Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

The Project Begins

Welcome to SPRAWLED OUT, a blog which will accompany my work on a book designed to use my city of Franklin, Wisconsin as an example of the community planning process in modern American cities and towns around the country. As the title implies, there will be a certain bias against the sort of unchecked, freeway-fed expansion that the United States has seen since the end of World War II.

Ultimately, our built environment is a reflection of who we are and who we aspire to be. It should not be taken lightly, nor left solely in the hands of carpetbaggers and opportunists.

Home Buyers Are Drawn to Nearby Organic Farms - NYTimes.com

Perhaps something to consider in Franklin, where farmland is still fairly abundant:

From NYTimes.com:

The bewildered Iowan who converted his farm into a ballpark in “Field of Dreams” in 1989 might reverse the move today. From Vermont to central California, developers are creating subdivisions around organic farms to attract buyers. If you plant it, these developers believe, they will buy.

Read the rest at Home Buyers Are Drawn to Nearby Organic Farms.

Sendik's closing: the elephant in the room has a red bullseye drawn on it

A reader emailed to ask when I would be writing an "I told you so" blog entry regarding the recent closing of Sendik's at Shoppes at Wyndham Village.

While my apprehensions were public and frequent (and early), I certainly take no pleasure in seeing the Sendik's at Wyndham Village close. But, the bottom line is, you can't buy a Batmobile at Sendik's.

A year ago, I wrote:

I stopped at Target because it was opening day, but also because I really wanted that Hot Wheels '60s-era Batmobile that just came out (lost my childhood Corgi version in the flood). I ended up getting some cereal and a Starbucks coffee at the same time. Didn't go near Sendik's - - you can't get a Batmobile there, you know. (Nor can you loiter in an aisle examining dozens of varieties of pens, another favorite pastime of mine.)

Don't think this is significant? Think this is all "great competition?" Then you haven't studied closely the reasons people shop where they shop and buy what they buy. As it happens, I've spent twenty years of my life squandering brain cells on exactly those questions. I'm good enough at it by now that companies regularly pay me decent money to advise them on those exact issues. (Heck, spend a weekend with a book and you'll start to get the picture very quickly. Just don't horn in on my client base).

Grocery stores like Sendik's don't make their real nut on you going in and getting exactly what's on your list. The real money is in incidentals that you suddenly decide you need while you're there - - and that's where the higher mark-up is. On everything else, they have to remain competitive and therefor maintain thinner - - sometimes murderously thin - - margins.

Example: Computer nerds and audio jocks know that you should never buy cables or cords at Best Buy. A nominal length of USB or ethernet line is just outrageously expensive there (recent example from The Consumerist website: Three generic 6-foot optical audio cables from online retailer Monoprice.com for $10.79, shipped. Same product from Best Buy [the cheaper, Acoustic Research brand], shipped price was $97.47 for three).

But Best Buy still manages to make really big money on high mark-up cords because it's an incidental purchase made while picking up a DVD player or iPod. (Best Buy managers encourage their no-commission floor sales crew to push the cables, of course; they sold my mom a $100 cord she could have gotten at Radio Shack for $5.99). And, you guessed it, they don't make much  - - if anything - - on the sale of that DVD player; it's the cables that excite the Best Buy bean counters.

Bottom line: We are about to watch a seasoned nation-wide predator slowly and efficiently absorb its locally-owned prey over the course of a couple years; it has overtly configured itself as if Sendik's does not exist, much less live right next door.

However...

It's interesting that the central and controlling presence of Target in Shoppes at Wyndham Village seems to be the elephant in the room ignored by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (see below), Business Journal, and other bloggers.

In fact, the preceding examples do not once even mention the name "Target" in their reports of Sendik's closing.

"Succumbs to economy."

Perhaps. But, by all accounts, the other Franklin Sendik's at 51st and Rawson - the one not chained to a grocery-selling Target store - is doing a great and growing business, as are the other region-wide Sendik's locations. They face the very same economic pressure, but are not hindered by a site plan dominated by a big box that, in effect, eats their lunch each and every day.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with a Target store. At the same time, one must recognize the implications of making a big box like Target the center of a strip mall whose site plan discourages cross-shopping. And all that talk of a "high-end lifestyle center" and "high standards" is coming down to earth. It's ubiquitous Cousin's Subs rather than a Potbelly's or even a Jimmy Johns; it's econo-cut SportClips rather than a spa/salon. Let's hope Ferch's, the one remaining "as advertised" tenant, takes hold.

The happy surprise in this story? The immediate entry of Roundys into this market space. While this is much better news than ending up with a vacant building (or a Target Greatland as I predicted), one can only hope that Pick n' Save is a "serious shopping" draw in a way that a more upscale grocer is not.

However, there are rumors (already?) that Roundy's may install their "Metro Market" upscale configuration, which is largely a matter of re-signage; same market appeal, different name. Perhaps Roundy's can muster success through its huge economy of scale.

Otherwise, there's a Target Greatland in our future.

(See also Shoppes at Wyndham Village: Part 2 - The issue of site design; "My part of the development, which is the Sendik's and all the outlying buildings..."; A tale of two Sendik's stores;

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Franklin Sendik's Succumbs to Economy

By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: June 30, 2009

A sinking economy, combined with heavy competition, is leading one of two Sendik's supermarkets in Franklin to shut down after just one year of business, the store's co-owner said Tuesday.

"Over the last year, we've struggled to gain market share in Franklin," said Lori Balistreri Barczak, whose family owns the Sendik's Fine Foods at The Shoppes of Wyndham Village at the southeast corner of Highway 100 and Drexel Ave.

Despite a "gorgeous facility" and "tremendous staff," the store has been unable to draw enough sales to cover its costs, Barczak said.

The store will close at the end of July, Barczak said. Roundy's Supermarkets Inc. will reopen it as a Pick 'n Save supermarket in November, said Roundy's spokeswoman Vivian King.

Roundy's is buying the store's equipment and will assume the lease for the building, King said. She said the store's 141 employees are being encouraged to apply for jobs at the Pick 'n Save.

The Sendik's store opened July 9. Since then, the recession deepened, which hurt sales, Barczak said.

Also, the store has a lot of competition, Barczak said. That includes a separately owned Sendik's Food Market at 5200 W. Rawson Ave., Franklin, which remains open.

The two Sendik's stores in Franklin - which are about a 10-minute drive from one another - are owned by different branches of the Balistreri family. The group that owns the Wyndham Village store also owns a Sendik's at 18985 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. That store opened in 2001 and is performing "extremely well," Barczak said.

The Rawson Ave. Sendik's opened in fall 2007 and is owned by a branch of the Balistreri family that owns seven other Sendik's Food Markets in Elm Grove, Germantown, Grafton, Greenfield, Mequon, Wauwatosa and Whitefish Bay. (Yet another family branch owns three Sendik's stores in Bayside, Brookfield and Milwaukee, while the Shorewood Sendik's is owned by John and Anne Nehring).

The Rawson Ave. store, located in the Fountains of Franklin development, "is doing quite well for us," said co-owner Nick Balistreri.

