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Rave reviews for city safety plan
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The Madison City Council officially approved funding for the Downtown Safety Initiative Tuesday, and some Madison community members are already speaking in favor of the plan.
The plan, created by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the Madison Police Department, calls for $100,000 in city funds to be spent improving safety in the campus and downtown area.
About $70,000 will be spent on additional police officers, and the remainder will be used for the rest of the plan's expenses, such as wireless cameras in areas that have traditionally had crime issues.
"Anytime there's discussion and a plan built around the problems, it's always going to help," said Hawk Schenkel, owner of Hawk's Bar and Grill at 425 State St.
Schenkel also said he thinks the MPD's use of cameras downtown will help improve bartime safety. The police will use wireless cameras that will allow them to view downtown activity from a laptop in their squad cars.
The MPD has also used surveillance cameras in the past during Halloween on State Street and on King Street after a string of assaults occurred outside Club Majestic.
"It's kind of like having a couple of extra pairs of eyes on the street," said Drew Willert, member of the Langdon Neighborhood Watch.
Two people robbed an 18-year-old man more than a week ago on the 100 block of Langdon Street, and the MPD is still searching for the suspects.
City officials hope the Downtown Safety Initiative will help prevent violent crimes, such as last week's incident, last summer's string of bartime muggings and last December's sexual assaults.
"I can't imagine any restaurant or bar owner not being for the safety plan," Schenkel said.
Another way the city is considering improving downtown safety is the Alcohol Density Plan, which would limit the number of liquor licenses in certain downtown areas.
"I'm more excited about that plan than I am about the Alcohol Density Plan," Schenkel said. "That's a more effective tool than limiting the number of alcohol licenses."
The plan calls for police visibility to be increased on weekends between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., when many assaults have taken place in the past.
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Hawk Schenkel is the bomb. Good for him for speaking out against the density plan, even though it would benefit him financially to limit the competition.