Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

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.

Good Advice from The New Republic

Posted from my iPad (clumsily), a quote from The New Republic's blog that certain Franklin aldermen should keep in mind before they scuttle pedestrian access on a road project tomorrow night:

"What is needed to catch up with the pent up demand for walkable urban places, especially in the suburbs, is complete transportation policy reform. Since transportation drives development, we need to build the second half of the American transportation system--rail and bus transit and bikes and walking-- while repairing our existing roadway system. Only this will allow for the emergence of the walkable urban places that the market, economy, and environment demands."

Christopher Leinberger, The New Republic

“Leave Your Car in the Garage” as sell copy for real estate

The trend toward walkability as a real estate selling point is noted at How We Drive, the Blog of Tom Vanderbilt’s Traffic 

Trawling through some real estate brokerage sites, typically in fairly dense small towns and pre-war suburbs, a refrain keeps catching my eye: “Leave your car in the garage.” The listing will then note the proximity to trains, schools, etc. I’m not sure who first came up with this rallying cry — and based on what I’ve seen in some of these towns (pedestrians being mostly people moving to and from their cars) I wonder if it might be more real-estate bluster than anything else — i.e., the potential of walking is there, as is the potential for the great room to be great and the massive chef’s kitchen to produce fare worthy of Grant Achatz, but in the end this potential gives way to some real or imagined vehicular reality (I need to get groceries, it’s just easier). But I can’t say I’ve ever seen a real estate ad that promised: “Take your car out of the garage, often!”

Read the rest at: How We Drive, the Blog of Tom Vanderbilt’s Traffic » Blog Archive » “Leave Your Car in the Garage”

Making trails part of USEFUL INFRASTRUCTURE rather than appendages and afterthoughts

ABOVE: What passes for a road shoulder in Franklin on the road leading to its middle school and Little League Complex. Good luck, kids!

Sometimes it's the little changes that make the difference. Let's hope this sensible Comprehensive Master Plan amendment, initiated by Plan Commission member Kevin Haley via the Trails Committee on which he also serves, is the beginning of the end of random, pointless trails in Franklin.

Item III.F on the July 8th Plan Commission Agenda:

F. City of Franklin (Adoption of Milwaukee County Trails Network Plan)
Property: City-wide
Zoning: City-wide

Regarding: 1. (Comprehensive Master Plan Amendment) AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CITY OF FRANKLIN 2025 COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN TO INCORPORATE THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY TRAILS NETWORK PLAN AS A GUIDELINE REFERENCE WITHIN THE COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN 


"Baby boomers are coming of empty-nest retirement age, and at the same time their children are buying their first homes, and neither group wants large lots in remote places where little is going on."

Another reason a viable trail and sidewalk system is INFRASTRUCTURE, and not merely "parks and recreation."

Today's home buyers aren't just looking for good schools and low crime rates when they evaluate a neighborhood, many brokers say. They're paying much more attention to what they can walk to.

"Everyone wants to know now how close they are to stores," says Linda Duggan, an owner of The Duggan Group real-estate agency. She recently had clients who, given a choice between a house in Danville, Calif., and another that was bigger, newer, $300,000 cheaper—and 20 minutes farther from town—chose the first one. Earlier this year Scott Newman, of Newman Realty in Chicago, started highlighting how close his listings are to amenities. The number of amenities in walking distance can vary sharply from block to block, he adds.

"For a lot of Americans, the whole problem of traffic congestion and having to drive everywhere to do almost anything has made other choices more attractive," says Kaid Benfield, director of the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council's Smart Growth Program. Urban planners say it's also a matter of demographics: Baby boomers are coming of empty-nest retirement age, and at the same time their children are buying their first homes, and neither group wants large lots in remote places where little is going on. Fear about future oil prices is also increasing the attractiveness of walkable neighborhoods. 

Read the rest at: A Walker's Guide to Home Buying - WSJ.com

The Rise of Walking and Biking

It's summer, and you may be seeing more people out on the street walking and biking. But it's not just because the weather is nice. There are more people walking and biking year round, and the Department of Transportation is responding by dramatically increasing the amount of money spent on projects for pedestrians and cyclists. This is a look at the rise of foot-powered travel in America.

Read the rest at: Transparency: The Rise of Walking and Biking - Transparency - GOOD

51st Street Reconstruction in Franklin, Wisconsin

51st Street Reconstruction - 03, originally uploaded by John Michlig.

Reconstruction of 51st Street in front of Franklin High School begins in earnest. Click on the title in the caption above to see a full set of photos on Flickr.

One more step to sane streets: 76th Street reconstruction includes a sidewalk

ABOVE: The untenable parking situation that occurs at the Franklin Little League Complex every game day as a result of lack of safe pedestrian and bike alternatives.

Last week the Franklin Common Council voted to ensure that a sidewalk will be part of the configuration of 76th Street when it is rebuilt from W. Terrace Drive to W. Puetz Road. (The four configuration choices are listed after the jump.)

The sole "no" vote was by Alderman Steve Olson, who, while interested in seeing a sidewalk added to the stretch of road (which includes the city's Little League complex and would provide a walking/biking route to the Rawson-76th Street commercial area), evidently saw nothing in any of four alternatives presented by the county that he would support. He was also, apparently, more interested in creating in his constituents the notion that he voted against spending city money (see below).

Lest he try to make hay of the notion that he "voted against city spending," you will recall that Olson is one of the major proponents for Franklin's $500,000 expenditure on the Drexel Interchange in Oak Creek. I await his economic mitigation plan for the damage that particular move will cause; it's an episode that will be looked at in hindsight as one of the steps to the path of Franklin's Edge City status if steps aren't taken.

Also, Olson did not mention in his letter to constituents addressing the vote on 76th Street the fact that Jack Takerian, interim director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation and Public Works, explained to the council that new federal policy and related grant funding all but ensure that part or all of Franklin's $860,000 portion (Olson rounded up to $900,000 for the "benefit" of his constituents) will be eliminated. The street is within 2 miles of the middle school, for instance, so it is eligible for Safe Routes to School funding. Much, much smaller communities than Franklin -- who have committed to the grant application process -- have spent a few thousand dollars only to see a half million come back in funding for sidewalks and walking amenities.

During the discussion, Alderman Steve Taylor made a good point: There are numerous subdivisions along 76th that are effectively cut off from one another by the dangerous street. A sidewalk would be an enormous amenity, and also allow access to the businesses on Rawson.

Mayor Tom Taylor had this to say before the vote:

While I originally vetoed this proposal and only wanted to go with alternative A; if alternative B was selected tonight, I would not move to veto it.

...

I think that Mr. Michlig, Mr. Fowler [Franklin Trail Committee Chair], Alderman Sohns [former Trail Committee Member], Alderman Kristen Wilhelm, and many others in the community have totally convinced me that we need to be pedestrian friendly; we need to have a connected city.

Still think things can't change if you agitate a bit?

Add this to the 51st Street reconstruction in front of the high school, which includes pedestrian facilities at last (Olson voted against that, too), and it becomes just a bit easier to foresee a community build to serve people as well as vehicles.

Franklin's fledgling SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL program is on Facebook

 
SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL is a federally funded program designed to encourage kindergarten through eighth grade students to walk or bike to school; encouraging healthy and active lifestyles. 

Visit and hit the "LIKE" button to track our community's progress.