NEWS
Team looks at future of State Street
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Also by Aubre Andrus:
- UW prepares for Halloween (October 20, 2005)
- City prepares for Halloween (October 20, 2005)
- In-Depth: State Street's balancing act (September 1, 2005)
- In-Depth: Destination: class (November 3, 2005)
Related Stories:
- Community members see State Street designs (November 14, 2003)
- Board approves State Street Phase II (January 20, 2005)
- State Street redesign set to begin (November 7, 2003)
- Proposed State Street reconstruction discussed (September 12, 2003)
- Phase I of State Street Redesign complete (September 7, 2004)
by Aubre Andrus
Thursday, September 30, 2004
The ongoing project of downtown Madison construction will continue along State Street next summer. Plans for construction on the 200 block of State Street, presented by the Design Project Consultant Team Wednesday night, will break ground in July 2005.
Mike Statz, project manager of State Street reconstruction, said the design and staging of the 200 block will resemble the completed construction on the 100 block. New benches, street signs and lightposts are included in the improvements.
He noted local residents have approved many of these plans.
“A lot of stuff you saw on the 100 block came from business owners and people who live in the State Street area and that feedback has been great in making State Street what people want it to be,” Statz said.
Statz noted underground utilities will be replaced, some of which were first built in the 1900s. Construction will start in the middle of the road, beginning with underground construction, and will move out to the sidewalks and terrace.
Despite construction, residents will have access to both sides of the street and all of the State Street businesses.
Ken Saiki, the landscape architect, said the design team will work to save more existing trees on the 200 block than they were able to on the 100 block. More trees will eventually be planted on the 100 block, he said.
“We’re learning a little bit as we go along,” Saiki said. “There was concern about putting trees up before Halloween for obvious reasons.”
Lightpost banners on the 200 block will match the color system designating individual blocks. Purple represents the 100 block, while banners on the 200 block will be green. The numerical and colored system aims to provide easy identification of the blocks at cross streets.
Four seasonal banners have also been designed for the light posts, beginning with a sunflower banner that states “Celebrate Madison,” Mark Schmitz, a consultant from Z-D Studios, said.
“We won’t have snowflake banners on Maxwell Street Days,” Schmitz said. “We’ll actually have something appropriate.”
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, a member of the State Street Design Oversight Committee, is one of the few to have a final say on the design of State Street.
“I’m definitely excited and looking forward to the second phase next year,” Verveer said. “I’m disappointed that we don’t have the funds to go beyond the 200 block next year.”
Verveer explained the costly project only allows for the completion of two blocks each year. After the 200 block’s completion in 2005, construction on the 300 and 400 block of State Street will begin in 2006, he added.
“I’m concerned some will believe this is an Overture Center project when it’s not,” Verveer said. “We fully intend on going down the length of State Street.”
Statz also expressed his excitement for the completion of the project.
“By the time we get down the length of State Street, we’re going to be really good at this,” he said.
