Downtown Boulevard for I-794, Completing MARK Rail Plan Will Build City

Milwaukee Intermodal Station. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Strategic development of I-794 and the Milwaukee Area-Racine-Kenosha (MARK) passenger rail project can transform Milwaukee’s economy for decades. But only if we plan for it. In contrast, WisDOT’s 794 “improvement,’’ as some call it, actually stalls growth and forgoes $2 billion in economic gains. Some leaders believe, implausibly, that WisDOT’s “improved” 794 keeps commerce flowing. This approach is reactive, not proactive. Strategically, MARK’s passenger rail will be the heart of an urban- centric district that turbocharges real improvement.

But train platforms alone are not enough. To grow Milwaukee’s heart, we also need the social and economic lifeblood flowing from a complete passenger rail system and robust station district. This district begins with the MARK engineering forecast of 2.3 million annual riders for Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee. A planned gateway district should surround Milwaukee’s Intermodal Station, modeled after successful station districts in comparable cities.

In successful train station districts, riders seek nearby places to live, work and play. Passengers leave and arrive on foot, by auto, by bus or streetcar, via Uber, on bikes and scooters. Businesses gravitate to locations within walking distance — businesses that include startups, branch offices, franchises and corporate newcomers. A growing gateway district can bring jobs, housing, entertainment, public revenues and links to environmental amenities on our lakefront, river and Menomonee Valley.

A thriving gateway district cannot emerge, however, if our Intermodal Station remains strangled on four sides by current obstacles — an inaccessible canal on the south, the monumental post office on the east, an uninviting viaduct on the west and, most obvious, the unappealing 250-foot-wide freeway barricade on the north. Walkways under an overwhelming, dismal freeway never work.

Instead, Milwaukee should plan a balanced, feasible, cooperative solution. Let’s “measure twice and cut once” rather than so quickly moving to rebuild I-794. Unfortunately, with the potential WisDOT recommendation to keep the freeway running through Downtown, balanced opportunities vanish and we face a zero-sum game — a freeway race where only cars can win.

If, however, WisDOT pauses a final recommendation, then within one year the community can plan for balanced costs and benefits. Communitywide planning is not like most WisDOT studies that prioritize transportation and treat land use as a cursory sideline. Communitywide planning goes far beyond “public involvement.” Effective community planning requires shared plan creation by multiple stakeholders with multiple areas of expertise.

With a balanced plan, a rebuilt freeway can still occur, but so too can other ideas for a strong Milwaukee gateway district. A balanced plan will get commuters to work on time, build great neighborhoods on both sides of the river, reduce costs and gain revenue. We should not buy into the current “zero-sum” partisan game where almost everyone loses. We must pause, support the MARK train study, take a strategic look at I-794, consider a gateway district, and then see if we can fix the heart of Milwaukee so all stakeholders benefit.

Larry Witzling, Professor Emeritus UW-Milwaukee