Milwaukee

I'm sure everyone is aware of the Walnut Street reconstruction between 20th Street and 12th Street that added protected bike lanes. Well, the city quietly just did another project, this time from 12th to Vel Phillips, that extends the protected bike lanes using concrete barriers! I updated CyclOSM to show it, but it might take a bit for the map to visually update.

Looks like they’re removing the yellow scaffolding.. all that appears to remain is the roof of the mechanical penthouse.

From the Article:

The Universities of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents rejected a compromise with Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in a special meeting Saturday.

The deal, brokered by university leaders and released on Friday, would have seen legislators release pay raises for about 34,000 university system employees that have been in limbo for months in exchange for cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion positions and other measures.

Members of the boards made speeches in favor of diversity programming and warned that accepting the deal would only lead to future concessions to lawmakers. It is rare for the board to reject a proposal that has been put up for a vote.

“It’s divisive, it’s polarizing and will ultimately lead to even more negative effects on the university system for decades to come. Let’s go back to the table,” said Regent Angela Adams. “Our brand reputation also has value. And so I’ve reached the conclusion that it is shortsighted to accept such an indecent proposal.”

During the debate, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said the university system is committed to closing gaps in retention and graduation rates among underrepresented students.

“At the same time, we have to look at diversity as a broader concept, and we have to be inclusive and belonging to all students,” Rothman said. “Certainly underrepresented students from underrepresented groups, but also students of different ideological and religious space, veterans, disabled students, first generation students and the like. That is all part and parcel of who we are at the Universities of Wisconsin as we live our core values of diversity and inclusion.”

The deal Rothman brokered with Vos would have created an administrative chair position to focus on “conservative political thought, classical economic theory, or classical liberalism.” It also would have ended a program aimed at recruiting faculty of color.

Ashok Rai was one of the regents who spoke in favor of the plan. He said he first came to UW-Milwaukee in 1990, shortly before the start of the Gulf War.

“I was called names that I had never imagined being called before,” he said. “Diversity means a lot to me. Equity means a lot to me.”

Rai said he trusted Rothman and UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to negotiate what is in the best interest of the universities.

Nine members of the board voted against the plan, while eight voted in favor.

From the Article:

With repairs to the Kletzsch Park Dam and construction of a fish passage almost complete, a Milwaukee County Supervisor is moving to develop an overlook and portage around the historic dam.

Sup. Liz Sumner, whose county board district includes Kletzsch Park, sponsored a resolution to allocate approximately $309,000 to develop a scenic overlook at the dam. The overlook will provide a place for canoers and kayakers to portage, keeping them out of the fish passage on the east side of the river, and it will improve access to the river and the dam for visitors with disabilities, Sumner’s resolution states.

The board will vote on the legislation this month.

Repairs to the Kletzsch Park Dam and the construction of a fish passage are almost complete. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) took the project over in 2021, through an agreement with the county, to get the project underway and remove one of the last remaining barriers to fish passage on the Milwaukee River.

The county began work on the Kletzsch dam project after the Department of Natural Resources cited the county in 2010 and 2016, ordering repairs to the dam.

When Milwaukee County Parks brought the project before the board in 2020, it faced significant opposition from county residents and failed to gain board support. Opposition centered around the county’s plan to build the fish passage on the west side of the river, which would have necessitated the removal of some old-growth trees. To build the passage on the east side of the river, the county would have had to acquire property and it did not have the funding.

A year later, MMSD stepped in and offered to take the project on and bankroll the acquisition of properties on the east side of the river.

“They had the unique opportunity and statutory authority, as well as access to additional funding opportunities that Milwaukee County Parks would not have,” Parks Director Guy Smith said in 2021.

The Kletsch Dam project is part of a larger effort to delist the Milwaukee estuary as an Area of Concern. The designation as an AOC was given to the Milwaukee estuary by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1987. The estuary is made up by the confluence of Milwaukee’s three major rivers: Menomonee, Kinnickinnic and Milwaukee. The designation is given to waterways and bodies of water connected to the Great Lakes that are seriously degraded.

“The Kletzsch Dam fish passage and abutment repair is such an important project for the Area of Concern, but also for Milwaukee County Parks and for the region,” Kevin Shafer, executive director of MMSD said in 2021.

The Kltezsch Dam project is aimed at a critical piece of AOC work: restoring fish passage for native species like Northern Pike and Sturgeon. Opening up the passage will restore natural habitats for the fish and improve the natural reproduction and spawning of the species.

