking lots. ‘We’ve already got dozens and dozens of acres that are ready for redevelopment.'” So yes, let’s develop those, too. Build housing!
The boulevard is the BEST option for the movement and safety of people of all modalities, and would lead to an increased tax base. Change is progress. Reunite downtown with the Third Ward.
Boulevard or bust!
What a short sighted and fear driven mayor; Why compromise over the most valuable real estate in WI? With all due respect to the southern suburbs, they don’t have a freeway cutting through their downtowns – Convenience to them should not come at a cost to the quality of life for people in Milwaukee. Johnson continues to disappoint. The problem now is finding political will from other politicians of equal notoriety. The next governor will ultimately decide the fate of I-794. Norquist was the main catalyst in the park east removal. Johnson taking some pathetic compromising approach after WISDOT force fed the 8 lane expansion at the millerparkway is just a sad sign on the times. Milwaukee is owed better. This city continues to accommodate transient suburbanites at the cost of itself. Its pathetic. If this city wants 1 million residents then attractive land needs to be opened for development. The Marquette interchange already eats up huge swaths of land downtown. Johnson; who are you working for?
There is a plot hole to the development opportunity that comes with the boulevard option; someone actually has to develop on it.
We can all discuss how great all this development would be, but without a developer building on this space, its a waste. I believe that is the point of bringing up this developable land that already exists. If the demand is really there, someone would be developing these spaces already!
I would love to have the boulevard option, but fear that the created space would remain empty for years to come.
Disappointing and I hope the next governor disregards this short sighted option.
Probably a wise choice, all things considered. I generally support freeway reduction, but there are legitimate access concerns for residents of South Milwaukee, Cudahy, and St. Francis, which are diverse working-class communities whose residents would lose the most efficient way of getting to and from workplaces elsewhere in the metro.
Hey Mayor Johnson, have you considered the reason that you have dozens and dozens of acres of land ready for redevelopment – a lot of it directly adjacent to 794 – is because people don’t want to live next to an elevated freeway? Anyone ever see someone outside on their balconies at Commission House on St. Paul and Broadway? No? Me neither. Because no one wants to live next to an elevated freeway.
What a massive disappointment.
@WPDZ the space next to 794 is empty BECAUSE of 794.
@Jimmy I agree. I was referring to the other lots throughout the city that could be redeveloped. Parking lots, vacant lots, etc.
Small time thinking for Milwaukee. The cars win. Just like they do everywhere else in the US.
Man, this is disappointing.. Mayor Johnson seemed to recognize the impact that car dependancy has on a city with Milwaukee’s recent push in street safety policies. Hearing his take on I794 is a hard pill to swallow, and a frustrating one at that.
Rebuilding I794 is a generational commitment. Seeing as other cities around the world have figured out how to move people in and out of a city without carving out their downtowns, I don’t understand how this could be viewed as progress for Milwaukee. In fact, it’s regressive.
In 2026, the Mayor of Milwaukee has decided to endorse a plan that perpetuates a half-baked 1960s concept for another 50 years. Apparently, there is no other way.
P.S. – If it isn’t too much to ask for, could the next billion dollar transportation project be focused on overhauling the county bus system? Or any form of public transit for the city? Heck, I’d settle for $500 million.
I am disappointed in the mayor. We had a chance to do something special in Milwaukee and took the typical conservative approach.
My guess is that most of these commentators do not live anywhere that involves them in using 794 to travel to work or other locations. I don’t regularly use I-43 and wouldn’t be that inconvenienced if that scar though the North Side were gone. But I understand that it’s an important part of getting around town. I think the Mayor struck the right tone in his endorsement of the compromise solution.
Those who grew up in Milwaukee in the 50s were forced, in the late ’60s and early ’70s, to watch the tentacles of a national freeway system expand into downtown by leveling neighborhoods. They must remember the “little pink church,” centerpiece of a founding Italian neighborhood and demolished without conscience in the march of the freeway, I also remember running a race on the Hoan Bridge, which ended then in a portion hanging into space. Somehow, drivers managed to get around.
The idea of a boulevard harkens to Milwaukee’s floral boulevards, once blooming throughout the city and celebrated globally, since dramatically cut back by politicians claiming (as always) budget constraints. I-794, never easy to navigate, was a travesty from the get-go. This is a city of neighborhoods, not of speeding. Slow down and smell the flowers.
So then what was the point of all the community feedback if he was just going to ignore it anyway? No one even uses this stupid freeway.
Clarification: The article states “The freeway structure was built in the early 1970s and is in need of replacement.”.
Only the eastern end of the road (roughly from Broadway/Milwaukee to the Hoan Bridge) dates from the 1970s. Everything west from Broadway/Milwaukee (including the Milwaukee River bridge) was rebuilt at the same time as the Marquette interchange (circa 2008).
I recall there was a debate about boulevard conversion at that time, but the status quo prevailed.
@samowen62 – you are not correct
Extremely disappointing. Everyone, send Mayor Johnson mail. Postcards, email, flood the boxes.
@CraigR – Believe it or not, it’s possible to support something that may inconvenience oneself. This isn’t about what’s best for me. It’s about what’s best for the future of the city and it’s people. Our downtown shouldn’t have to be saddled with 50 more years of 1960’s era freeway design so that commuters can save 10 minutes on their drive.
@julia o’connor the amount of cars and trucks that use this expensive, elevated freeway to bypass downtown is the same as the number that use Layton, College, Rawson or Drexel east of 94. Not put together – in total.
The number does not justify it at all. The removal option includes completely rebuilding on-ramps and off-ramps to better disperse traffic coming from the Marquette Interchange as well as from the Hoan. It also includes rebuilding the Clybourn bridge that’s over 50 years old.
This YouTube video features a ton of very good, relevant research into what we can expect from traffic after rebuilding or removing 794 downtown:
https://bit.ly/794removal
I’m afraid that powerful CEOs who don’t live in the City — and don’t vote in any City of Milwaukee elections including for Mayor —have put heavy thumbs on the scale. Johnson has backed down. Sadly. The boulevard is the best option for the City’s future. Forget about the suburbs. They all fled Milwaukee in the 70s because of integration. The best and right thing to do for Milwaukee is the boulevard option. Do the right thing, Mayor Johnson. You’ve made many good decisions, but this isn’t the decision of a wise man. Mayors and politicians come and go, but their mistakes live on for decades. As a reference, see failed Governor Scott Walker. What a shame.