Downtown Waukesha Master Plan Listening Session

The City of Waukesha is holding a listening session on the downtown master plan that is being developed.  It will be held 5PM-7PM Wednesday (2-25-11) at the Rotunda at 235 W Broadway.

If you are a City of Waukesha resident, I encourage you to go and consider discussing:

• The need for accessibility improvements around downtown area.  Are there parking spots designated accessible scattered around the downtown? Do on-street parking have ease of access to sidewalks?
• The need for more housing density, with mixed-use housing where appropriate.
• The need for affordable housing
• The need for good (and accessible) bus stops
• The need for good linkages to surrounding neighborhoods.  Ease of pedestrian access would encourage surrounding neighborhoods to visit downtown on foot more often
• Discussion on bicycle paths & "parking".  My recollection of downtown Waukesha is that it's not ideal for bicycle paths on the streets, so discuss bicycle access to downtown & where people can lock up their bicycles while shopping or dining.

What help downtown areas are frequently density and walkability, and in recent years, there have been some apartment buildings popping up around the area, which is great, but some of those buildings are not designed for the street.  There are entire block lengths of blank walls that are unappealing to pedestrians, so building design has to be a consideration.  But it's not necessary for every building off the main streets to have retail on the ground level.