"Our business has been growing at a very steady rate," he said, "and we are very happy with its performance."

Sendik's stores have won customers partly because of their reputation for providing higher-quality fresh meat and produce. Several new Sendik's stores in recent years have filled gaps left behind by the departure of the Kohl's Food Stores and Jewel supermarket chains, along with other grocery store closings.

Pick 'n Save, however, remains the Milwaukee area's dominant supermarket chain. Roundy's doesn't plan to close any of its Franklin stores despite the conversion of the Wyndham Village store to a Pick 'n Save, King said.

"We think this store will fit in with our network of stores very well," King said. "Franklin is a growing community."

Industry consultant David Livingston said, however, that the Wyndham Village location is "entirely inadequate for a supermarket." .

"The primary reason is the lack of population density. This is due to much of the trade area being composed of lakes, landfills, golf courses and farms," Livingston said. "While there are a few small subdivisions of higher-income housing, there just isn't enough to support a high-end supermarket."

UPDATED: Sendik's at Shoppes at Wyndham Village to CLOSE; re-open as PICK 'n SAVE

Letter to the city of Franklin as received yesterday at city hall is below:

June 29, 2009

VIA HAND DELIVERY AND REGULAR U.S. MAIL
Mayor Tom Taylor
City of Franklin
9229 W. Loomis Road
Franklin, WI 53132

Re: Notice of Cessation of Operations/Sale of Business

Dear Mayor Taylor:

Due to changing business circumstances connected with the economy, our Wyndham Village store assets, located at 7780 S. Lovers Lane Road, Franklin, Wisconsin ("Sendik's-WyndhamVillage") will be sold to Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc. We expect the sale to close at the end of August. We will begin to wind down our operations during the weeks prior to that date.

We intend to continue pay and benefits for 74 eligible employees for 60 days from the date of this letter as required by Wisconsin law. Most of those employees will continue to work for most of that 60 day period while we wind down the operation. 8 additional employees will be offered positions at our Brookfield location. An additional group of part time low hour employees will also be laid off. All employees are also receiving notice on today's date.

It is our understanding Roundy's intends to reopen the store as a Pick 'n Save around November 1st. Roundy's has offered to interview all of our employees for positions in their new store. We have provided information to our employees about that interview process.

We are working with our employees to insure a smooth transition as our employees pursue other opportunities. If we can provide any further information or coordinate this activity with your office, please contact me at (262) 781-8200.

Sincerely,

Lori B. Barczak

RELATED:

A tale of two Sendik's stores

Sendik's (Shoppes at Wyndham Village) grand opening

Roundabouts: Knowledge is economic power

A West Allis blogger recently weighed in regarding roundabouts. His opinions, unfortunately, are derived from nothing more substantial than a "gut feeling"; he lashes out against those darn "knowitalls" who are going to "screw up your businesses."

Read his blog entry yourself and assess the quality of his reasoning. You cannot assess the veracity of his data because, well, he doesn't provide any.

Which is good enough for one of his fellow community bloggers. Always entertaining is the trick of shrugging off mountains of data by equating empirical research and documented facts to "brochures and pamphlets and spin." Why expend intellectual muscle when you can chuck peanuts from the sideline?

"Data." "Research." "Careful study." "Endorsements by business groups." "Documented success in other communities." "Fact-based debate." These are the tools of those darn "knowitalls" who are going to "screw up your businesses."

"Supposition." "Gut feeling." "Fear of personal annoyance." "Poor math skills." "Colorful language." "Dogmatic partisanship." Ah, the tools of persons with a keyboard and access to the internet - - and little else to aid their position.

The West Allis blog entry, self-evident in its irrelevance and divorced from reality in favor of venting annoyance, is not worth the point-by-point dissection (in this case, evisceration) that a carefully reasoned argument would deserve. However, I wanted to answer here a couple questions for commenter "StubbornOldMan," because some technical shortcoming on the NOW blogs will not allow comments over a certain number of characters.

The questions "StubbornOldMan" came up with (even after claiming that he'd spent some time reading entries on this blog) were:

I have no personal axe to grind with you John, but you haven't answered either of the two questions I asked you.

1) What specific conditions would lend a particular interchange to be a poor candidate for a roundabout interchange? You hinted that there are defintely some. You're being just a tad bit too general in your criticisms for my objective mind.

2) If businesses lose income as a result of lower sales as a result of consumers going elsewhere, doesn't that automatically result in a less profitable business (consequently less tax revenue)?

Yes, I'm aware of the irony of "StubbornOldMan" demanding my specificity in the form of his grossly generalized questions. Let's see, however, if we can use this space to encourage specific questions about the dozens of specific issues surrounding roundabouts.

(An aside to "StubbornOldMan": Specific questions about specific issues - and specific criticisms of specific assertions I make or quote in this blog from other sources  - would indicate at least a minimal level of respect for the value of my time.)

I’ll answer the second question first: Yes. And the point of that question? Alas, a mystery. Is "StubbornOldMan" asking this on the basis the muddled blog entry he and I commented under? Does he believe that the "gut feeling" of one Michael James of West Allis ("roundabouts are bad for business," says Michael James) constitutes a sound platform from which to launch some manner of if-then connection?

To address question one, let’s first lay out some simple realities:

1. Roundabouts are not appropriate everywhere.
2. Worth repeating: Roundabouts are not appropriate everywhere.
3. And, once again, in case you missed it: Roundabouts are not appropriate everywhere.

Hence the saying: Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Also, let's be more precise about "my criticisms." My argument is NOT "All roundabouts, all the time." My argument is: IF  careful study by the DOT brings a recommendation of roundabouts on 27th street, we should have the informed wisdom to exploit that to our advantage and not succumb to uninformed apprehensions.

What is important to note is that there are conditions that make roundabouts the far-and-away better choice in terms of safety, cost to build and maintain, convenience and commercial growth.

The blog entry we commented under - a blog entry based on zero facts, incorrect assumptions, a poor grasp of history and context, and a reliance on "gut feeling" - seems to deny that reality.

If I remain a “tad too general,” it's because, A) the data in three 4-inch thick three-ring binders gets a bit dense for non-engineers like myself and, one might suppose, “StubbornOldMan,”and B) "specifics conditions" are not at issue here other than to admit, as "StubbornOldMan" must if he is intellectually honest, that "specifics conditions" indeed exist and are measured by professionals.

