Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

The Pestilential Summer of 2010: Request for water damage reports in Franklin

After facing yet another Biblical-level rain event, many Franklin resisents are dealing with wet basements and other damage (I got nailed pretty bad in 2008, but was spared this time around).

The city is working to gather information on where damage occurred. Here's a note from 3rd District alderman Kristen Wilhelm:

REQUEST FOR WATER DAMAGE INFORMATION

The Fire Chief has made note in an email of a few of the damaged areas he has been made aware of. I have heard from some of you. However, I am looking for a more accurate assessment of water damage in the 3rd District so I can pass this information along to him. 

If you live in the area bounded by 27th, Drexel, 51st and College and had water damage from the July 22nd rainfall, please send me an email with your home address and the extent of the damage.

Example: 1234 W. Waterway (water in basement).

Also, you may want to report damage on the County’s Emergency Management hotline by calling 211. This information is used to assess damage and aid to the area.

If you require a reply, please be patient as I have received many calls and emails in the past few weeks.

Please forward this to your neighbors that may not be on this email list. Those outside the 3rd District that requested to be on my email list may want to contact their individual alderman.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.


Kristen Wilhelm
3rd District Alderman
City of Franklin

Wisconsin receives $46.5 million installment for high-speed rail

Another step closer to the 21st century in Wisconsin:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today announced $46.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for work to continue on the state's high-speed rail system. Doyle and LaHood spoke today in Watertown, where a new high-speed rail station will be constructed at the site of a former grocery store.

"Because of the vision and investment of President Obama and Secretary LaHood, Watertown, Madison, Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin will see the tremendous economic benefits of high speed passenger rail," Doyle said.

In the next two and a half years, over 5,500 construction workers, engineers, machine operators and others will be working hard to make track improvements, build train stations, and improve the roads around these tracks. You are going to start seeing a lot of hard hats and neon vests around here and that is good news for everyone in this state.

Read the rest at: Wisconsin receives $46.5 million installment for high-speed rail - BizTimes

Sometimes nice guys finish FIRST

(Photo from FranklinNOW)

To my family, Coach Hughes is "Mr. Jim," the bus driver who gets a hug every morning from my son, Ben, when he picks him up for summer school. To everyone else in Franklin -- and the state -- he's the winningest coach in Wisconsin prep baseball history.

"Mr. Jim" surprised us by showing up at one of Ben's very first baseball games after he learned that he was participating in the Challenger League, a baseball program for kids with special needs. After circling the bases, my son got a high-five from the winningest baseball coach in the state, and one of the nicest bus drivers in the world.

Congratulations, Coach! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. 

The number was 743. The significance was that it was the number of career victories Franklin coach Jim Hughes had moved to that night, moving him past former Arrowhead coach Tim O'Driscoll's 742 and into first place as the winningest coach in Wisconsin high school baseball history.

"I mean, how many 20-win seasons is that. Thirty?" Kleszczynski said. "Those are big numbers. Hats off to Jim. He gets his guys to win ball games. He's a good coach."

Hughes called the victory just another game, but acknowledged that he didn't get to 743 on his own.

"You just keep coaching," he said. "I've been around a long time. I've been lucky. I've got good players all the time and we win a number of games each year, you've got to have that as well. And right here, we've got outstanding parents. I've got real good parent support. You put all that together, my family support, and I'm a pretty lucky guy."

A handful of parents presented Hughes and his players with a cake with the number 743 on it and a player gave Hughes a game ball after the victory.

Read the rest at: Historic win keeps Sabers alive - FranklinNOW

Terms, mind-sets must be changed to encourage and enable more walking in cities

Walkable community advice from Roger K. Lewis, a practicing architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland:

How can we encourage and enable more walking? What will motivate people to change long-standing perceptions and deeply engrained behavior? We must plan and develop -- or redevelop -- metropolitan environments so walking becomes safe, comfortable, enjoyable and stimulating. This requires satisfying several design criteria:

-- Street patterns must be easily navigable and latticelike, with blocks that are not too big and intersections that are not too far apart. Streets must be continuous and interconnected, providing motorists and pedestrians with more than one path for traveling to a destination.

