Representatives from City Hall and University of Wisconsin hosted a public input meeting Tuesday at Memorial Union to generate ideas for the reconstruction of the 700 to 800 block of State Street near Library Mall.
Stakeholders and community members submitted opinions to the city’s design team contractors so the designers may incorporate them into their plans for reconstructing the two spaces, due to begin March 2014.
The reconstruction is a collaboration between the university and city. In addition to the repair of sidewalks, sewers and water mains, attendees considered ways future designs could accommodate bicyclists, food cart vendors and public gatherings.
Chris Petykowski, project manager of the reconstruction, said community members may not be aware that the 700 to 800 block of State Street divides East Campus Mall and Library Mall, extending to Park Street. The intersections and connections this creates between the university and the city is a recurrent theme in the project, he said.
“The project that we are talking about today is looking at designing both of those spaces. We want to work together with UW to find a space that works and flows well together,” he said.
Jason DiPiazza of MSA Professional Services, an engineering firm working on the project, emphasized the city’s goal to include the public and stakeholders in the design process.
He said the designers will seek feedback from businesses and institutions in the vicinity, including religious and campus centers, the Wisconsin Historical Society and UW libraries. Last night’s meeting was the first of three input sessions that will occur throughout the plan’s development over the next year.
Jill Sebastian, a local artist whose work has been previously commissioned by the city, posed questions that attendees might consider as they discussed their concerns in small groups.
“Part of what the overall plan is, is to make connections: connections between the University, State Street and Library Mall,” Sebastian said. “What do we want to learn? … What aspects work well? What are the problems? What do you feel is needed as far as the new design”?
The dozen breakout groups answered Sebastian’s questions by raising an equally large array of concerns, which they conveyed through group facilitators.
Shane Bernau of Ken Saiki Design, a architectural firm partnering in the reconstruction, said his small group focused on the efficiency with which the space on the 700 to 800 block was being used. Given the high traffic that the 700 block sees around vendor carts at lunchtime, Bernau’s group believed that a new design must spread pedestrians into the 800 block to ease congestion.
Ald. Rebecca Cnare, District 3, said she recognized the importance of adapting the area for use during the winter.
“We talked about … the idea of extending the use of the space, not only through the hours of the day, but for the seasons as well,” Cnare said. “The other sentiments – lighting – that was another really big one. It’s really dark … [The 700 to 800 block] doesn’t have the benefit of the storefront lighting that you have up and down State Street.”
On Thursday, the State Street Design Project Oversight Committee will discuss the feedback received from last night’s meeting. According to Petykowski, reconstruction designs will be released in May. In June, the city will hold the second of three public input meetings to evaluate these design proposals.