To indulge "StubbornOldMan," here's a list of just a few of the factors - "specific conditions," if you will - the DOT weighs when measuring the appropriateness of a roundabout in a particular traffic environment. They look at the finished product in terms of:

• Entry Width
• Entry Flare
• Entry Angle
• Entry Radius
• Entry Deflection 
• Entry Path Curvature
• Entry Path Overlap
• Entry Speeds
• Fast Path Speeds
• Speed Consistency
• Sight Distance
• Exit Path Overlap
• Entry and Circulating Visibility
• Splitter Island Design
• Exit Lanes and Geometry
• Pedestrian Crossings/Crosswalks
• Maneuverability of Large Trucks
• Vertical Design Parameters

The ENTRY DEFLECTION is very important, for instance, as noted in the paper "Roundabout Studies in Kansas":

It must be stressed that the significant reductions in crashes and crash severity result from a well designed modern roundabout, with sufficient deflection to ensure low-speeds – no more than 30 to 40 km/hr. Also, the roadway environment or approach geometry (e.g. roadway curvature) should be such that drivers do not approach at high speeds. A study (Flannery, 2000) of crashes at modern roundabouts concluded that the main cause were approach geometry that allowed high-speed entry and lack of adequate deflection in the roundabout. Unfortunately, due to lack of clear cut guidelines and inexperienced designers, some new roundabouts in the USA are being built with little or no deflection.

That last line is very important.

If all of those (and much, much more) is found to be satisfactory, then roundabouts (properly engineered!) are recommended. If roundabouts are NOT recommended for 27th street by the DOT (which could still happen), then I would be first to agree with them. Tomatoes in fruit salad, remember?

But the bottom line is this:

After 20 years of careful study and data collection here and abroad, it has been shown to the satisfaction of state and national transportation officials, engineers, insurance companies (whose fortunes rise and fall on safety issues) and commercial organizations that properly engineered roundabouts in appropriate settings are far and away superior to traditional signaled intersections.

I’ll repeat a key phrase: “properly engineered roundabouts in appropriate settings.”

(DIGRESSION: I'll not insert here a long analysis of the difference between roundabouts and traffic circles that was flat out missed by a NOW commenter. Rather, I will direct "StubbornOldMan" to a website by the "knowitalls" at The Insurance Institute for Traffic Safety and a chart that conveys the information nicely.)

Then there's this from the voluminous file of "brochures and pamphlets and spin":

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performed a study titled Crash Reductions Following Installation of Roundabouts in the United States in 2000 on 24 U.S. intersections that had been converted both signalized intersections and stop-controlled intersections to modern roundabouts.  Similarly, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) also completed a related study in 2002. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) also produced Roundabouts: An Information Guide in 2000 with safety statistics contained.  All of these studies revealed very consistent “before” and “after” results with respect to the safety of modern roundabouts compared to other types of stop controlled and signalized intersections. The following is a brief summary of these results with regard to the extent to which modern roundabout conversions improved the accident safety of the intersections: 

• 38 - 40% average reduction in all crash types
• 74 - 78% average decrease in injury accidents 
• 90% average decrease in fatalities or incapacitating injuries 
• 30 - 40% average decrease in pedestrian accidents (depending on the  roundabout location and existing pedestrian volumes)
• As much as a 75% reduction in delay where roundabouts replaced signals

These study results replicate other results of numerous studies conducted on roundabouts in Europe and Australia and provide quantitative evidence that the selection of a roundabout over the more conventional intersection geometrics and traffic control can have significantly positive traffic safety implications. 

- Source: High Speed Approaches at Roundabouts

But, are roundabouts good for business? This is a discussion I'm having as a member of the Franklin Economic Development Commission, and I can tell you that many of my fellow commissioners knew very little about roundabouts and their effects at the beginning of our discussion; they know a bit more now that I've corrected their stated misconceptions with documented facts.

So, "StubbornOldMan," I invite you to read a paper entitled, simply enough, "Are Roundabouts Good For Business?"

As a preview, the paper ends thusly:

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
South Golden Road is a typical suburban strip commercial corridor. The installation of four roundabouts within this half-mile long arterial has resulted in slower speeds, but lower travel times and less delay at business access points. Accident rates have dropped by 88% and injury accidents have declined from 31 in the 3 years prior to installation to only 1 in the 4½ years after – a decline in injury accidents rates of 93%. The improvement in traffic flow, vehicular safety and access to businesses combined with amenities such as landscaped medians and pedestrian walkways has stimulated economic activity. Sales tax revenues have increased 60% since installation of the roundabouts and 75,000 square feet of retail/office space has been built.  In Golden, CO, businesses have said “Yes, roundabouts are good for business.” 

Is this section of road, though a close match. exactly like 27th street? Of course not. But you cannot help but be compelled by the similarities and the positive results.

And, "StubbornOldMan," as you read the paper (it's not very long, I promise), you will encounter data that contradicts in rapid succession the egregious (and, frankly, adolescent) suppositions made by the WestAllisNOWblog entry we commented under.

You may choose to ignore, "StubbornOldMan," these data and the fruit of the other studies also included. You may choose to ignore the fact that this particular paper is but the tip of the iceberg in terms of data gathered and studies conducted that conclude in support of properly engineered roundabouts. But in doing so, you are putting intuition and "gut feeling" ahead of hard facts, and I have a difficult time accepting that mode of thinking.

In other words: If, on the one hand, I face "annoyance" and "the public's fear of change," and on the other hand I have reliable data that shows me over and over again that properly engineered roundabouts regularly lead to substantial improvements in safety, higher local commercial success, lower costs to build and maintain, fewer delays, better transit times, lower fuel consumption, etc., then, my friend, I will recommend that the local governments in question demonstrate leadership and advocate for roundabouts when the DOT indicates they're appropriate.

With that said - and knowing that there are specific problems with roundabouts that indeed need to be addressed -  I welcome informed, specific questions and challenges to the material above, "StubbornOldMan."

I also welcome your opinion of the KISS concert at this past weekend at Summerfest!

Roundabouts later; "Rock and Roll All Nite" now

Over at a WestAllisNOW community blog, "StubbornOldMan" asks me the following:

I have no personal axe to grind with you John, but you haven't answered either of the two questions I asked you.

1) What specific conditions would lend a particular interchange to be a poor candidate for a roundabout interchange? You hinted that there are defintely some. You're being just a tad bit too general in your criticisms for my objective mind.

2) If businesses lose income as a result of lower sales as a result of consumers going elsewhere, doesn't that automatically result in a less profitable business (consequently less tax revenue)?

Having had no luck attempting (twice) to post a hasty - but long - reply at the community blog, let this post be an assurance to "StubbornOldMan" that I will address his questions right here on Sunday.** (Especially that incisive second question, which seems to be based on someone's mistaken supposition about roundabouts' impact on a local economy. Hmmmm ... could loss of income mean a less profitable business?)

But I'm not doing it today, because I'm going to Summerfest to see KISS! Maybe I'll see "StubbornOldMan" there ...

**Gonna have to be MONDAY - - got caught up in a photography project at the KISS show, which you can see here.

Enriching the public discourse? The lost art of fact checking at NOW newspapers

Apparently, in addition to sponsoring blog space for the black helicopter crowd, Community Newspapers has evidently extended their laissez-faire policy to assertions of fact made in print at Community Newspaper Inc.'s "MyCommunityNOW" papers.

Witness the "Community Voices" feature in the June 25 edition of the Franklin/Greendale/Hales Corners/Oak Creek NOW Newspaper, "Love or hate 'em, plenty of views on roundabouts."

From "Linda G" of Philadelphia:

I spent 25 adult years in the Franklin area before moving out east and find this talk of roundabouts a bit strange. People in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are getting RID of them. Folks here hate them. Accidents abound. Granted, most accidents are minor. Ten years from now, I bet people will regret having built these things.

