City of Madison’s Board of Public Works approved a motion Wednesday to amend a current agreement between the city and the University of Wisconsin.
In 2005, Madison and UW’s Board of Regents agreed to allow the university to maintain East Campus Mall from Regent Street to West Dayton Street, rather than the city. Despite East Campus Mall’s being a city-owned pedestrian street, the agreement was made for the UW to enforce its own standards of maintenance, Principal Engineer of Madison streets and sidewalks Chris Petykowski said.
The current amendment to this agreement is a result of the changes that must be made to East Campus Mall due to the Southeast Recreational Facility’s reconstruction. Along with the reconstruction of the SERF, the portion of East Campus Mall that passes the SERF will need some modifications, Petykowski said.
“We need to amend that contract to include the new items that are being installed with the SERF project,” Petykowski said.
Petykowski said new masonry towers featuring red Wisconsin ‘W’s — which can be seen along a portion of East Campus Mall — will be constructed south of Dayton Street.
Additionally, to accommodate local cyclist traffic at the SERF’s replacement facility — renamed to the Nicholas Recreation Center — bike rack installments have also been approved along East Campus Mall.
In accordance with the amended agreement between the city of Madison and UW, the university will maintain the bike racks and masonry towers.
While the terms of the original agreement were to remain in effect until 2025, the amendment’s terms extended the agreement until 2037.