-- Public streets must be artfully proportioned. Widths of sidewalks, planting strips, cart ways and medians are critical, as are the heights and setbacks of buildings flanking streets. Well-configured street spaces balance a sense of architectural definition and enclosure with desirable exposure to sky, sunlight, air movement and views.

-- To make walking truly pleasurable, streetscape quality and amenity are important. A thoughtful mix of shade trees and vegetation beautifies streetscapes and makes them ecologically greener. Good lighting and signage, convenient street furniture and attractive paving materials enhance a streetscape experience visually and functionally.

-- It must be safe to walk, day or night. In addition to good lighting and durable walkway paving that doesn't trap high heels, streets need well-marked crosswalks and synchronized traffic-control signals. Police or other public safety officials should be seen regularly patrolling streets.

-- Buildings facing public streets need lots of windows, entrance doorways and storefronts. These benefit merchants looking for customers and pedestrians looking for merchandise. Because there is safety in numbers, streets lined by eateries with outdoor seating are even safer, not to mention livelier. People will walk along such streets because walking is delightful.

Read the rest at: Roger K. Lewis - Terms, mind-sets must be changed to encourage and enable more walking in cities

My Economic Development Commission agenda items for July 26th meeting

I like to post my Economic Development Commission agenda item submissions here because often it's the only place I'll see them -- they often mysteriously drop off the actual meeting's agenda.

1. Locally owned business support/boosterism: I'm reintroducing this after having it batted away the first time I tried. We simply HAVE to demonstrate some manner of support for Franklin's locally owned businesses in the form of a card-punch program, "Featured Business" on the city website, etc. It's getting embarrassing that there is no city sanctioned support for the kinds of businesses that build strong communities and encourage further commercial investment.

2. Drexel Interchange Economic Mitigation: Discussion of potential negative consequences of the Drexel Interchange and actions the EDC can undertake in advance to mitigate those consequences.

Milwaukee – A Walker’s Paradise?

Much to agree with here; however, from the standpoint of someone who lives in an outlying suburb, you can go YEARS without actually getting to downtown Milwaukee -- 15 minutes away -- and not even notice it. The lack of a rail-to-suburb network or reliable bus service greatly stifles what should be ongoing interaction between suburbanites and the city.

Milwaukee is a walker’s paradise.  Wisconsin’s largest city has made some great strides recently and, as with many cities in the Midwest, if you haven’t been here in the last decade you might as well say you’ve never been here.  Once you’re on foot, you find that this city has a lot to offer in its confusingly large yet compact downtown area. 

Read the rest at: Andrew Knee: Milwaukee – A Walker’s Paradise « urbanOut

U.S. Secretary of Transportation: "Transportation is a public health issue"

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: "People want options. They want to be able to be more physically active on streets that are friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists. And when adults model physical activity, our kids see it, and they get it."

From LaHood's blog:

Yesterday, DOT Undersecretary Roy Kienitz talked about how transportation decisions that value things like "vehicle throughput" instead of pedestrian safety affect America's communities. And about how transit decisions that emphasize "minutes-saved" pit outlying suburban commuters against their inner-lying urban neighbors. Recognizing that those policies have had an effect on public health, he said, "Transportation is about more than engineering."

But, as Undersecretary Kienitz told yesterday's meeting, DOT has taken steps to fix the formula and find a different approach.

Through our work with HUD and EPA in the Obama Administration's Partnership for Sustainable Communities, through our TIGER discretionary grants, and through a range of other programs like Safe Routes to School, we're funding the kinds of projects that will help develop livable communities and provide opportunities for people to walk, bike, or take transit.

Everywhere I go, I hear from Americans that this is what they want. In fact, walking and biking have increased by 25% in the last ten years.

