A personal pet peeve for me has always been the single-street entry into Franklin's Pleasant View Elementary School. As a father who drops off and picks up my kids (despite our fairly close proximity to the school, it's utterly impossible for us to walk or bike due to the lack of a road grid - - but that's a problem for another post), I watch twice a day as huge buses squeeze through the single, sidewalk-less, shoulder-less road that accesses the school.
Here's the road, which I've highlighted red. Note that on either side of the road running parallel in front of the school there are DEAD ENDS just a few feet before subdivision roads!
Let's make something clear: Pleasant View Elementary is over 40 years old, so this problem didn't sneak up on anyone.
If you're a kid that would like to walk or ride a bike to school, that little strip is a virtual gauntlet. Never mind a sidewalk; there isn't even a navigable shoulder to retreat to. It's a tight squeeze and a nail-biter for kids trying to work their way through. (Ironic, given the proclivity for over-wide streets in suburbs.)
Above you see a fairly typical situation: Bus approaching oncoming minivan, whose right-side wheels are nearly off-road. The kids have their backs to the oncoming bus and can only hope that the bus driver threads the needle - and the bus after that, and the van after that, etc.
Apparently the city has been trying for some time to connect the subdivision road (seen in the upper right of the top picture) only to be thwarted by the property owner near whose house the connective road would need to appear (I'm having a difficult time imagining this guy saying "No" and sticking to his guns despite the possibility of a kid or kids getting hit because of his obstructionism).
The good news, as conveyed to me by Aldermen Ken Skowronski (District 6) and Alan Hammelman (District 3), is that the city has managed to acquire the right of way they need to get the street through those final few feet, plus a sidewalk. Here's the photocopied plan from the engineering memo:
Additionally, a bike path may be appended, stretching through the land between connector roads Rawson and Drexel. Great for bikers,; great for pedestrians.
A step in the right direction!
That was always my criticism before my children were redisticted to Robinwood Grade School 4 miles away. I live in the High View estates (less than 1 mile as the crow flys) on 47th Street and there was no direct route to Pleasant View.
I often thought about how angry the people that lived around there (kind of a sleepy area) as I would see the full size SUV mama's barreling through their subdivision.
Posted by: Bryan Maersch | June 27, 2007 at 09:46 AM
John:
While I don’t disagree about the need for sidewalks; you are promoting pedestrian safety in one area while promoting to remove the only safe walking path for hundreds of others. When I lived in that area, my children attended Pleasant View (a great school by the way). Take a closer look at your black & white Google earth aerial.
On the right is a worn path created by children walking from Countryside Estates, Tifton Heights Phase I & II, Hidden Lakes and other homes to the northeast of the school. Since the city allowed the developer to save money by not putting in sidewalks during the development of Countryside Estates this became the off-street walkway. I would have insisted my children walked to school if it was not for this little path. The sidewalk plan sounds great but reality is- it links to nothing. You may want to stand at the proposed reliever street location on a nice school day when they call “walkers”.
The plan for putting Hillendale through has more unsafe flaws then the present 46th St. Hillendale was over designed as one of those extra wide, speed inducing, collector streets you do not support. Take a look at the other 3 possible road connection stubs on the left of the aerial. Not only would any of these connections add an extra access to the school but they would allow several feeder routes causing a “shared” traffic pattern at a slower speed.
I heard from some of the people who opposed the present plan. They were told this would be a temporary solution until a developer put through Marquette to 51st. Once again, there needs to be pro-active planning rather than allowing developers to direct our future. FYI- the Fountains development is activating the widening of 51st where Marquette would met just a few hundred feet away.
Extending Hillendale creates the longest fire truck route possible since the nearest station is at Drexel and 51st. Maybe you should show your readers the route of an emergency vehicle as it will come in on the curving- wide collector off Rawson Ave, through Countryside Estates versus directly off 51st street to Marquette.
The other points you should enlighten your readers on would be on the impacts to the woodland containing state threatened species and the only known area of white oak reproduction taking place in Milwaukee County. And… the lack of follow through for grant funding promises in the “park” south of the school (where you mention “additional paths for the future”).
The poor thought process creates yet a second area where children will be forced to mix with traffic. I feel for the parents and grandparents that will no longer have the safe choice.
Other than that – what a grand plan!
Posted by: K. Wilhelm | July 27, 2007 at 04:53 AM
Note keeping in mind John's comments on the 40 year old problem, the 3 areas are:
the missed opportunities where the driveways are at the left end of the map and the extension of Marquette to the west.
Posted by: K. Wilhelm | July 27, 2007 at 05:01 AM