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Proponents of a proposal to tear down Interstate 794 in downtown pushed back strongly against comments from a suburban Milwaukee state senator, who said the plan appears "to be a solution in search of a problem."
"Downtown employers aren’t choosing downtown because of the highways," said Montavius Jones, a spokesperson for Rethink 794, which is pushing for the freeway section to be torn down. "They choose downtowns because they know a vibrant, attractive, mixed use neighborhood is what the future of their workforce demands. This isn’t 1960. The freeway-as-economic-development-tool has failed us and it's time to give up on the experiment."
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, faced with some sections of aging bridge that must be replaced, is presenting a range of options for I-794. One would rebuild the older sections of highway as-is, without touching the bulk of I-794. Others would either redesign the interstate between Lincoln Memorial Drive and Second Street, or remove it entirely.
Traffic studies by the DOT have shown a daily average of 21,100 drivers using the exit ramps to downtown Milwaukee along that stretch of I-794. That compares with 73,900 drivers passing east and west along I-794 over Water Street, and 42,500 at the northern edge of the Hoan Bridge. About 3.7% of the traffic on the Hoan Bridge end was trucks.
Several business leaders, local stakeholders and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, along with Milwaukee Department of City Development commissioner Lafayette Crump, have backed the removal, promoting the possibility for new private development on the surface parking lots located below the interstate bridges.
In fact, the city's 2040 downtown plan update includes support for tearing down I-794.
State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) released a letter Aug. 21 in which he pointed out any proposal to remove the section of freeway would need approval from the state Legislature.
"It would be a shame if the DOT allowed the groups who are aggressively banging the drum for full removal of the existing interchange to hold undue influence over the department's decision making," he wrote. "The adverse impacts associated with demolishing the interchange and replacing it with a ground-level thoroughfare would be profound, as has been noted by the concerned citizens, employer groups and neighboring communities who have expressed skepticism or outright opposition to the concept thus far. If the I-794 corridor is removed or significantly reconfigured, Milwaukee will be plagued with increased traffic congestion and drive times."
Milwaukee Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, a proponent of the teardown option, said Stroebel was wrong.
"I’ve worked with Sen. Stroebel for 8 years while in the state Legislature. He has been wrong about a great many things (and) this is no exception," Brostoff said.
Stroebel wrote that with thousands of drivers being redirected to city streets, individuals "would be deterred from working in, living in and visiting the downtown."
Some downtown stakeholders have raised similar concerns that removing I-794 could make commuting more difficult, or lead to congested local streets that would also serve as a barrier to people on foot. Elected officials in St. Francis, South Milwaukee and Cudahy have all passed resolutions opposing the demolition of I-794.
"In doing the bidding for the activist groups calling for removal, the city of Milwaukee is overlooking the integral role the Lake Interchange has played in the decisions of major employers to expand and relocate in the downtown area," Stroebel wrote. "Attracting and retaining talent will only become more difficult in the absence of the convenient access provided by the interchange."
However, Jones said community and political leaders should look at the proposal as an effort to evolve as a city.
"We’re competing with similar cities and regions for talent," Jones said. "They’re not moving to Atlanta, Denver, or Austin because of the commute times. Employers like Northwestern Mutual and Milwaukee Tool are consolidating downtown to attract young talent that wants to live and work in vibrant people-centered places.
"This isn’t just a small loud group, it’s a movement of people that are interested in seeing a better future for Milwaukee than the status-quo. Would the Deer District and Fiserv Forum be what it is if we kept the status-quo? Would the Third Ward be what it is today if people didn't envision it as a premier place to live and shop 30 years ago?"