Under the agreement with MMSD, the county will retain ownership of the dam and the passage and will be responsible for long-term maintenance.

The sewerage district is nearly finished with the dam rehab and passage construction, according to an MMSD project page. The fish passage will be completed this month and water will begin flowing through the channel.

Once finished, according to MMSD, fish in Lake Michigan will be able to travel upstream to “areas encompassing 25 miles of river, 29 miles of tributary streams, and 2,400 acres of wetlands – reconnecting river habitats and allowing the fish to migrate throughout the region.”

From the Article:

Milwaukee County Transportation officials are hoping the second bus rapid transit (BRT) project they’re planning will be ready for federal funding by the end of 2024, and that the service will be up and running by 2028.

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) has begun planning a new, 18-mile bus rapid transit service that will run north and south primarily along 27th Street. The route for the proposed BRT service was unveiled in 2022 and, going north to south, runs from Bayshore Town Center in Glendale to the Ikea store in Franklin.

MCTS officials and their consultants from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the engineering consultant HNTB have completed some of the critical early steps to getting a large transit project ready for federal funding.

Officials are working closely with the Federal Transit Administration, the federal agency that would award grant funding for the project, said Carolyn Seboe, a project manager with HNTB, county board committee meeting Tuesday. The project is currently in the middle of an environmental review, and design work, including traffic modeling, has already begun, Seboe told the board’s Committee on Transportation and Transit.

The plan is to apply for federal funding, most likely a Small Starts grant, by the end of 2024, said David Locher, MCTS enhanced transit manager.

“We want to have shovels in the ground in 2026 and then pick up our first passenger in 2028,” Locher said.

The county used a Small Starts grant to fund 80% of the project cost for the Connect 1, with a 20% local match. MCTS is expecting such a funding split again, and some of the money that has already been spent on planning can count toward the local match, Locher said.
The transit system has already held 23 local stakeholder meetings and participated in 14 community events through its marketing consultant, Abrazo Marketing. And MCTS is planning to begin holding public hearings in late January or early February 2024.

The new BRT service would be twice as long as the Connect 1 bus rapid transit service that launched in June, with 64 stations serving 32 stops compared to the 33 stations along the Connect 1. The new service would offer a connection to 55% of MCTS bus routes and would intersect with Connect 1 at the intersection of N. 27th Street and W. Wisconsin Avenue.

The new BRT service, as designed, “radiates from an epicenter at 27th and Wisconsin, to really make that kind of the new tentpole of the Milwaukee County Transit System,” Locher said.

The planned route would service 51,000 jobs and 116,000 county residences across five municipalities, according to an analysis by SEWRPC, which also found that 27% of residents along the route live in poverty and one in five households do not have a car.
The Connect 1 serves as the “proof of concept,” Locher said. Even before it became public, MCTS officials have long considered the 27th Street corridor ripe for a transit enhancement. An overarching goal of the project is to reduce end to end travel by approximately 10 to 15 minutes and increase bus frequency from one bus every 15 minutes to one every 10 minutes. Additionally, the transit service will include new transit technologies and dedicated bus lanes that distinguish it from other regular fixed bus routes.

MCTS plans to use the lessons from Connect 1 and improve upon the service for the BRT route through the 27th Street corridor, Locher said.

From the Article:

The public had an opportunity Monday to weigh in on a plan that would revamp Milwaukee's approach to housing policy.

As part of Mayor Cavalier Johnson's push to bring Milwaukee to one million residents, the Department of City Development (DCD) has begun the process of overhauling the city's zoning ordinances.

The DCD has already drafted a set of recommendations, and over the last two weeks, there have been a pair of public meetings aimed at collecting feedback.

The biggest change would end the practice of having some residential areas limited to only single-family housing. Currently, 40% of Milwaukee's residential land area is currently limited to single-family homes, according to a report the DCD released in October.

At Monday's public hearing, which was held at the Milwaukee Public Library's Good Hope Road location, Tracy Egerson intently read various informational board and scribbled her thoughts on sticky notes.

Egerson, who said she works in banking, was clearly passionate about the subject.

"I've dedicated my life to homeownership, currently with a concentration in Black homeownership and Hispanic homeownership," she said. "So, to me, I eat and breathe this topic."

Egerson said she supported the proposed zoning overhaul because of the value it'd bring for working-class kids. Edgerson said putting more small apartment buildings in the heart of residential neighborhoods would expose those children to successful homeowners at an early age.

