Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

Rubber band as political metaphor

I found in my newspaper tube today four fliers rubber-banded together: One is for Tom Taylor; one for Alan Hammelman; a slick for Rebecca Dallet (running for Milwaukee County Circuit Court); and one of those strange alphabet-soup screeds that infest local races, this one railing against Basil Ryan.

This anti-Basil Ryan sheet is paid for by Pete Kosovich, who evidently feels he need not spend that time or effort on his own  aldermanic campaign.

Very odd - has he agreed to take one in the shins for the mayor? Or does he just really, really dislike Basil Ryan?

Mr. Kosovich is a brave man, as Ryan is litigious enough to take offense at some of the  material on the sheet ("Basil Ryan has had many encounters with Milwaukee & Franklin Police"), which is paid for by "Friends of Pete Kosovich."

And I realize I spelled "Kosovich" wrong a couple days back, but the word on the fifth line of his tract should be spelled "embarrassment." (Irony again).

So - since they're all rubber-banded together, are these guys some kind of "package deal"?

It doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence, to say the very least. I'll wager more votes were lost than gained by each candidate rubber-banded into this mess.

2008 as viewed from 1968: "The car accelerates to 150 mph in the city’s suburbs, then hits 250 mph in less built-up areas, gliding over the smooth plastic road."

From the always-fascination Modern Mechanix blog comes this view of car-centric dystopia:

40 Years in the Future

By James R. Berry

IT’S 8 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008, and you are headed for a business appointment 300 mi. away. You slide into your sleek, two-passenger air-cushion car, press a sequence of buttons and the national traffic computer notes your destination, figures out the current traffic situation and signals your car to slide out of the garage. Hands free, you sit back and begin to read the morning paper—which is flashed on a flat TV screen over the car’s dashboard. Tapping a button changes the page.

The car accelerates to 150 mph in the city’s suburbs, then hits 250 mph in less built-up areas, gliding over the smooth plastic road. You whizz past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes that keep them evenly climatized year round. Traffic is heavy, typically, but there’s no need to worry. The traffic computer, which feeds and receives signals to and from all cars in transit between cities, keeps vehicles at least 50 yds. apart. There hasn’t been an accident since the system was inaugurated. Suddenly your TV phone buzzes. A business associate wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your attache case and draw the diagram with a pencil-thin infrared flashlight on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case. The diagram is relayed to a similar screen in your associate’s office, 200 mi. away. He jabs a button and a fixed copy of the sketch rolls out of the device. He wishes you good luck at the coming meeting and signs off.

Ninety minutes after leaving your home, you slide beneath the dome of your destination city. Your car decelerates and heads for an outer-core office building where you’ll meet your colleagues. After you get out, the vehicle parks itself in a convenient municipal garage to await your return. Private cars are banned inside most city cores. Moving sidewalks and electrams carry the public from one location to another.

Continued at the MODERN MECHANIX BLOG.

Franklin Candidate Forum notes: part 3

I've got six pages of notes on the mayoral candidates forum, but I'm going to toss those and focus on the specific issue that jumped out at me that is both appropriate to the theme of this blog and an area where Franklin is hurting.

To wit:

Mayor Tom Taylor has on different occasions expressed his idea of where Franklin's downtown is or will be located. Sometimes it's Fountains of Franklin; other times it's Shoppes at Wyndham Village.

On the night of the forum, it was 76th and Rawson, of all places (aka the intersection of Ugly and Bleak). He then identified a separate civic center for Franklin roughly radiating outward from the library and eventually connected by walkways.

ABOVE: 76th and Rawson - downtown Franklin?

I cannot disagree more with that non-unified, scattered, "pod" vision of community life - the very definition of "hither and yon."

When did we get it in our heads that we can (or should) separate civic and commercial amenities? I'm mystified by that notion. The very reason that vibrant community centers  - and the cities within which they thrive - become so popular and lucrative is the fact that useful and desired facilities are within walking distance of each other. Take the kids to the park, then walk over to the coffee shop. Drop off dry cleaning after story-time at the library. Grab a sandwich before mailing a package at the post office.

In the meantime, meaningful interaction occurs again and again, and money changes hands between citizens and merchants again and again.