Editing? Well, the underlined material above was actually edited out of the print version of this comment (the online posting is here,) Another (wiser) edit was the rambling "A tour guide in Halifax, during one of our visits, said of a roundabout we were navigating that it was going to be replaced because at least two or three accidents happen every day. Sure enough, one happened right there in front of us. Semi-truck crunched a van.")

Fact checking? Opinions are one thing, but, as a newspaper, when you print an assertion of fact, it's generally a good idea to go to Google or make a phone call. Had anyone at Community Newspapers done so, they would have learned that in the older cities of the eastern United States - particularly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey - traffic circles were and are common traffic features.

Let's make this clear (as Community Newspapers missed a teachable moment): Just as not all roundabouts are correctly engineered or appropriate for certain locations, Traffic circles are very different - and much less safe and efficient than - roundabouts. In fact, any traffic circle - often erroneously referred to as a "roundabout" - built in the U.S. prior to 1994 is almost certainly not a conforming roundabout.

And, guess what? The old traffic circles in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, etc. - some dating back to horse and buggy days - are indeed being removed. And often replaced by roundabouts when appropriate.

Does Community Newspapers enrich public discussion when they take this lazy approach?

I guess it falls to me to do what they don't have time for.

From Traffic Circles vs. Roundabouts:

Democrats move to close developer loophole

Good news from Madison for home property taxpayers.

Democrats zoom in on property tax loophole - JSOnline.

Break meant for farmers, not developers, they say By Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Posted: Jun. 22, 2009 Senate Democrats are moving to close a loophole that has given developers huge property tax breaks by planting crops on land that is zoned for residential or business purposes.

In some cases, lots have roads, utilities and street lights and are straddled by houses, but the developers get a break on the assessment and taxes because they have farmers grow corn, winter wheat or other crops.

At issue is the use-value assessment law enacted in 1995 to help keep farms viable by giving them a property tax break. Real estate developers soon found a way to make the law work for them.

"It just seems like it is being misused and getting out of hand," Fond du Lac Assessor Donald Wegner said.

Local assessors and municipalities complained to Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston) about the problem, and he has inserted a provision in the Senate version of the state budget bill that would remove the tax break.

Under the provision, the definition of agricultural land would be modified for property tax purposes to exclude any land that is platted or zoned for residential, commercial or industrial use.

If approved by the Senate and Assembly and signed by the governor, the change would take effect Jan. 1.

Effect on development

Developers and attorneys who represent them oppose the change, arguing it will stymie development.

"It will significantly increase costs related to development, discourage further economic development and have a direct impact on the affordability of housing and commercial office space," said Thomas D. Larson, director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for the Wisconsin Realtors Association. "With the downturn in the economy, many developments have been delayed, causing land that was planned and platted for development to continue to be used and taxed for property tax purposes as farmland until the economy improves," Larson said.

Larson said if this provision becomes law, the property tax assessments on land will significantly increase - ranging anywhere from 10 to 50 times higher per acre depending upon the location of the property. This, he said, would result in more financial hardship for developers, financial institutions and local economies.

Assessors and municipal officials, though, say they want the change because the loophole shifts property taxes that should be paid by developers to other taxpayers, mostly homeowners.

The change would not add "one nickel more" in tax revenue for municipalities, said Ed Huck, director of the Alliance of Wisconsin Cities, which supports the change. "For long periods of time, developers have been able to hold land and shift taxes to others," Huck said.

Rich Eggleston, communications coordinator of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, said a developer in Eau Claire is tilling and seeding two parcels next to the Metropolis Hotel so it will qualify for the use-value assessment next year. Currently, the property taxes for this land are $27,000, but next year, taxes will drop to about $40 because of the farm designation, Eggleston said.

And land adjacent to a Gander Mountain in Eau Claire also is being planted with crops. The current tax bill is about $50,000. It will drop to about $75 next year, Eggleston said.

Mike Grota, of Grota Appraisals, handles property assessments for Germantown and a number of municipalities in Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.

"In Germantown and in many neighboring communities this scenario is common," he said of developers planting crops on land zoned for other purposes.

In Fond du Lac, Wegner, the assessor, said there are two commercial lots that should be assessed at $636,100, but are valued at a total of $900 because winter wheat was planted on them. With the commercial designation, the property tax bill should be around $13,536. Instead, the bill's estimated at $19.15.

Then there's the Whispering Springs subdivision that has homes along a golf course. Six lots there should be assessed at a total of $270,000, with property taxes totaling about $5,745. But with corn planted on one lot and weeds and marsh hay being harvested from the other five and used for farm bedding, Wegner said he is required to assess the land as agricultural. The total tax bill would be about $12.77.

Public can comment on city's master plan - FranklinNOW

Oops.

From FranklinNOW.

The city of Franklin has scheduled a series of sessions to gather public comments and input on its comprehensive master plan. The review sessions will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. June 23, June 25, June 29, June 30 and July 1 at Franklin City Hall, 9229 W. Loomis Road.

These sessions are for review of the current draft of the plan, which has not been completed yet.

Comprehensive plans are essentially a guide for city leaders to look at in future planning. Municipalities are required by state law to create comprehensive plans every 20 years.

A second series of review sessions will be held July 20, 22, 23, 28 and 29. Those are for review of the rough draft of the entire plan and will also be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Hall.

Is the tide slowly turning against sprawl?

Ten years ago, few had heard the terms "new urbanism", "walkable urbanism", "complete streets", "town center development", "mixed use development" and so forth. Today those terms are widely known - and not just in planning and architectural circles.

I attending the American Planning Association's annual convention in Minneapolis a few weeks back and noted that nearly every session incorporated the principles I listed above - a big change from just a year ago. The hottest subject there was "form-based codes" which is very much a town center/mixed use orientation that greatly de-emphasizes the automobile and elevates walking, biking, and mass transit use.

Read the rest at: Sense Of Place - An Architect's Point of View: The Future of Sprawl.

MilwaukeeWorld: WISPARK THREATENS OAK CREEK WITH BUSINESS "PARK" PLAN

From Michael Horne, a perspective on that scourge of the suburban dross-scape, the soul-killing, single-use "business park":

Oak Creek officials are saddling the citizens with an unsustainable development, even if they cover every square inch with green roofs, permeable pavement and solar panels. Why is New Urbanism observed only in the breach? We're talking about 1.4% of Oak Creek's total area in this development -- that is a large amount of space for an exceedingly limited use.

The city is giddy about attracting high paying jobs to the office park, which, according to Oak Creek standards, should lead to further sprawl.

You can be sure the development will not be tied into light rail or other transit, and that its convenience to the Interstate Highway system will be judged high among its attributes.

Wispark, of course, will ask the city to create a Tax Incremental Finance District to finance road improvements in the business park. Why not stick it to the taxpayers? The roads, to be sure, will be undulating and cul-de-saccharine. There will be parking lots, pretty flower beds, flags aplenty and lots of lawn to mow.