"There's something to be said for a low-income family that can see a family that's maybe doing a little better," Egerson said. "The kids can aspire to maybe what they're doing."

Milwaukee's population peaked at 741,300 in 1960, according to U.S. Census records, but has steadily declined since, dipping to 576,300 in 2020.

Sam Leichtling, the city's planning manager, said the proposed changes would bring Milwaukee back to its roots. Leichtling said increasing the number of duplexes, townhouses and accessory dwelling units, known commonly as in-law suits, would allow families to stay together as parents age or as young adults prepare to head out on their own.

"We want to make sure that our zoning codes supports those styles of homes," he said.

Leichtling added the proposed changes wouldn't lead to the development of large multi-family apartment buildings in quiet neighborhoods. Instead, the recommendations suggest too many of Milwaukee's new apartments have been part of large developments. Since 2002, 80% of Milwaukee's new apartment units have come as part of buildings that include 25 or more units.

The drafted recommendations call for allowing duplexes and triplexes in areas currently zoned for single-family housing, while allowing fourplexes in areas zoned for two-family homes.

"The 'Growing MKE' recommendations aren't about plopping a skyscraper in the middle of a residential neighborhood," Leichtling said. "It's about saying, 'How do we incrementally grow?'"

Egerson said she believed such a change would allow first-time homeowners to also build wealth by becoming first-time landlords.

"That allows for the owners to have passive income in duplexes," she said. "So, you can generate income within your property."

Some of the other recommended changes include no longer requiring new developments to add a minimum number of parking spots tied to the amount of units being added. The draft also calls for ensuring new mixed-use developments emphasize having pedestrian-friendly ground levels.

Enrique Crespo said he was particularly supportive of those proposed building code changes.

"Having corner stores on the block, a little convenience store under you, so it encourages people to maybe bike, maybe walk," Crespo said. "And therefore interact with the community more."

Monday's meeting followed a similar session last week at the Mitchell Street Library. A virtual meeting is set for Wednesday, and open hours windows are scheduled at eight different libraries through Dec. 19; those times and locations are available here.

Leichtling said the DCD would review the feedback it gets and incorporate it into a final set of recommendations that will go before the Milwaukee Common Council. He said that presentation will likely happen in either the late spring or early summer of 2024.

From the article:

Fire ripped through Milwaukee's historic Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church more than five years ago, and work continues to rebuild it.

In the aftermath, millions of dollars in restoration work was needed on the 140-year-old church. The community came together Saturday, Dec. 2 to support those working on the restoration.

"Pulled everything out of the church. Brought it here," said Ben Zuehlsdorf, owner of Zuehlsdorf Woodworks.

As part of the effort to raise money to help with those restorations, Zuehlsdorf Woodworks in West Allis hosted an open house fundraiser.

"It’s part of our history, it’s part of our Lutheran heritage, it’s part of Milwaukee history. It’s super important to me that this gets finished," Zuehlsdorf said.

From the article:

It's that time of year again: those winter parking signs we can ignore for much of the year are back in effect.

The City of Milwaukee's annual winter parking regulations kicked in on Dec. 1, 2023 and continue until March 1, 2024.

Here are the details of this year's Winter Parking Regulations, which kick in on Thursday of this week and run through March 1, 2024, as provided by DPW:

• No overnight parking is allowed on through highways and mass transit (bus) routes from December 1 to March 1. These streets are not posted. For a list of these streets please go to mpw.milwaukee.gov/services/winterregs page. In case of a "Snow Emergency" prior to Dec. 1 or after March 1, vehicles must be moved to a side street and must be legally parked in conformity with all other regulations on the proper side of the street.

• Overnight parking is allowed on both sides of the street from March 1 to Dec. 1. Alternate side night parking is allowed from Dec. 1 to March 1. These streets are not posted. For a list of these streets please go to the milwaukee.gov/Parking/ParkingRegulations page.

• Certain residential streets are posted "No Parking When Snow Falls 4 Inches or More." Parking is allowed on both sides of the street, except when snow has accumulated on the street surface to the depth of 4 inches or more. Then no parking is allowed on the side of the street where the sign is posted until the snow has been removed – day or night or at any time of the year. To determine whether this regulation applies to a specific street go to milwaukee.gov/Parking/ParkingRegulations .

• Certain residential streets are restricted to parking on a specific side of the street during the winter months. These streets are posted with signs reading "No Parking" on one side of the street, either for the entire Dec. 1 to March 1 period, or with a monthly alternation of the prohibited side. To determine whether this regulation applies to a specific street go to milwaukee.gov/Parking/ParkingRegulations .