Did it not occur to anyone leaving the library on the night of the forum that you were, once you hit the parking lot, effectively nowhere? No nearby coffee shop, deli, bar, or restaurant to which to adjourn; everyone to their cars and back to their pods.

Challenger Basil Ryan impressed me with his alternative vision: Let's utilize the investments and infrastructure already in place (and already paid for) - -   beautiful library, a palace-like "Law Enforcement Center," city hall, and park - - and make that Franklin's nominal downtown and civic center by using the city-owned land between facilities in a more efficient manner.

He said:

We need the vision to do it here, right in our backyard, with the land that’s available here. We can tie in the police department, city hall, the library. We DO have enough space. We need someone with a creative vision, work with the existing buildings, and if we do that I think that would be your downtown. The land is there and we can encompass the buildings we’ve already paid for - - the city owns that land in between.

This was something I suggested in this blog last year using the photo below. The areas in green have potential.

And, as I noted a few days back: how sad is it that locally-owned Moondance Coffee goes out of business in a crummy 27th street location when we have no coffee shop in walking distance of the well-used library? The simple injection of two or three commercial amenity-type businesses in the area around Legend park and the library will create a much-needed civic AND commercial center that will pull together the eventual Shoppes at Wyndham Village and Legend Creek commercial developments as well. That's how you create a vibrant, tax-base expanding community focal-point. Add a literal Civic Center building (or the Franklin Cultural Arts Center), and now you have a real town center.

Hear the cash registers?

At the same time, why not use that opportunity to give locally-owned businesses first dibs by offering subsidies and incentives to them for a change? Moondance Coffee should be right where the enormous (and useless) front lawn of the library is currently, a public courtyard between. With a coffee shop nearby, I defy you to visit the library without stopping for java and/or a bagel while there.

Money changing hands!

Mayor Taylor said at the forum: "Business will go where business will do well." Drive by the library parking lot on any weekday - it's always nearly full - and do the math.

Ryan further impressed me by shifting focus away from 27th Street and calling our attention to the area around the House of Corrections. We can either develop it ourselves or wait for the County to place an undesirable - and non-lucrative -  facility or facilities there. What he didn't mention is that we will actually increase security for the area by making it inhabited and trafficked; hard to sneak off the jail property and melt into the surroundings when the surroundings contain alert humanity and lit streets.

We are a city without a center, and to further "decentralize" Franklin with talk of separate "civic" and "commercial" areas will merely reinforce Franklin's identity as a loose collection of subdivisions and strip malls with no vibrant community focal point.

And guess what? Tech companies don't want to move their employees to a "placeless place," no matter what kind of TIF you wave in front of them. On the other hand, TIF or not, progressive companies are hot for progressive communities; they and their money sniff out places like Middleton Hills and, if they follow up on certain plans, Oak Creek.

What does this mean for the mayor's race?

At the forum, Mayor Taylor claimed "in recent days and months we are being literally inundated with requests to build commercial development in the Franklin School District." If that's so, we need a person in the lead who is able to convey in no uncertain terms Franklin's vision and identity along the lines I laid out above. If we present an unambiguous set of standards and a confident plan, developers will be glad to work within Franklin's vision and indeed contribute to the process rather than rail against it.

Which candidate will strengthen the city Plan Staff (whose mandate is smart, effective, forward-thinking growth) and take it out from under Economic Development (whose mandate is just "growth" at all costs)?

Which candidate can look a big box in the eye and make them happy to become part of Franklin's plan, rather than the other way around?

Which candidate realizes that subdivisions need not be speedways, and that sidewalks and right-angle turns save kids' lives?

Which candidate recognizes the needs of the elderly and differently-abled to the extent that he will hold developers to a standard of walkability and accessibility in their site plans rather than mere sheds surrounded by parking lots?

Which candidate is willing to think creatively about mixed-used zoning and better, more cost-effective use of current infrastructure rather than more single-use pods and expensive sprawl?

If the southwest portion of Franklin is to be developed, which candidate is ready and willing to meet with a developer with ambitious plans for a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) plan, and effectively communicate that plan and its strengths to nearby residents so they understand its value to them as taxpayers and community members?

Which candidate sees the value of leveraging all of the above to create a strong, vibrant, desirable community identity that will attract more business and expand the tax base without the need for subsidies and TIF's?

