A Pair of Streets That Need to Go on a Diet
E. State St.
The streets, E. State St. and E. Wells St., need to lose some weight because these multi-lane one-way expressways that run through East Town disrupt an otherwise walkable neighborhood.
The neighborhood that E. State St. runs through includes MSOE, the Juneau Village Towers and the Yankee Hill Apartments. This is important because these apartment complexes are two of the higher density housing structures in the City of Milwaukee and combined with MSOE students brings thousands of pedestrians the area daily. Despite the large pedestrian population the current street design is apparently geared towards peak automobile traffic days such as the Fourth of July because, it is rare if ever that this street is congested.
E. Wells St. Crash
Although this pair of streets act similar, in that they both act like freeways, the difference between the streets is primarily comprised of the uses along them. E. Wells St. runs past Cathedral Square which is one of the most highly utilized parks in the city and is truly a destination nightlife district. Because of this, concerns around the safety of pedestrians is of importance, but so are accessibility and safety a concern for drivers along this street. It isn’t all that uncommon to see a driver go the wrong way down E. Wells St., turn left from the center lane, because the nature of the street doesn’t fit with the location. Additionally, it is common to see cars continuously circling the block because the parking spot is not easily accessible without circling the neighborhood. The changes to E. Wells St. should include the same features as E. State St., removing a travel lane, converting the street to two-ways, and adding of some form of bike lanes. On top of those enhancement curb bump-outs and enhanced materials could be utilized at the Jefferson St. and Jackson St. intersections to further improve the pedestrian experience.
Putting this pair of streets on a diet may not encourage redevelopment like the Broadway recommendation could, but it should improve the walkability, accessibility, and safety of East Town.
Totally agree. I like biking on those streets now because of the lack of traffic, and what traffic there is, they can drive 2 lanes away from me. Plenty of room to add really nice bike lanes and other things. I’m reminded of Parking Day (www.parkingday.org/) and maybe a few mini green spaces could work. Granted, nothing that cool would ever happen, but I tend to think it’s a good idea to aim for the fences. Bump-outs would be enough.
(cough) room for light rail tracks (sneeze)
I don’t think there’s any rail thought of for these areas, but yea that is a possibility as well…
Amen!
Although this is only tangentially related to this, I think Cathedral Square is actually underutilized and could benefit dramatically from a few improvements. Currently, the park is treated during the warm weather months as nothing other than a staging area for the once-a-week Jazz in the Park. Park usage other than during Jazz is effectively discouraged by the presence of the permanent tent on the property throughout the summer, but more importantly, there are no benches for seating anywhere on the interior portion of the park that encourage bypassers or area employees to stop and grab a seat to enjoy a beautiful day, people watch, or eat their lunch. I realize that a few views of the stage might have to be obstructed, but why not install benches lining the walking paths leading to the circle in the center of the park, or, more importantly, lining that circle with benches. Some of the best parks out there–Union Square in Manhattan, Washington Square Park in Manhattan, or DuPont Circle in Washington, DC–are designed to encourage people to pass time in the middle of the park and are thereby home to a vibrant weekend and even weekday daytime culture that draws still more people to check out what is going on. Musicians playing, people playing chess, others reading books–where is Milwaukee’s public space to do things in a concentrated place? As great as the lake is, getting to Veterans Memorial Park is a pretty good hike for many people. With all of the restaurants, bars, and coffee shops lining Cathedral Square, why can’t it be a hotbed of daytime weekend activity?
@Bill I was thinking there were some park tables in Cathedral Square, but maybe that’s not true anymore. But either way you’re right Cathedral Square needs some upgrades.. and appropriately its an article I’ve been kicking around lately. Thanks for the input.
I’m glad to hear State Street has finally received the OK to go two-ways. But what about Wells? A two-way Wells Street would go a long way to encouraging retail in Postman Square (Wells/2nd/Plankinton), as well as at Cathedral Square. As a bicyclist, I avoid riding down Wells because, while there is less traffic on Wells than Wisconsin Avenue, the street is like the Wild West, a wide open expanse that encourages drivers to speed.
The State St. bridge repair project, which seemingly went on for a decade, supports your arguments that these two streets could be significantly altered.
While the bridge was out, most of the local traffic was diverted and detoured onto other streets as it made its way across East Town, yet that alteration did not bring downtown traffic to gridlock. The project is just one more illustration of the overcapacity of the downtown street space.
@Dave Steele Yes, I’m pretty sure Alderman Bauman is battling to get Wells converted to two-ways but unfortunately it truly is not a simple task to get DPW to go along with one of these projects.
@Eric Great point. All of downtown didn’t come to a halt when that bridge was closed. The good news is State St. will be converted soon, and then the work will be to get Wells converted as well.