MilwaukeeWorld: WISPARK THREATENS OAK CREEK WITH BUSINESS "PARK" PLAN.

Roundabouts & drunk driving: A new defense against impaired drivers?

A note from local businesswoman and activist (Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin, Inc.) Shari Hanneman prompted this thought:

Could the argument be made that encountering periodic roundabouts provides an IMPEDIMENT for drunk drivers that stops them from getting too far and eventually venturing into residential subdivisions ala the incredibly tragic Buckhorn situation in Franklin?

Consider this: I'm not certain of Eddie Lynn Keck's exact route the night he killed two people with his vehicle after being overserved, but it's a pretty safe bet that the WIIIIIDE and fast 27th street or Ryan Road did nothing to impede him; he was on autopilot for that portion of the drive. He could very well have blown a few red lights without stopping his progress.

I'm willing to bet that a series of roundabouts might have caused him to run up a curb or sideswipe someone non-lethally rather than allow him to continue unabated into a subdivision where the tragedy occurred.

Food for thought. Roundabouts for 27th street are on the Franklin Economic Development Commission's agenda for this coming Monday.

From the column Circular Logic Wins Out- Car And Driver:

It occurred to me that these five consecutive Michigan roundabouts might comprise a better drunk-driving exam than any count-backward-and-touch-your-nose routine. It was the first quintuple roundabout I'd ever encountered and, as I later learned, Roundabouts No. 1 and No. 2 hold the distinction of being the first in the country intended to act as a single system. A tourist destination.

I immediately drove to see local police chief Robert Brookins. I said, "Hi, I'm a reporter, and I want to ask..."

"About the roundabouts?" he interrupted. And off he went.

"You should have seen it before," the chief said. "With stoplights and stop signs, the traffic would back up along the exits and onto the freeway. You could wait through three or four stoplight cycles. But now the longest delay I've observed is about 20 seconds. I know it looks complex, but it flows 17-to-20-percent-more traffic and does so at faster average speeds."

Brookins had been monitoring the roundabouts for less than a year but already possessed compelling statistics. "We've had 16 accidents in the big roundabout," he said. "One crash in the middle roundabout. And six in the eastern one. All were minor, mostly sideswipes, 'cause the speeds are so slow. Prior to the roundabouts, you'd get guys blowing the lights, and there'd be high-speed broadsides that were really bad."

Then the chief directed me to Mike Goryl, a soft-spoken county traffic engineer who helped design this crop of circles. Goryl explained that the center islands aren't perfectly round but resemble the agitator in a washing machine, flinging traffic away from the hurricane's eye and toward an exit — with no static cling. All the roundabouts are off-camber, too, he said, mostly to drain water but also to reduce cornering speeds. "Even if you follow what we call the 'fastest path,'" he said, "you'd voluntarily drive at about 25 mph."

In the coming years, Goryl predicts, Americans will become accustomed to such systems. "It's a really efficient way of flowing dense traffic," he says. "People complain at first, but what they don't realize is they're always moving, rather than stopped dead at a light."

Wiley aldermen haven't given up on their "eastward through Hillendale" fixation

Through the windshield: Last day of school 2009 - and last day to walk and ride safely to Hillendale?

NOTE: "Wiley" is arguably not a real word. It was invented by the makers of Looney Tunes cartoons, a form of "wiles" contorted to create the name Wile. E. Coyote.

While 27th Street roundabouts have not been allowed on the agenda for tomorrow night's Common Council meeting, a couple of wiley aldermen have - SURPRISE! - brought back the Hiilendale-Pleasant View road connection issue. And you thought it was settled at the last council meeting?

To recap: There is a cadre of city officials who are determined to build a connective road to Pleasant View east through Hillendale subdivision, eliminating an existing walking and biking path and ignoring the more logical westward route toward 49th street and, eventually, 51st street. We'll go west eventually, they claim. So we spend the money twice.

I've looked this issue over from stem to stern, talked at length to Alderman Steve Olson (who favors going east through Hillendale) about it, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why Olson, Alderman Lyle Sohns, and, it seems, city engineer Jack Bennett seem fixated on going east despite being contrary to the city's master plan and destructive to a safe walking/biking path.

At the last Common Council meeting, Hillendale residents attended in force and spoke on behalf of the more logical westward route. However, any municipal official realizes that it's a dead-cinch that you won't get turnout like that at more than one meeting in a row (I may not be able to make it tomorrow night either); just find a "problem" in the paperwork and bring in up at a subsequent meeting - - which I predicted in a comment on a Franklin Today blog entry erroneously titled "Marquette Avenue's fate has now been decided."

I wrote:

Not quite "decided."

Wiley practitioners of Robert's Rules know that if you vote YES on a motion (Wiley OLSON and Wiley SOHNS both voted YES), you can bring that motion back, then use that opportunity to ask the city engineer if he might "see a problem."

See what I'm getting at?

See what I'm getting at?

Voila! Indeed, the city engineer has "found a problem in the paperwork."

PART 2: Time for leadership on 27th street roundabouts

In yesterday's post I spoke of the need for leadership in ensuring that the best possible traffic features are installed on 27th Street.

To recap a bit: Roundabouts provide continuous movement of vehicles through an intersection at lowered speeds without any full stops. Unlike traditional intersections with stoplights, vehicles in roundabouts slow to yield to other vehicles in the circle and then merge into the flow. This continuous movement saves time, fuel, and money.

After reviewing a report comparing intersections to roundabouts (as prepared by consultants HNTB), the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Common Councils of their respective cities that they pass a resolution in favor of roundabouts on 27th Street.

Oak Creek will vote on it at their next meeting (tomorrow night); in Franklin, however, the item was removed from this Tuesday's agenda by Alderman Ken Skowronski and Mayor Tom Taylor.

Alderman Skowronski feels that the 27th Street Steering Committee  is a “sub-committee” of the Franklin Economic Development Committee (which he chairs and of which I am a member), and that the EDC should take it up before it goes to council.

Mayor Taylor has said that he's heard anti-roundabout sentiment from constituents, and is therefor against them. 

I doubt that I can change Alderman Skowronski's predisposition against roundabouts. He is under the erroneous impression that they may slow traffic, when in fact studies show that traffic proceeds more efficiently and indeed faster from point to point while maintaining slightly slower (safer) speeds enroute - - not coming to a full stop and waiting for people to turn in front of you really helps move things along.

I sent an email to Mayor Taylor asking that we discuss his contention that "anti-roundabout sentiment from constituents" should indeed stop him from ensuring the best outcome for 27th Street by endorsing - - or allowing to be endorsed via common council vote - - construction of roundabouts.

This is where LEADERSHIP comes in - with more than a little help from cold, hard facts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performed a study titled Crash Reductions Following Installation of Roundabouts in the United States in 2000 on 24 U.S. intersections that had been converted both signalized intersections
and stop-controlled intersections to modern roundabouts. Similarly, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) also completed a related study in 2002. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
also produced Roundabouts: An Information Guide in 2000 with safety statistics contained.