I'll vote for, and then work with, that guy.

Why that little white stripe isn't a terrific bike or pedestrian lane

I saw this many months ago in a completely different context, then ran into it again on Boing-Boing. See if you can count the passes, then ask yourself if you still want to ride your bike on Drexel or 51st Street with your back to traffic. (which the law says you should do, by the way). 

Franklin Candidate Forum notes: part 2

Part 2 of my notes on Monday's Franklin Candidate Forum concentrate on the Aldermanic races, with an emphasis on the match-up in the 3rd District, which is where I live. I have declared myself free to editorialize throughout, and my bias will be clear, I'm sure.

With all due respect to the incumbent of District 4, Pete Kosovich, I think that race belongs to the challenger, Steve Taylor. Kosovich was swept into his seat during turbulent times when a pro-development faction of the city organized to stack the council. His theme is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Well, it's broke.

The format of the forum consisted of an opening statement by each candidate followed by a question that each candidate took turns answering. Each candidate was then given a couple minutes for a closing statement.

Here are some moments that stood out for me:

When asked how will your involvement make the city stronger, challenger Kristen Wilhelm spoke about getting her constituents more deeply involved, noting that she hears from people she’s talked to door-to-door that they’re exasperated by finding out about developments at the 11th hour rather than at a point where they might offer input.

Incumbant Alan Hammelman led off with his enthusiasm for proper development of 27th street, the first of many times he would mention that “golden opportunity.”

Asked about the appropriate balance of residential and commercial/industrial in the city, Hammelman again mentioned the 27th Street corridor and cited his goal to reach the “70-30 mix” (70% residential, 30% commercial/industrial). He touted his desire to create a pro-business climate to take some tax burden from homeowners.

Wilhelm pointed out that she’d like to find ways to encourage locally-owned businesses so money spent here can stay here.

How would each candidate involve their constituents? Hammelman’s response was particularly revealing and consistent with the current poor state of communication between Franklin city government and citizens:

“You’ll hear people say, ‘How come I didn’t know about this development on XYZ Street?’ It’s very difficult to make 500 outbound calls, know all the right numbers and so forth. It is imperative that our constituents take an active role by looking at agendas on the website and so forth. So, part of being in a democracy is being aware of what’s happening in your local government.”

Not particularly inspiring.

I preferred Wilhelm’s answer, which revealed a knowledge of the existence of the internet and email (“500 outbound calls"?). She also pointed out the city’s well-known deficiency in recording meetings for people who cannot attend them. (We live in a city where meetings are stopped so the cassette tape can be turned over and recording resumed; digital recording technology continues to elude us.)

A digression: Can it be possible that we have alderpersons on the present council who believe:

A) The primary means of relaying information to their constituents is via telephone,

B) Rather than make a point of creating better systems for communicating ongoing information to citizens, it falls to his/her constituents to sort through the tangle of menus and submenus on the city’s website to track an issue or project?

In Franklin, if you want to track, for instance, the Shoppes at Wyndham Village project, you have to check the individual agendas for every council, commission, etc. daily to see if that item might appear there. And the agenda can change at any time. Go to the City of Franklin website right now and try it!

Compare that insane mess to the way it’s done in Davis, California - - take a moment to check out their website here. Click "Cannery Park Project" under "Current Issues" - - magic! A complete, up-to-date and comprehensible summary of the entire project, including meeting digests, documents, and alerts for future meetings on the project. It's worth a screen grab - -

Now that's communication. That's how you can get citizens behind progressive, forward-thinking developments (like mixed-use commercial/residential) that may seem intimidating when viewed at the 11th hour.

"500 outbound calls," Mr. Hammelman? Will that be on a rotary phone?

Back to the forum:

When asked what is the biggest issue facing the district, "business-friendly" Hammelman inexplicably named "Sycamore Street." What is Sycamore Street? It's the proposed throughfare for the Wal-Mart expansion that the "business-friendly" council recently rubber-stamped. Suddenly Hammelman is in there swinging for his constituents - - a few weeks before the election.

In his comments, Hammelman also returned to his fixation,  TIF-magnet, Oak Creek-feeding 27th Street. (Is Oak Creek funding Hammelman's campaign?)

