If the Madison Police Department and Mayor Paul Soglin get their way, the Mifflin Street Block Party will be no more.

A report released recently outlined the safety concerns surrounding the 2011 event, including what MPD spokesperson Howard Payne labeled as a number of “concerning issues.” The 2011 Block Party cost MPD $130,000, a $42,000 increase from 2010. There were two stabbings, several
sexual assaults and incidents of battery, all related to the over-consumption of
alcohol, Payne said.

“When you balance those elements of cost and public jeopardy with the way the
previous years of the event played out, the department does not see the event as
having a positive benefit for the community,” Payne said.

Soglin said he thinks everyone would be better served if the Block Party
came to an end.

“In a very critical time, the tens of millions of dollars being spent on setup and
cleanup and police enforcement for the event would be better spent on community
services,” Soglin said.

As a participant in the first Mifflin Street Block Party in 1969, Soglin said the focus
of the event has shifted drastically from its politically-based origin and the per capita consumption of alcohol has increased significantly, creating serious
problems for public health and safety.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he does not feel an event of this size and caliber
can be ended.

“Students celebrate prior to finals in many different ways,” Resnick said. “The police
and the city can take steps to curb the amount of consumption, but in the past those
attempts have not worked.”

Payne said MPD looked at Mifflin’s trends beginning in 2008 in terms of cost
and different vendors and promoters in an attempt to change the branding of the
event and divert attention away from alcohol, but none of those attempts seemed successful.

In 2011, party-goers were allowed to drink on the street provided they were of-age and approved for a wristband.

“This is not a knee jerk reaction to 2011,” Payne said. “The report combines
previous years and the results are still the same. It’s the exorbitant costs of the event
this past year that put it over the edge.”

Resnick said he thinks the city needs to look at other options to solve the problem.

The way Mifflin is promoted needs to be changed by staying more local, Resnick said, citing that the 2011 Block Party took place on the same day as the Crazylegs Classic as a possible cause for bringing in even more out-of-towners and dividing police forces.

“If advertising focuses on UW-Madison instead of outsiders, I think it would put a
positive spin back on the event,” Resnick said.

Soglin said if students choose to participate in the 2012 Block Party, it would
include significant and firm measures to deal with public and underage intoxication.