• If a snow emergency has been declared, night parking regulations are in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on all city streets regardless of the winter parking regulation.

• A "Snow Emergency" is declared to exist whenever snow falls during any period of 24 hours or less to a depth which is determined and declared by the Commissioner of Public Works to constitute a serious public hazard impairing transportation, the movement of food and fuel supplies, medical care, fire, health and police protection, and other vital facilities of the City. Such an emergency is declared to continue for a period of 72 hours or until such earlier times as snow plowing operations have been declared completed by the Commissioner of Public Works. "Snow Emergencies" are widely publicized on local radio and television stations. In addition, "Temporary No Parking Tow Away" signs may be posted by the City to assist in clean-up after major snowfalls. Vehicles parked in violation of "Snow Route Tow-Away Zone" and "Temporary No Parking Tow Away" signs or obstructing traffic during a "Snow Emergency" will be towed away at owner's expense. There are no exceptions.

• Milwaukee Public Schools makes some of its playgrounds and parking lots available for overnight parking during declared snow emergencies and clean-up periods. Take a look at Snow Emergency, Off-Street Parking on School Playgrounds List. Call the Department of Public Works Information Center at (414) 286-8282 during regular business hours for the location of a playground nearest your home.

• Stay informed, sign up for Parking Alerts: text alerts at milwaukeeparkingalerts.com and/or E-Notify email messages at milwaukee.gov/enotify. Follow DPW on Facebook and Twitter – both @milwaukeedpw.

• Call (414) 286-CITY for information and assistance.

• Check the DPW website at milwaukee.gov/Parking.

From the Article:

The Rosebud Cinema on North Avenue in Wauwatosa is expected to open this January after a nearly four-year closure. The cinema shut down operations during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen.

The nearly 100-year-old, single-screen movie theater opened in 1931 at 6823 W. North Ave. It is operated by the Neighborhood Theater Group.

According to the company’s website, the theater remains closed until Jan. 8, 2024.

The Neighborhood Theater Group owns three movie theaters in Wisconsin. Along with the Rosebud, the company owns and operates the Avalon Theater on South Kinnickinnic Avenue and Times Cinema on West Vliet Street. The Milwaukee Business Journal reached out to the Neighborhood Theater Group's owner Lee Barczak but did not yet receive a response

Back in September of this year, a Milwaukee nonprofit leader Dave Celata organized what he called the Rosebud Community Nonprofit Meeting to discuss the future of the movie theater.

The Milwaukee Business Journal reached out to Celata for more information but did not receive an immediate response.

Milwaukee's movie theater scene has experienced many changes in 2023.

In early September, Marcus Theatres closed down three of its Milwaukee-area cinemas, Marcus Southgate Cinema, Marcus Showtime Cinema and Marcus Saukville Cinema. In late September, the Downer Theatre, which was the city's oldest operating theater, unexpectedly closed its doors. It had been open at 2589 N. Downer Ave. since December 1915.

From the Article:

“Sentimental Adj. of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia.

“Yup, that about sums it up. The last bell has rung, the last attendance has been taken, and the last student got their lunch. The last teacher vs. staff flag football game happened. The last recess occurred. It’s been a great run, Longfellow. #wawmproud”

That was the final post on the now-inactive Facebook page for Longfellow Elementary School, 2211 S. 60th St., in West Allis. At the end of the last school year, in June, Longfellow merged with Jefferson and Pershing Elementary Schools, ending a more than 100-year run for the school.

The move was part of a plan, approved by the West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board a year earlier, that also merged Madison Elementary with Walker Elementary, and Lane Intermediate with Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate.

“What precipitated all of this, is that at one point we had over 12,000 students,” explains Steven Eichman, the district's manager of facilities, “and now we have just over 7,000.

"Before we consolidated these schools, we were operating the same square footage as we had when we had 5,000 more students. Programmatically and financially it makes no sense to keep doing that. It's not efficient.”

WAWM School District hired a consulting firm to make long-range demographic and enrollment projections as part of a district-wide facilities and maintenance plan, Eichman says.

“They did, I think it was 25 years of projection of enrollment and what that looks like,” he recalls. “They looked at some of the developments that are going on and all of that.

"People say, well, ‘we have a lot of apartment buildings, so there's a lot of families,’ and all that, but if they're predominantly one- and two-bedroom (units), that's not conducive for families and children, typically. And you don't see a lot of three-bedrooms in those (new buildings).”