Wilhelm reminded Hammelman that, despite his boast of having recently "introduced a motion to prevent Sycamore Street from going through," the matter had been essentially settled long ago; the mayor asked the Wal-Mart developer if they planned to run the road through, and they answered "no."

NOTE: From the February 27th edition of Franklinnow.com: "Deborah Tomczyk, an attorney representing Wal-Mart.. said nearby Sycamore Street will not be extended, a major concern last year among residents that live near the Wal-Mart."

Meanwhile, Wilhelm continued, nearly every road that bounds the 3rd District has problems that are being ignored - - try carrying a bag of groceries from Sendik's to anywhere - - while Hammelman fixates on 27th Street and an already-dead issue. 51st Street is a death-trap. Access to the Oak Leaf Trail is extremely limited, which hobbles a potential amenity, etc.

Let's skip ahead to the candidate's vision of Franklin in 15 to 20 years.

Wilhelm talked about working to create a sense of community; a place where people are not isolated in "pods":

"Let's create public spaces where we can be comfortable walking and meeting each other. Quality restaurants, varied retail and shopping, a variety of housing opportunities; not just serving the high end and forgetting the needs of lower income people. Create something to really attract people here. Look at the town of Greendale and how people say it’s so wonderful - - it's just a little ice cream shop. We have nothing like that here in Franklin. You need something that will bring the people here."

Unbelievably, Hammelman again banged the 27th Street drum, actually leading off with "I envision some very wonderful things happening on the 27th street corridor." Then, as Franklin attempts to get a handle on our present infrastructure, he called for more expensive sprawl and more isolation: "I also look forward to putting sewer into the southwestern section of the city, so we can see some new development there."

Why? Because it's there, I guess. And there are still developers out there who having gotten their "dip."

In their final statements, Hammelman was up first and reiterated his "business-first, residents-second (hopefully)" vision: "This council and I have set into motion a pro-business environment that can provide some much-needed tax relief and increase the quality of life for our residents." He thanked department heads for their hard work, and then noted endorsements by Mayor Taylor, Casper Green, and Lyle Sohns.

Observation 1: If you note an endorsement by one member of the Common Council (Lyle Sohns), are you not calling attention to the fact that none of the remaining members bothered to do the same?

Observation 2: Casper Green is a tireless volunteer and community asset who works extensively with Franklin's elderly community, and undoubtedly helps them procure their absentee ballots. Well played, Mr. Hammelman - - that may be the only "endorsement" you need.

Wilhelm took the opportunity to note that she works well with others after years of experience doing so, but is still willing and able to speak her mind. She also pointed out that she is a hard worker, having been in a volunteer position for the city for the past 8 years, during which time she has become familiar with Franklin's various codes and procedures.

All in all, a productive forum; the candidates' differences were made clear.

Next up: The mayor's contest.

Franklin Candidate Forum notes: Part 1

Held at the Franklin Public Library and sponsored by the Franklin Area Junior Women's Club and the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce. About 75 people showed up - - pretty darn good for the day after Easter.

Here are just a few initial notes and impressions upon which I'll expand over the course of the week:

Pete Kosovich, incumbant candidate for 4th District alderman, said he is accessible and available to his constituents. "I see them and we wave to one another as we walk down the street." My question for "Peko": Where in Franklin is this street where people can stroll and greet one another?

Kosovich faces in Steve Taylor an opponent who appears genetically engineered for local politics. At the very least, Taylor's degrees in political science and government administration make for a formidable candidate; on top of that, he speaks sense. And, for those who care about such things, I noticed from my seat behind him before he took his turn up front that he has quite a collection of George W. Bush bumper stickers decorating the inside of his portfolio.

School Board candidates were asked their stance on teaching the theory of evolution. For a moment, I felt as though we had been transported to the other side of the Mason-Dixon line. However, their answers were blessedly enlightened and free of reference to "equal time for creationism."

All candidates at a forum such as this should be as focussed on getting a good microphone and proper usage of that microphone as they are on their position notes. It's remarkable how a faint voice speaking facts can be overwhelmed by a booming voice mouthing platitudes.

Ah, to run unopposed. Leaning against the back wall with his jacket on was 6th District alderman Ken Skowronski.