Some of their findings:

• 38 - 40% average reduction in all crash types
• 74 - 78% average decrease in injury accidents
• 90% average decrease in fatalities or incapacitating injuries
• 30 - 40% average decrease in pedestrian accidents (depending on the
  roundabout location and existing pedestrian volumes)
• As much as a 75% reduction in delay where roundabouts replaced signals

But there are a few members of the public who are wary of roundabouts; it's human nature to fear the unknown. Others are annoyed by them; how they cause you to have to think for a bit while driving. It's also human nature for those with fears, apprehensions and/or anger to become the squeaky wheels, while those content to participate in change generally remain silent.

So, on the one hand you have overwhelming statistics indicating the safety and efficiency superiority of roundabouts, and on the other hand you have... people who might be annoyed?

If the potential displeasure of a segment of the electorate is the "problem," rest assured that I have your answer below. I brought these charts to the Joint 27th Street Steering Committee meeting, but it turned out that I didn't need them; HNTB incorporated these findings (published by the Washington State Department of Transportation) into their explanation that "Community Acceptance" could in fact be a positive in favor of roundabouts over intersections - - favorable opinion of roundabouts DOUBLED after drivers used them, and those strongly opposed shrank enormously from 41% to 11%.

Click on each chart to embiggen.

ABOVE: Public Opinion BEFORE driving roundabouts

ABOVE: Public Opinion AFTER driving roundabouts

On the "After" chart, see that blue line in favor of roundabouts STRETCH skyward? And the green "Strongly Oppose" line is receding like an earthworm into the ground.

So, the mayor can rest assurred that the "negative feedback" he is experiencing now will indeed flip to the positive side once drivers experience roundabouts regularly. And, as this community's leader, it falls to Mayor Taylor to ensure that we attend to facts and legitimate research before succumbing to the frailities of mere intuition and human nature.

At the very least, that means making sure it roundabouts are discussed by our common council.

Time for leadership on 27th street roundabouts

I remember the first time I encountered a roundabout. My wife and I were en route to IKEA, and I recall releasing an expletive under my breath as, suddenly jolted from my semi-autopilot revelry, I navigated through to the other side. Whereupon I reengaged the autopilot.

To the uninitiated driver, roundabouts seem to be little more than a nuisance. For one thing, a roundabout creates the sudden (and unfamiliar) need to re-engage with one's surroundings rather than simply obey a light. It's a sad fact of human nature that we would rather have a little red light grind us to a dead stop than proceed unimpeded through a traffic innovation that demands little more from us than our attention.

Ask the average person who hasn't used a roundabout regularly, and they will likely wrinkle their nose at the notion. We do not like what we do not know.

It's unfortunate that Franklin's initial impression of roundabouts is formed by a faux-roundabout - - actually a roundabout in miniature - - built in front of Shoppes at Wyndham Village as an effort to allay the thru-traffic fears of the residential subdivision across the street. Some drivers may have traveled the roundabout in New Berlin, which is complicated by its interaction with the freeway ramps (though still fairly easy to deal with).

And it doesn't help that we have a state senator pouring sand in the gears with specious reasoning and reactionary concerns clouding her judgment. State Senator Mary Lazich's complaint that "I've had constituents [who have no experience with roundabouts] voice their concerns to me" does not stack up against the voluminous hard data that supports roundabouts as superior on multiple levels - safety foremost - to traditional intersections.

The Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee discussed the benefits of roundabouts vs. intersections at their June 10th meeting. Though the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will ultimately make the decision as to whether a newly-constructed 27th Street will feature roundabouts, the committee's chairman, Franklin Alderman Steve Olson, hoped to bring to the Oak Creek and Franklin Common Councils a recommendation that they endorse via resolution the installation of roundabouts (resolution language after the jump).

I attended the meeting in order to comment in support of roundabouts on 27th; my experience discussing them with my colleagues on the Economic Development Commission convinced me that many of Franklin's decision makers were approaching the issue on a purely intuitive level (my recording of the discussion features Alderman [and EDC chairman] Ken Skowronski stating: "Roundabouts are a disaster.") rather than based on hard facts and real data.

I needn't have worried. At the direction of the the Joint 27th Street Steering Committee, HNTB, construction and design consultant for Oak Creek and Franklin, prepared a roundabout-vs.-intersection report to facilitate the discussion (Download HNTB Roundabout Report pdf).

Any points I made in my comments to the Steering Committee were only amplified by the HNTB report - - and then further amplified by Franklin's city engineer Jack Bennett in his pro-roundabout comments. Click on the summary page below to enlarge:

While the points above are discussed at much further length in the actual report, this evaluation matrix is a pretty powerful statement in support of roundabouts on 27th Street.

And that's even before the introduction of mitigating information provided by the two HNTB consultants as they discussed the document: It turns out that the only "non-up" arrows on the matrix in the roundabout column could easily be changed to "up" arrows; HNTB admitted that they were extremely conservative in their measurements for "Construction Costs," "Aesthetics," and, particularly, "Community Acceptance." (They went so far as to suggest changing the direction of these arrows, but Chairman Olson did not want to compromise their report).

After fruitful discussion, the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Common Councils of their respective cities that they pass a resolution in favor of roundabouts on 27th Street.

Oak Creek will vote on it at their next meeting; in Franklin, however, the item was removed from this Tuesday's agenda. 

In Part 2 of this post, I'll discuss that removal and the "Community Acceptance" aspect of roundabouts. I'll also address the need to exercise some real leadership in reassuring the electorate that the benefits of properly designed roundabouts are beyond the realm of THEORY, and that they are in fact safer, more economical, provide faster transit, and will drive economic development more effectively than intersections. 

And there will be charts and graphs ....

Regret in the suburbs? Killing a fly with a sledgehammer will have consequences

Judge finds city's sick leave mandate unconstitutional - JSOnline.

So, the rush by Milwaukee suburbs to enact cynical "blocking" ordinances to isolate the City of Milwaukee after voters passed a sick leave rule was for naught - - as I tried to warn Franklin's Economic Development Commission when the proposed ordinance came up for discussion.

Just couldn't wait for a ruling that was pending while these ordinances were under discussion, so now Franklin and quite a few other "proactive" suburbs have versions of the following sweeping language on the books:

No ordinance of the City of Franklin or any other municipal ordinance, rule, or regulation shall require that any private employer provide particular wages or benefits to its employees or set forth the amount or type of any employee wage or benefit provided an employee working within the City or doing business with the City, except as may be required by another governmental agency funded project, such as the Community Development Block Grant program or the like, or by way of State or Federal statute or administrative code or rule.”

The electorate is stripped of one more citizen action tool that it may need more than ever as we navigate an unprecedented economic storm.

Collaboration between HUD and DOT: The start of something big

Citiwire.net » Agencies Collaborating: Affair of the Year.

Column by Neal Peirce on groundbreaking collaboration between HUD and DOT - - a situation that has yet to make an impression on most of my Economic Development Commission collegues:

In Chicago, there’s rejoicing in the offices of a scrappy 30-year old research and advocacy group, the Center for Neighborhood Technology–a pioneer in demonstrating how residents’ combined housing and transportation costs can be reduced in transit-served neighborhoods. It’s a “new day in Washington,” exult leaders Scott Bernstein and Kathryn Tholin, as CNT research and ideas area are poised to be “incorporated into the framing of the Obama administration’s urban policy.”

