State Street’s redesign will take center stage in the Spotlight room at the Madison Civic Center today to address design proposals for the street’s and some adjacent areas’ reconstruction.
“This meeting will let people with an interest in the future of State Street see where this is going and give people an opportunity to provide feedback and opinions,” said Bill Fruhling, Principal Planner for the Department of Planning & Development in Madison.
Fruhling also said the conceptual redesign has taken more than a year and a half to complete, and the design team is eager to hear suggestions from as many businesses, landowners, residents and civilians as possible.
“State Street is Madison’s most identifiable street, and certainly the busiest street for pedestrians,” Fruhling said. “It’s a place that a lot of people feel is a large part of our identity.”
Susan Schmitz, President of Downtown Madison, Inc., also said she hopes for a large turnout, especially from everyday users of State Street.
“It’s in the center of the central business district; it’s a real jewel. This street truly defines us as a community,” Schmitz said.
Schmitz said this plan is not one that will diminish the current atmosphere of the State Street area, but one that will freshen it up, giving it the face-lift many say it needs.
She noted that the emphasis of the redesign would be on the façades of the buildings.
Construction of the 100-200 blocks of State Street will not begin until 2004, but the adopted plans for Phase I will pave the way for the design of the remaining portions of the street.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with open viewing of the proposed projects at 7 p.m. Design teams will make presentations on their plans, developed from the original plans adopted by the Madison City Council in April 2002.
The proposed designs include changes in paving materials, streetlights, public spaces, signage, public art and street furniture, such as bus shelters and potted plants.
A time for questions and feedback will follow the presentation.
