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NEWS

Trees win, State Street will remain crooked

JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald Photo

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Also by Lynn Heidmann:

Library Mall to add Subway, coffee shop (March 21, 2007)
Ticket dispute ends in lottery (May 3, 2007)
UW vet student earns book treat (March 9, 2007)

by Lynn Heidmann

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Members of the State Street Oversight Committee met Wednesday to discuss next year's reconstruction of the 500 and 600 blocks of State Street.

The committee opted for a crooked State Street in favor of saving several area trees and decided to move the bus stop currently at Francis Street 50 feet to the west.

According to Project Manager Mike Statz of MSA professional services, State Street currently curves at several points in the 500 block. As a result, he explained, the width of the sidewalk on the north side of the street provides a large amount of space while the south sidewalks are very narrow.

"The pedestrians need to have some space also," committee chair Ted Crabb said.

However, Statz pointed out the problem with making the street straight and evening out the sidewalk widths is the location of trees in the area.

Ken Saiki of MSA professional services said straightening the street would require the removal of six trees in the area, including all four trees in front of Buffalo Wild Wings. Saiki also said that if the committee decides to reconstruct State Street so it is straight, sidewalks on the north side of the street would be reduced in size by about six inches.

But Mary Carbine, executive director of Madison's central business improvement district, expressed concerns at the meeting for the amount of space restaurants on the north side of the street would get for outdoor eating areas.

"I wouldn't want the committee to vote for something that would end up reducing the amount of café space available on that side of the street," Carbine said.

The alternative to straightening State Street, Statz said, would be a compromise between the current layout and a complete adjustment of the street's curves. This alternative would not completely even out the space on the sidewalks, but it would give at least six feet of space for pedestrians on both sides, he added.

"The balance in between outing the trees and trying to save the trees is the scenario we're looking at," Statz said.

In terms of relocating the bus stop at Francis and State Streets, the committee said they wanted to move the stop to a central area with more pedestrian traffic.

Though Statz suggested moving the stop to the space in front of the UW Credit Union, the State Street Oversight Committee decided to relocate the stop just 50 feet west of its current position for safety reasons.

"It's better to have a bus shelter in front of a blank wall rather than a shop, especially a financial one where there is a higher incident of hostile threat of some sort," Brandon Starks, facilities supervisor of the UW Credit Union, said. "We have our people opening and closing at night, and we'd rather have a clear vision to the street."

The State Street Oversight Committee will meet again in two weeks to finalize plans for the reconstruction project on the 500 and 600 blocks before the plans will be presented for public discussion and debate.