But critical tests loom on how quickly the new approaches are grasped and implemented through the ranks of the HUD and DOT bureaucracies, contends public administration expert Kent Watkins, a key promoter of the new approach. He notes that multi-billion dollar initiatives, including at least $8 billion for DOT and $9 billion in HUD stimulus spending, are currently “going out the door” without instructions to put a premium on joint transportation and housing initiatives.

But focus on reform will keep building this year with debate on reauthorization of the federal government’s basic transportation program. And even AASHTO–the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials, historically known as the “big roads” crowd–is making new moves. It wants to double–to $100 million a year–a decade-old federal initiative, DOT’s Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program, to help states and local governments accomplish “smarter growth,” more compact development.

And why? “States now recognize that sprawl–the cost of the current system–will eat us alive,” says AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. He wants to see the DOT program enlarged with expanded incentives for local and regional bodies to come up with smart combined land use-transportation solutions.

The bottom line’s clear: albeit with fits and starts, radical change is brewing in how Washington impacts growth and development of America’s communities.

The New Shape of Office Space | Planetizen

The New Shape of Office Space | Planetizen.

"Coworking is rapidly emerging as a meme for the reorganization of knowledge work among entrepreneurs, programmers, writers and even, as we learned during our visits, sustainable furniture designers. The majority of discussions of the social implications of the Internet on the evolution of work and cities revolve around concepts such as the virtual office, online collaboration, and telecommuting. But, coworking communities (and related phenomenon that have grown out of the culture of the open source movement such as MeetUps and BarCamps) illustrate the ways in which these emergent forms of organizing are deeply embedded in physical places and, at the same time, enabled by new technologies such as laptops and wireless networks.

As the material artifacts of offices – messages, documents, photos and plans - are digitized and stored on servers, physical spaces have the potential to become increasingly open, flexible and sharable. Data security concerns aside, one can imagine a future scenario when most of the tools that we need to work effectively will be accessed and stored in “the cloud”. This allows the dynamic reorganization and co-location of people, firms and activities that have been separated since the early days of industrialization, the advent of the hierarchical firm and the rise of cities themselves. For example, an office building might house a conference room that doubles as an entertainment room for the co-located apartments. Such arrangements will require new ways of thinking about private and semi-private spaces, trust and security, and ownership and property."

A step in the right direction in Franklin: Could never have happened with the previous Common Council

There is much to write about last night's Common Council meeting regarding adding a connective emergency road to the street in front of Pleasant View Elementary school (which has had nothing but a single, narrow, shoulder-less road available for entry for 45 years). 

Even after talking to Alderman Steve Olson at length about his opinion that a connective road - no sidewalk -  should be added that sends traffic eastward (marked "east" above) through Hillendale subdivision and eliminates an existing walking and biking path, I simply could not fathom the reason he and Alderman Lyle Sohns (particulary Sohns, whose motivations escape me; let's call it "Sohns' Folly") were so hell-bent on such an illogical, destructive, and ultimately redundant plan (since the city's long range plan and goal is to send the road westward to 51st Street).

Frankly, after hearing their arguments last night, I'm still mystified. There was a point where Olson was seconding a motion by Sohns before Sohns had verbalized - or indeed constructed - a motion!

I also have to say this: In listening to the tape, it must be noted that Alderman Kristen Wilhelm did an absolutely excellent job for her constituents, having done her homework to the extent that she could parse the city engineer's somewhat cryptic "no we can't" statements into a far different "it makes no difference whether we go east or west." She was tenacious and would not be dissuaded from pursuit of the proper outcome (and blessed avoidance of "Sohns' Folly").

The mayor showed real leadership in surrendering the gavel (as procedurally required) to speak his mind and cut to the chase, crafting a satisfying solution.

More later, but in the meantime here are my remarks made during the public comment period, during which many residents of Hillendale also spoke:

My daughter goes to Pleasant View Elementary. I'm missing her softball game tonight to read these pages to you because I’m very disturbed by the manner with which the city is approaching this issue.

Short-term expediency is trumping safety as well as any sense of long-term vision. I certainly don’t see this as consistent with the newly ratified Franklin Mission Statement, unless the phrase “when in doubt, do the easier thing” was snuck in at the last minute.

Regarding the Pleasant View Road Extension, the council packet contains FOUR SHEETS OF PAPER - NO schematic.

Here are some questions to ask ourselves that probably should have been addressed in the packet:

Where are the counts of pedestrians and bikes that currently use the “goat path” to Hillendale subdivision every day?

How many kids WILL NOT be allowed to walk or bike once it becomes a vehicular throughway? I can tell you one won't; my daughter's friend Maddie won't be able to walk home anymore. Her parents say that's the way it is.

Consequently, how many vehicles does that add to the daily mix that weren’t there before?

Where are the current Summer-vs-School Year traffic count graphs for Minnesota Ave., W. Madison Avenue, S. 46th, and Hillendale Drive?

Where are the bus counts that determine how many currently go north on 46th Street and how many turn West on West Madison Ave.?

Where is the schematic of the possible road?

What was the opinion of the Plan Commission? They evidently were not asked to weigh in.

Has there been a meeting of Pleasant View and Hillendale parents regarding their opinion on this? I've not heard of one.

And - - - No mention of the “sidewalk issue.”

The fact is: WHERE ONCE THERE WAS A SAFE WALKWAY - a neighborhood amenity - THERE WILL NOW BE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AND NO SIDEWALK, just a painted line four feet from the curb.

To repeat: The “solution” proposed here is to remove a safe walking path, paint a white line four feet from the edge of a street, and some sort of force field will keep our kids safe. And we'll pay about $100,000 for the privilege.

If that’s a solution, I don't know what got solved?

The Hillendale road network, like most modern subdivisions, is built SPECIFICALLY - and deviously - to discourage thru-traffic. Yet the plan is to send traffic THROUGH that subdivision.

On the other hand, 49th Street currently carries traffic and buses daily; extending west wouldn’t change that.

This plan is going out to bids, and then it’s off to the races - there is a calendar for August completion - but there are no engineering drawings in the packet from which to determine whether the plan is viable. There is no discussion of the westward option THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY’S LONG RANGE PLAN.

Absent any hard data or input from professionals, the common council is apparently relying on INTUITION to determine the best route, and INTUITION is notoriously untrustworthy.

Regarding a situation that is of vast importance to an entire subdivision and the parents of a school-full of kids, there has been no public hearing on this.

If Alderman Wilhelm’s "Item 1." regarding exploration of a WESTWARD route to 49th Street is ignored, you will indeed send a project out to bid and start a tight clock without having investigated all options.

I’m told that "maybe later" we’ll run the road WEST as per the city’s long-range plan and common sense  - - - thereby DOUBLING our expenditure because we were in a hurry to put in the EXPEDIENT, SHORT TERM FIX.