Read the rest at: Transportation is a public health issue; DOT doing its part to keep kids moving - Welcome to the FastLane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Skipping Superman to ensure a connected community

ABOVE: 51st Street, pre-sidewalk

I arrived at last night's Common Council meeting fresh from a day at Great America with the family -- though "fresh" is not a word I could have used to describe my ragged physical state. My daughter was a bit disappointed that we had to shorten our day at the park so I could make it to a meeting, but, as I told her, Woody Allen once said that eighty percent of success is showing up, even if you show up smelling like a theme park. ("OK, Dad. But, who's Woody Allen?")

The council chamber was filled to overflow with Franklin residents who live near Puetz Road, which had been mentioned as a candidate for widening using STP (Surface Transportation Program) funds. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and Puetz will be left as is for the time being.

The long line of speakers during Citizen Comment Period gave me a chance to have a conversation with the landlord mentioned in yesterday's post right after he made his remarks regarding sidewalks on 51st Street. 

To recap: This individual, who has a rental property at the corner of 51st and Drexel, took a petition up 51st Street for signatures against sidewalks. His argument was centered on winter maintenance: Why should he and other homeowners have to shovel sidewalks? They don't want sidewalks, he claimed.

In talking to this gentleman, I learned, first of all, that he does not have a waxed handlebar mustache like a silent movie villain. In fact, he seemed entirely reasonable and listened patiently as I made my case. He was willing to compromise, though at that point his notion of compromise was a widened bike lane or expanded road shoulder. I explained to him why that was unacceptable, but also how north-south and east-west arterial routes should be treated as infrastructure by the city -- a public conveyance, just like streets -- opening up the possibility of having the city clear the walkway.

All in all, I think we came to some semblance of mutual understanding. Afterward, I made my comments to the Council and hoped for the best.

Far from being a struggle to get the first segment of 51st Street sidewalk installed, however, the Common Council was unanimous in their support for the effort to make the road traversable by bike and foot. The first segment is paid for by Community Development Block Grant funds; the Council took a closer look at other projects earmarked for CDB funds. 

Alderman Kristen Wilhelm suggested using CDG funds to create another extension of the 51st Street sidewalk -- not the entire length of the street, which would be too costly, but further north nonetheless. The Department of Administration's Mark Luberda noted that it would be difficult to get that funded since the sidewalk would not terminate anywhere specific, and the grant requires a destination or official commitment to completion.

Alderman Wilhelm (a member of the Trails Committee) noted that we could possibly extend the sidewalk further to Minnesota Ave., which then allows access to Pleasant View Elementary (located to the east). Turns out the length of that segment would be nearly the same as the initial segment planned for this summer. Voila! 

Alderman Tim Solomon (another member of the Trails Committee) voiced his contention that the 51st Street sidewalk is absolutely vital, and further moved for an amendment to scratch certain CDG projects (city hall sound system and fire alarm upgrades). Instead, he said, let's make additional extension of the 51st Street project the top priority with CDG funds, both this year's and next if necessary.

The motion and amendment passed unanimously -- and the 51st Street sidewalk segment project is not only securely in place but actually extended farther north to allow it to access Pleasant View Elementary. (Click the small photo at right to enlarge map.)

Terrific news - the finish line at Rawson Ave. is in sight. And, equally important, the Council demonstrated a unified commitment to taking the actions needed to make Franklin a truly connected community. It won't happen all at once, but these first steps will go a long, long way toward making Franklin hospitable to walking, biking, and the enhanced sense of sociability that comes from being "out and about."  

And, best of all, my daughter said the result was worth her having to skip the Superman Ride at Great America.

 

An inviting streetscape emerges on 51st Street: A return to human scale threatened by an off-site landlord?

ABOVE: Work being done on 51st Street

Even in roughed-out form, one can appreciate the improvement occurring along Franklin's 51st Street between Drexel and Puetz. Engineers have preserved many of the trees fronting homes along the street, and soon residents will be treated to a wonderful and useful walkway as well as increased curb appeal for their property.This is going to be a much, much more inviting space than the cracked asphalt should that it replaces.

And that's not to mention that, for the first time since it was built decades ago, Franklin High School students will have access to a sidewalk in front of their school.

