Number
011729
Version
SUBSTITUTE 2
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. MURPHY
Title
Substitute resolution setting forth the City of Milwaukee's position on the draft findings of a study entitled "A Regional Freeway Reconstruction System Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin", a.k.a. SEWRPC Planning Report No. 47, dated March 3, 2002.
Analysis
This resolution sets forth the official position of the City of Milwaukee regarding the draft findings of SEWRPC Planning Report No. 47, final draft dated March 3, 2002, entitled "A Regional Freeway Reconstruction System Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin".
Body
Whereas, The Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in 2000 requested the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to lead a study entitled "A Regional Freeway Reconstruction System Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin" to prepare a plan and program for rebuilding the regional freeway system in the 21st Century; and
Whereas, The study was requested due to the age of the 273-mile Southeastern Wisconsin freeway system and the need to reconstruct the entire system within the next 30 years; and
Whereas, The study addressed the relative importance of the freeway system, obsolescence of the freeway system design, traffic congestion on the freeway system, and relative cost of rebuilding the freeway system; and
Whereas, The City of Milwaukee was represented on the Study Advisory Committee and the Study Technical Subcommittee by Mayor John O. Norquist and Commissioner of Public Works, Mariano A. Schifalacqua; and
Whereas, The study alternatives and preliminary study findings are presented in the final draft of SEWRPC Planning Report No. 47 - A Regional Freeway Reconstruction System Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin - Chapter VI - Design, Evaluation, and Consideration of Freeway System Reconstruction Alternatives, dated March 3, 2002; and
Whereas, The Study Advisory Committee met on March 21, 2002, to review the findings; and
Whereas, The Study Advisory Committee voted, with the City of Milwaukee representative and the State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources representative voting "no" and the Milwaukee County representative "abstaining", to send three alternatives forward to all towns, villages, cities, and counties in the region for their review and comment back to the Advisory Committee prior to the alternative(s) being formalized and recommended to be included in the regional transportation plan; and
Whereas, The 3 alternatives sent forth included, in all cases, the reconstruction of the freeway system with design and design related safety improvements at a base cost of $5.5 billion with the taking of 577 acres of land, 166 residences, 23 commercial/industrial buildings and 2 governmental/institutional buildings, as well as adding additional freeway lanes to:
127 miles of the freeway system at an additional $ 700 million ($6.25 billion), and an additional 81 acres of land, 50 residences, 8 commercial/industrial buildings, and 1 governmental/institutional building. This alternative also requires the double decking of the freeway on I-94 between Miller Park and Hawley Road to accommodate the additional lanes.
121 miles of the freeway system (No widening on I-94 between the Zoo Interchange and the Marquette Interchange) at $90 million less than the 127 mile widening alternative ($6.16 billion) and 22 less acres, 18 fewer residences, 5 fewer commercial/industrial buildings (all as compared to the 127 mile widening alternative). This alternative also requires the double decking of the freeway on I-94 between Miller Park and Hawley Road to accommodate modern shoulder design standards unless design exceptions are requested and granted by the Federal Highway Administration.
108 miles of the freeway system (No widening on I-94 between the Zoo Interchange and the Marquette Interchange; no widening on I-43/94 between the Mitchell Interchange and the Marquette Interchange; no widening on I-43 between the Marquette Interchange and Silver Spring Drive) at $260 million less than the 127 mile widening alternative ($5.99 billion) and 46 fewer acres, 36 fewer residences, 8 fewer commercial/industrial buildings and 1 fewer governmental building (all as compared to the 127 mile widening alternative). This alternative also requires the double decking of the 1-94 freeway between Miller Park and Hawley Road to accommodate modern shoulder design standards unless a design exception is requested and granted by the Federal Highway Administration; and
Whereas, Based on the presentation of the analysis it appears that none of the alternatives satisfactorily addresses the needs of the City of Milwaukee; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the City of Milwaukee supports the following modified alternative for further consideration in the analysis of the reconstruction of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Freeway System:
The reconstruction of the freeway system with design and design related safety improvements at a base cost of $5.5 billion with taking of 577 acres of land, 166 residences, 23 commercial/industrial buildings and 2 governmental/institutional buildings, as well as adding additional freeway lanes to 108 miles of the Freeway System (No widening on I-94 between the Zoo Interchange and the Marquette Interchange; no widening on I-43/94 between the Mitchell Interchange and the Marquette Interchange; no widening on I-43 between the Marquette Interchange and Silver Spring Drive) at an additional $490 million over the base safety related alternative ($5.99 billion) and 35 additional acres, 14 additional residences, no additional commercial/industrial buildings and no additional governmental buildings; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the City of Milwaukee does not support adding lanes above design related safety improvements at a cost of $170 to $250 million when a minimal reduction in travel time is estimated for the affected areas; and, be it
Further Resolved, Furthermore that while the City of Milwaukee generally sees the benefit from upgrading freeway facilities to current standards where it makes sense, is in good judgement and adds value to the City, it does not condone actions simply for the sake of upgrading. As such the City of Milwaukee does not support the double decking of the I-94 Freeway from Miller Park to Hawley Road simply for the purpose of meeting modern freeway shoulder design standards, due to the negative impacts such a double-decking would impose on the Story Hill Neighborhood including but not limited to noise, air quality, and aesthetics.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB02159-3
TWM/cac
4/9/2002