Downtown residents and business representatives concerned about underuse of Lisa Link Peace Park have agreed to come to the bargaining table in an effort to settle their differences.
They are divided over a proposal made by a coalition of Madison businesses to place a carousel in the park, which lies near the intersection of Gilman and State Streets.
On Sept. 11, the City Council permitted Downtown Madison, Inc., a group consisting of both business owners and residents, to begin a study investigating possible Peace Park uses. The park has deteriorated in recent years, and is regularly occupied by teenagers and homeless people.
UW-Madison students do not frequent the park, and DMI aims to increase the number of students who visit the park.
Susan Schmitz, DMI executive director, is hopeful that the investigation’s findings, which are to be presented to the City Department of Parks March 31, 2002, will please all parties involved in the dispute.
“The park was built in the 1970s,” Schmitz said. “We plan to update it, beautify it. People are not using it because physically, it’s not a very friendly park.”
The parties involve agree they need to improve the park’s appearance and usefulness. The fundamental disagreement lies in how these improvements should be made.
However, because of the struggle between businesses’ financial interests and residents wishing to preserve the already small amount of green space on State Street, a compromise seems far-off.
Trudy Barash, president of the loosely organized Peace Park Revitalization Project, is a participant in DMI and a proponent of a Peace Park carousel.
“Cities have benefited from the placement of carousels in their downtowns, such as Mansfield, Ohio, Missoula, Mont., and Hartford, Conn.,” Barash said.
Barash, who works at Canterbury Booksellers, is one of a number of local business leaders pushing for the carousel. She said she hopes DMI’s spring report will lead to a carousel in Peace Park.
Yet Barash and others allied with her face an uphill battle. They are opposed by multiple neighborhood and resident organizations. The State-Langdon association and many nearby residents feel the green space on State Street should be preserved, while others feel that placing a carousel on the main street of a college town would just be tacky.
The Friends of Lisa Link Peace Park also oppose the placement of a carousel.
Ald. Todd Jarrell, a member of DMI, is also against the placement of the carousel for improving the park. Jarrell said DMI’s report should include influence from local businesses and public input from Madison residents.
“There are so many other plans that could work better [than the carousel],” Jarrell said. “It’s my hope that the committee should be able to come up with a good solution that will make everyone happy.”
