Shorelines

Hi David,

The entire streetscaping project seemed like a pain from the beginning ... the minute they tried to justify the beginning date of construction because of the Criterion bike race, I knew it would be an irritating process.

Far be it from me to criticize the actual process of construction having not done it myself, but the first thing they did was tear up the sidewalks on the west side of Oakland (where I live in an apartment building), and it looks like those will be the last spots to be filled in.  For almost two and a half months now I've had to walk through the mud, piles of rocks, or the middle of the street to get to my car or walk to class.  Not so much a walkable community.

It's also very dangerous.  With the impeded walking routes and the dearth of light fixtures, people are forced to walk randomly and on occasion have to dodge cars.  I ride my bike to class each day and cheat death each time I am on Oakland. 

The parking situation affects me twofold as I have nighttime parking in the east lot of the high school, right by the fitness center, which is the only parking available.  Back to the timing, they could have easily started this when school was not in session so the closing of the SHS parking lot was less cumbersome.  Some intrepid Saturday drivers have managed to find their way into the lot anyway by driving on the sidewalk. 

Anyway, I'm a full time grad student at UWM and I have no need for my car, so now I have to wait until 10:30p each night to get my car into the lot and take it out by 7a.  I park west of Oakland on Beverly taking the only open road outside of Morris to get there:  Newton.  Not many people know of Newton because it's partially obscured by haphazard construction barrels, raised concrete, and mud.  But it works.

Judging by how few cars are parked over there, I am guessing the businesses I live above are suffering because the casual person would not know of any place to park.  Beverly east of Oakland provides a few street spaces for consumers, but that's highly difficult to turn on if you're coming from the north ... with the street light out at Menlo, cars have no reason to stop and this stretch of Oakland becomes even more dangerous.

Some of what I ramblingly written can't be fixed, but the least the village could have done was schedule this construction when SHS wasn't in session and when UWM was in summer session so that the crews could focus on the work without the significant amount of traffic they've had to deal with this fall.  Particularly amusing is the letter the village sent this week saying they were "considering a proposal."  Great, make a decision and get it over with already.

Thanks for the time,
Nate Roth

Dear Dave – may I start with 2 words?   BIG PICTURE.   Is the lack of parking for a few weeks an inconvenience for people who use the High School parking lot? Yes. Is the current parking situation a serious problem for the business owners and their clients? Absolutely. But all of this a temporary problem. I am not unsympathetic to either constituency. However, in the long run, when it is complete, the streetscape WILL enhance the business district and the appearance of the village. Unfortunately, you can’t wave a magic wand and make it done overnight. Road work simply necessitates some inconvenience and is to some degree at the mercy of the elements when it comes to timetables.