Soon, the walkway will continue north of Drexel for approximately 1/3 mile, built with a Community Development Block Grant. It'll provide a way for the senior residents at Clair Meadows to stroll outside their current "boundaries," and eventually will connect to the retail area on Rawson. Eventually 51st Street -- the only north-south connection for a mile in either direction -- will at long last stop acting as a speedway and instead function as an attractive conveyance for cars and pedestrians.

A space like the one above looks so inviting because, unlike most of the suburban built environment, it's designed to human scale and creates a sense of spacial enclosure in a suburban context.

Human scale and spacial enclosure is why, for instance, we feel comfortable on foot in a city setting like the one below:

...And why we feel anything but comfortable attempting to set foot outside our vehicles in a space like the one below:

Hard as it may be to believe, many refer to the area pictured above as my city's "downtown." Yet there are simple streetscape solutions that work in a suburban context that would transform this bleak area. It can be as simple as putting the parking in back of the buildings (see below):

Tonight I'll be attending the Franklin Common Council meeting to speak during citizen's comment period is support of the 51st Street sidewalk.

Why do I have to hire a babysitter and attend this meeting? Because, believe it or not, there is a gentleman -- a landlord who owns an apartment complex on the corner of Drexel and 51st (but does not LIVE there, of course) -- who is against providing safe mobility for those in our community who do not have access to a vehicle. And he took the time to get signatures from the homeowners living on 51st Street.

You can imagine how those little "sign my petition" encounters went. "Do you know what the city is trying to do to your property...?" 

I doubt he brought up the fact that walkable communities experience experience increased property values, and that walkways actually slow down speeding traffic on overdesigned arterials like 51st Street. He probably didn't talk about new freedom of movement that will be afforded to elderly residents of the Clair Meadows senior apartments. I'm certain he didn't broach the subject of the sidewalk as safe conveyance for students and parents at Pleasant View Elementary and Franklin High School.

And, most importantly, I'm sure this landlord didn't mention that there are members of the Franklin Common Council who want nothing better than to put a lane of additional traffic in their front yard by widening 51st Street.

Doubt it? Read the ready-to-go plan here:  Download 51st street widening.

Because, you see, no one walks and we need more room for cars -- and those cars gotta move fast.

The landlord's beef, evidently, is he'll be damned if he'll be responsible for shoveling snow for "other people" (hard not to imagine  this guy twirling a waxed handlebar mustache, ala a silent movie villain).

Please consider attending tonight at 6:30, City Hall, to voice your support for a small but very important step toward making our community safer for young and old, more attractive to new residents and property tax-lowering commercial investment, and, above all, something better than a drive-thru suburb.

Attracting the "Creative Class" to rural areas

From Richard Florida's blog:

New research by economists David McGranahan and Timothy Wojan of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Dayton Lambert of the University of Tennessee provides some new and important insights. Their study, entitled “The Rural Growth Trifecta: Outdoor Amenities, Creative Class and Entrepreneurial Context,” published in the July 2010 issue of  the Journal of Economic Geography looks closely at the economic forces that are acting on rural areas and the local assets these areas can use to most effectively respond to these forces and spur development and prosperity. Rural areas can no longer depend on manufacturing branch plants as a source of jobs and growth, but rather can work to bolster local amenities, spur entrepreneurship, and enable the creative class to generate jobs and growth.  Their main conclusion is that amenities matter a lot to rural development.  Here’s the abstract for the study:

Recent work challenges the notion that attracting creative workers to a place is sufficient for generating local economic growth. In this article, we examine the problem of sustaining robust growth in the periphery of the USA, demonstrating the contingent nature of talent as an engine for economic growth. We test the hypothesis that rural growth in the knowledge economy is dependent on the ability to utilize new knowledge, perhaps generated elsewhere, in addressing local economic challenges. Tests confirm that the interaction of entrepreneurial context with the share of the workforce employed in the creative class is strongly associated with growth in the number of new establishments and employment, particularly in those rural counties endowed with attractive outdoor amenities.

The full version is here (PDF). 

Read the rest at: Creative Class » Blog Archive » The Creative Class in Rural Areas - Creative Class