Statement on the Partial Parking Structure Collapse at Bayshore Town Center

GLENDALE –  Representative Darrin Madison (District 10) issued the following statement following yesterday’s partial parking structure collapse at the Bayshore Town Center in Glendale.

Representative Madison (D-10) issued the following statement:

“I am very grateful that no one was hurt in the incident. Safe communities are my top priority and I recognize that this could have been much worse. I am working with stakeholders at the local and state level to find solutions that prevent something like this from happening again.

Parking structures are considered ‘public buildings’ within state statutes 101.01 (12) and are therefore governed by the Commercial Building Code. Current statute requires building inspections when a building is constructed or altered. There is no requirement for public buildings to be inspected after construction unless it is altered or if there has been a complaint about the building’s safety.

While there are additional challenges to inspecting most public buildings after construction is completed, parking structures are more like bridges and dams in the sense that the structural integrity is usually visible and therefore easier to inspect. Under current law bridges (s. 84.17) are required to be inspected by the DOT or local government every 2-4 years depending on circumstances and dams (s. 31.19) have required inspection intervals and responsibility that vary by dam classification. Following this precedent, one solution we are looking into would be to classify parking structures in a new manner that requires inspection periodically after construction.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.