On the other hand, go WEST to 49th Street - - spend a little more NOW - - and you can leave the eastbound path as it is and should be.

Save money, maintain an amenity, and conform to a long term vision. Sounds like PLANNING to me ...

Alderman Sohns assured David Works, the Chairman of the Franklin School District’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, via email TODAY that he would hold off on any official action until they could meet on the issue on June 17th. The issue remains on the agenda tonight.

When I talked to David Works this afternoon, he said “He couldn’t find anyone in the School District who is suddenly is in any hurry to get a road extension done this summer.” I have his cel number - - you are welcome to call him.

This school has faced this poorly planned configuration for 45 years - to cite URGENCY now is fairly disingenuous.

The qualifier “potentially in addition” when referring to a westward extension to 49th Street should be REMOVED from the council action; the 49th Street extension should be given equal - - if not PRIMARY - - status. When the right information is available, the choice will be clear.

I urge this council to kick expediency to the curb and instead make our kids’ safety and this city’s long-term excellence the main goals - even if SAFETY and EXCELLENCE make the task somewhat HARDER to accomplish.

Franklin's Common Council is poised to defy logic and geometry

I've been out of town and unable to give this issue the attention it deserves:

On the agenda for the Tuesday, June 2nd Common Council Meeting is a discussion of FINALLY adding a logical (and safer) additional connection to Pleasant View Elementary, whose single-access problems and defiantly disconnected roads have been documented in this space frequently. (Like HERE)

Once again, it appears something odd might sneak through Franklin's Common Council: Instead of running a road out to 51st street - the shortest, direct route - there appear to be Council members who, for whatever reason, want to create a connective street that runs through the winding, residential Hillendale subdivision. AND it would eliminate a currently-used pedestrian path improvised by students and parents who - gasp - walk and/or bike to school!

At one point (given the current horrendous situation pictured above) I was relieved to hear of any relief road, even one that went to Hillendale - - before I learned that there was/is no real obstacle in going west to 51st, a route that doesn't go in the wrong direction and doesn't barrel through residential streets.

It's just plain odd that the Hillendale route is being considered at all, much less without without traffic studies, etc. And, frankly - suspicious. Unless I suddenly hear about a gas line that can't be crossed, private property that needs to be condemned, or a Native American burial mound that is in the right-of-way to 51st, this smells of old scores being settled and petty politics trumping the safety of the children who attend Pleasant View.

Furthermore, a new church is being built right in line with a connective road to 51st Street! While the church certainly should not be responsible for the cost of the road, the city of Franklin should use this opportunity to address a longstanding embarrassment and connect to 51st street. (As I understand it, the church is willing to give the city the right-of-way it requires.)

Pedestrian and bike-friendly Complete Streets in Franklin? It looks as though that's beyond our grasp, in spite of the fact that new home buyers desire walkable communities and will seek them out.

They will look elsewhere, I suppose. In Franklin, we apparently celebrate mediocrity.

There will be a normal out-of-context public comment period at the beginning of the meeting Tuesday night, but - as usual - no opportunity for citizens to dispute or question some of the convoluted logic that will surely be woven by certain council members as they defend feeding traffic into a residential subdivision that offers a winding route out to Rawson, while at the same time adding vehicular traffic to the foot path currently in place.

If past history is any indication, council members will deploy righteous indignation at the notion that they are giving safety short shrift. There will be scoldings of citizens who disagree. This is why people are reticent to voice their opinions.

Could there be a good reason NOT to extend a road west to 51st? Perhaps. But let's make sure to turn over every stone before creating another useless road.

Certainly, residents of Hillendale and parents of Pleasant View students should attend tonight's meeting and speak out nonetheless.

(More at Franklin Today and Bullseye, and FranklinNOW.)

3rd District Alderman Kristen Wilhelm sent the following to her constituents:

Dear 3rd District,

Many of you have voiced your opinion that if money needs to be spent by the city for an alternative access at Pleasant View School you would rather have Marquette go WEST to 51st rather than east to Hillendale. Your voice at the Council meeting this TUESDAY night may be your LAST CHANCE to give input on this issue.

The Hillendale road plan keeps changing in its use, size and cost. These changing plans are not being provided for public review and input. The outcome of this meeting will forever change your neighborhood, the woodland, the present (and only) pedestrian access to the school and how traffic will flow when the large vacant lands are developed near 51st.

The city uses traffic studies when they want to analyze safety or justify wider neighborhood roads, but no such study has been done on how the Hillendale connection will solve a traffic problem or provide a timely emergency access. 

When it comes to safety and the nearest location to the fire station, there is no denying the best route is WEST to 51st Street. The fire and police chief, and the alderman pushing hard to connect Hillendale, all confirm this. The mayor, planning and engineering staff, school members, aldermen and others also agree WEST will “eventually” be connected, yet no effort is being made toward this safer and less disruptive option. 

Sensible solutions always benefit from common input, which is yours to give now. If you believe your elected officials should show the full plans, research the safest option, consider future land use, traffic flow and neighborhood integrity please attend TUESDAY and/or contact the other decision makers on the Council. Please see the Council members contact information at www.kwilhelm.us on my website 'information' tab and the talking points below.

Your support is NEEDED & appreciated,

Talking points:

• It’s the most direct route for emergency services coming from the Drexel fire station.
• West provides buses a direct route to the school, limiting bus and car traffic through residential streets; including freeing W. Madison Ave, 46th and 49th.
• It maintains the present walking path and does not cause a secondary safety issue by mixing children who bike and walk with cars and buses.
• West straightens and improves the bus line-up area versus the short right angle turn at Hillendale.
• It avoids the need for future development to use 49th as a backdoor exit.
• West provides a very efficient, direct access for Princeton, Victory Creek and other residents, again freeing 46th, 49th and West Madison Avenue.
• It provides easterly residents a closer foot or bike access to the Oak Leaf Trail thereby limiting the travel distance on 51st St.
• It is simply the safer, better alternative that takes future needs into consideration and disrupts the least people.

Kristen Wilhelm
3rd District Alderman
City of Franklin
9229 West Loomis Road
Franklin, WI 53132
Home phone 414.423.1606
kwilhelm@franklinwi.gov
www.franklinwi.gov

Local columnist McIlheran is smarter than any mere CEO (and, evidently, an aspiring "O'Toole" of big oil)

UPDATE to yesterday's RTA post: Adding additional weight to the pro-RTA argument is the fact that captain of industry Patrick McIlheran disagrees. (Because the Heritage Institute told him to, of course.)

It's especially fun to see McIlheran - evidently angling for a post-JS career as a subsidized special interests dogmatist ala bought-and-paid-for Randall O’Toole - grapple with the concept of what is euphemistically referred to as "the last mile"; i.e., if the train doesn't drop you off at your front door, what then? WHAT THEN?!?!?

Assuming McIlheran's creativity is not limited to folksy asides, he'd better go back to O'Toole for a sturdier (and, as always, fully subsidized) straw man. 

"The last mile" can be dealt with, thank you.