*Thursday April 3 (6 PM-8PM) *O'Keefe Middle School
Any questions, please refer to Ed. He's been working on this diligently and intelligently since the early 90's (at least). Everything looks good til you get down to item 4 in the last section.
-Mike Barrett
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From: Ed Jepsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Background
1. The MNA and TLNA/OMP neighborhood plans approved by many city departments, commissions, boards and the Common Council recommended an enhanced Yahara River parkway.
2. An ad hoc citizen committee was formed by the city to develop a specific plan for the Yahara River parkway. The plan called for a grade separated bike/ped path on the west side of the river and a walking path on the east side of the river. Underpasses at E. Johnson and E. Washington to accomodate peds and bikes were key elements of this plan. Again this plan was reviewed and approved by numerous city departments, commissions, boards and the Common Council.
3. The isthmus is park deficient and the recommendations in the neighborhood and parkway plans would help to create highly desirable greenspace along our limited and very valuable river frontage. It also provides a safe, aesthetically pleasing and efficient cross isthmus link between neighborhoods, schools, parks and bike routes.
4. With increasing development, denser housing patterns, escalating property values and more traffic it is imperative we protect our greenspace options and alternative transportation corridors.
Proposed Plan
The plan will be replacing a sewer line that is critical for minimizing future basement flooding in the Tenney neighborhood and includes rebuilds of several local streets. Several elements of the proposal are excellent, but one major element of the proposal is contradictory to the plans cited above.
1. The underpass(es) at the E. Johnson Street bridge follow plan recommendations and the artistic rendition is very sensitive to the architecture of the existing historic bridge. Great job by city staff and the consultant!
2. The proposed cul-de-sac of N. Thornton Ave. was also recommended by the Yahara River master plan. Again thanks to the staff.
3. The proposal shows a grade separated bike path between E.Washington and E. Johnson. Thats three kudos in a row to city staff.
4. Whoops! Here is the big concern....the staff are also proposing a 24 foot wide Thornton Avenue in that same stretch between E.Washington and E. Johnson. This is a significant deviation from the recommendations of the plans. We actually lose greenspace and create multiple paved areas along this stretch of the river. Here is the big point - We miss an opportunity to creatively use city owned rail ROW property and/or other options/collaborations to provide the access needed by the businesses (i.e., Sparkle Auto Body and Great Big Pictures) while creating a parkway that will be a park and bike/ped asset for decades to come.
Instead of taking advantage of this historic opportunity, we will potentially end up with a flawed implementation that does not create the parkway the carefully considered plans envisioned. Obviously access for the businesses is an important topic and they must be treated fairly. But we also need to ensure public welfare and the needs of the broader neighborhood are balanced as well.
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