Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

Municipal complaint? There's an app for that

Boston to debut ‘killer app’ for municipal complaints - The Boston Globe.

City officials say the application, dubbed Citizen Connect, is the first of its kind in the nation. It was designed as an extension of the city’s 24-hour complaint hotline for the younger set, making the filing of complaints quicker and easier for iPhone users.

“If I’m just walking along the sidewalk and I have a complaint - maybe a storm knocked downed a tree - I could take a photo and send it immediately,’’ said Christopher Loh, 28, a press assistant in the mayor’s office who helped come up with the idea for the program. “You don’t have to bumble around looking for a number to call. It’s right there in the palm of your hand.’’

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.

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.

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.

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.

Northwestern Mutual CEO puts Franklin on notice regarding RTA: Get with the program

Did my colleagues on the Franklin Economic Development Commission read the Letters to the Editor in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel?

I speak of:

1. Commissioners who thought ridiculous my assertion that Franklin should begin to plan in earnest for the rail line that will eventually run through neighboring Oak Creek (that is: Reassure the business community that Franklin understands the importance of commuter rail and will provide and plan for the vital "last mile connection"), and;
2. Commissioners who regularly insert anti-transit materials into the EDC meeting packets (the last of which was an opinion column by George Torres, at the time an employee of county exec Scott Walker and head of Milwaukee County's shambolic transit system);

My fellow EDC Commissioners should now know that Franklin corporate citizen Northwestern Mutual is led by a man who gets it - - and will expect us to get it as well.

RTA should be sales tax-funded

I am writing to express my support for the creation of a three-county Regional Transit Authority and a viable, dedicated funding source for transit and Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail. As CEO of a major business in Milwaukee County, I know dedicated funding for transit is critical to the future success of my business.

The local business community in Milwaukee is solidly behind the current RTA's recommendations to shift funding for transit to a dedicated sales tax. Many opponents of this transit proposal argue that shifting transit from the property tax to a sales tax is anti-business or will drive business away. That is categorically untrue.

Northwestern Mutual has two major offices in Milwaukee County and employs a significant number of residents of Wauwatosa. Our current transit system is so inadequate and obsolete that my employees cannot get from our downtown office to our Franklin location on the Milwaukee County Transit System. The lack of available transit in this region has a much greater impact on my company than a shift in how we pay for transit.

Of the top 50 most populated U.S. cities or regions, only seven do not have or are not developing rail transit. Wisconsin is already behind other regions in this regard, and without a stable bus transit system - much less improved transit and commuter rail links connecting Milwaukee to other regions - southeastern Wisconsin will be left behind as the state's talent pool is attracted to other developing regions. Those remaining in Wisconsin cannot get to their jobs.

Please tell state legislators that a vote for a fully funded, three-county RTA is a vote to support business in southeastern Wisconsin.

Edward Zore
CEO, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Milwaukee

In lieu of the (cancelled) Economic Development Commission meeting ...

... there will be an organizational meeting of "my" subcommittee (screenshot of Franklin's online meeting calendar above), which is exploring the creation of a commercial coffee shop/co-working facility on the city-owned land between the Public Library and Fire Station #1 (or thereabouts).

That's right: Like Leslie Knope of PARKS AND RECREATION, I have a subcommittee.

An invitation to attend has gone out to each member of the Economic Development Commission; however, potential participation is not confined to the EDC, so an agenda item will allow those in attendance to suggest possible members.

Having never so much as attended a city subcommittee meeting before, actually running one should be quite... interesting.