Can Changing Streets Change a Community?

There are a lot of things that we could do in Shorewood, to make our streets better.  The stretch of streets in Shorewood that is most in need of reform and revitalization is the inverted “L” formed by Capitol Drive (from the River to Oakland) and Oakland (from Capitol Drive to Edgewood Avenue).  The design there for several reason is not enough “village street,” and too much “North Port Washington Road” or “West Blue Mound Road” (two notoriously bad “stroads” in our area).    

We can do better.  Other villages and towns have acted so that their street designs not only move cars, but also help foster a sense of safety, community, place, and even beauty.  And in the process, they’ve increased property values.

One example of that is what Whitefish Bay did when it redesigned its main street (Silver Spring Drive), to make that street far more ped/bike friendly than it had been.  The result?  Property values have increased, new housing has been built, and businesses have thrived, as people seek to live in a ped/bike friendly neighborhood/community. 

A little further from here, another example: Poynton, a small town in northern England, which has about the same population as Shorewood.  About 10 years ago, Poynton decided something was just wrong about what the heart of its town (and it's main intersection) had become.  Rather than just accept that nothing could be done, they acted.   

In the above box is a short video, showing how small Poynton reclaimed its heritage and history as a peaceful community, by changing one intersection (its main intersection), and the design of the streets that converged at that intersection.  Note the text under the video: "A community in decline, divided by decades of anti-social traffic engineering, is reunited and revitalised by streetscape redesign."  

When the change in Poyton was proposed, many in the community predicted that the change (which involved in part eliminating an intersection traffic signal), would obviously lead to chaos, gridlock, and streets that would be less safe for children, parents, the elderly, and everybody else.

But (as the above video indicates) time proved the naysayers wrong. 

What visionary plans might we develop and adopt in Shorewood, that would lead our village to reclaim its heritage and history as a more peaceful, pleasant and prosperous community?  What changes could we make around the heart of our village (the intersection of Capitol & Oakland, and the area immediately around it)? 

We don’t have to do what Whitefish Bay or Poynton did, but we should be willing to think boldly about what would make Shorewood and our streets contribute to our future success.  What is it that we could do with Capitol and Oakland that would transform the disliked-and-unsafe portions of those streets (which our citizens frequently complain about), to streets that are better and safer?  Streets that we are proud of, and even love?

The author can be reached at sandiependleton@gmail.com, or at 414.418.4469.