With the month of August comes a scramble of students, parents and teachers alike preparing for the upcoming school year. This August, Madison’s bustling atmosphere feels no
different despite the construction that has been in the works all summer and that continued to rage during the University of Wisconsin’s designated move-in days.

For Madison residents, the sounds of cranes and power tools were often heard throughout the lengthy construction process that has been going on around campus and the downtown area throughout the past several weeks.

However, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the construction has not greatly impacted the
transition of new freshmen moving into their housing because the city had taken the construction
projects into consideration ahead of time and planned accordingly.

“From the city perspective, we’ve really hit our mark on getting timing right, and I’m glad to say
many of the major city projects are ahead of schedule or right on schedule,” Resnick said.

Through cooperation between the city and UW, many students’ transition to campus was
designed so most of the city’s construction would be suspended before the students move in and out of dorms or nearby apartments to avoid any further congestion or conflict.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the city set an example of trying to minimize move-in disruption by completing the Frances Street renovations by the Nitty Gritty with enough time to avoid congestion around Witte Hall. 

“The city is very cognizant of the tremendous amounts of traffic that are carried by students
moving both in campus and off campus, and we do try to plan our construction around those key
dates,” Verveer said.

City officials met a number of times during the summer to assign different days when freshmen could
move in and account for construction conflicts. The team decided to have the southeast residence halls move
in on the weekend instead of during the week so as not to exacerbate traffic issues.

Still, students can expect the city’s projects to pick back up in the near future as officials revamp their plans for various areas surrounding campus. 

Gary Brown, UW director of planning and landscape architecture, said the nearly two-year
process to redesign Picnic Point is finally under way, with an estimated completion date of
Nov. 1.

The project, overseen by the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Committee, aims to open up
the view that can be seen from Picnic Point to include downtown Madison and the UW campus by removing invasive species and replanting native species, clearing erosion and
dealing with storm water.

Prior to redesign plans to open up the view, students were climbing down the slopes, which were
very unstable, in an attempt to get a glimpse of downtown Madison and campus. So, Brown said, the project not
only provides a safety net but brightens up Picnic Point as well.

The project also involves upgrading the current fire circle pit with a stone seated wall to allow
large groups of people to gather there without impacting the soil.

“Our continued hope is to accommodate the large groups of students that gather out there and use
that place,” Brown said.