Dare I say that this blog's vocabulary and viewpoint have been injected into the candidate's rhetoric? Suddenly, we hear talk of "sidewalks," "community gathering places," "traffic abatement," "safe streets." I don't recall those topics being raised in the past.

Meanwhile, there are those who still don't seem to "get it." 3rd District Aldermanic incumbent Alan Hammelman may have hobbled his re-election chances by leaning hard on a "sprawl trifecta" while ignoring any notion of community-building: he touted his "pro-business" position (which has provided few dividends to Franklin taxpayers to date); focussed to a truly irrational degree on the 27th Street Corridor (a forest of TIFs that will do little to relieve taxpayer burdens or build community amenities); and actually advocated further development to Franklin's southeast (more expensive infrastructure as Franklin struggles to deal with its present infrastructure). 

Mayor Tom Taylor positively referenced ideas and statements by aldermanic candidate Kristen Wilhelm at least three times in his remarks. I have no note of him referencing incumbent alderman Alan Hammelman - - who claims an endorsement from the mayor on his campaign literature - - at all. I found that significant, as did a number of people with whom I spoke afterwards.

Speaking of campaign literature: Hammelman claims to run 3 miles in 24 minutes. He's gonna have to get that down under 21 minutes in order to be an effective alderman for the 3rd district, I'm afraid.

More to come after I finish reviewing the tape...

Franklin Community Arts Center information meeting set

From Franklinnow.com:

The Franklin Cultural Arts Center will hold a community information meeting from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Franklin Public Library, 9151 W. Loomis Road.

FCAC officials will present a concept for the center, which will be a multiuse facility featuring an auditorium, meeting space and arts-based educational outreach programs.

The center is to be built and operated without taxpayer dollars.

The Franklin MOMS club will present a $250 donation to the FCAC at the meeting.

Community-building: Where is REAL support for local Franklin businesses?

Last week I went for coffee and tried to patronize a locally-owned establishment. Alas, a sad note (dated February 14) on the door: MOONDANCE COFFEE is closed down again.

Well due to many reasons this is hard for us to say but we will be closing down. The last day open will be Feb 19th 2008 at NOON. Please redeem all credits that anyone may have by them.  We tried our best and it was nice getting to know everyone that came in on a Regular basis. Thank you for your support. Maybe we will see you down the road. Thank you. Laura & Jerry.

Candidate for mayor Basil Ryan made a good point at the candidate's forum last night: The land between the Franklin Library and City Hall is city-owned and should be looked at as a development opportunity.

Local entrepreneurs should be offered incentives and/or subsidies to put amenities like coffee shops in place on that land, which would go a long way toward making a true  - - and much needed - - community gathering place.

Or we can wait for another Starbucks to open on Rawson...

From the Franklin candidates forum...

... An experimental live post. About 75 people in attendance.

Because there's not enough out there to distract you already ....

Journal Sentinel Photo by Mary Louise Schumacher

Not only do they change, the billboards are illuminated by LED light. I once knew a guy with OCD who couldn't look away from a bank sign until he saw time, temperature, and whatever message was flashing that day.

Ask anyone who studies traffic "accidents"; there are very few actual "accidents." Most are caused by careless, reckless, or inattentive driving.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Council approves billboard changes

Milwaukee accepts 8-second ad rotation but adds permit requirement

By LARRY SANDLER
lsandler@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 18, 2008

Milwaukee will allow digital billboards to change their messages every eight seconds, the Common Council decided Tuesday.

But in a victory for critics of electronic billboards, the legislation will require special-use permits - and potentially public hearings - whenever a new electronic sign is erected or an old-fashioned billboard is converted to an electronic format more than 1,000 feet from a freeway or Lake Parkway.

Only nine of the city's 579 billboards are now electronic, and current rules limit them to changing messages every 30 to 60 seconds. But current rules place no limits on converting traditional billboards to electronic ones.

The new ordinance would limit how bright the digital billboards can be and would require them to be at least 400 feet from a residential neighborhood and at least 1,000 feet from each other. Ald. Mike D'Amato, the measure's chief advocate, called that reasonable regulation that wouldn't obstruct business.

Opponents of the measure, led by Aldermen Bob Bauman and Michael Murphy, focused on the electronic billboards' aesthetic impact on neighborhoods and on the possible safety hazards of distracting drivers.