Fiscal Note
No additional City appropriation is required with the proposed plan amendment. Implementing recommendations within the Plan will require the inclusion of expenditures in future capital and operating budgets, subject to Common Council approval at that time.
Title
Amending the Triangle Monona Bay Neighborhood Plan to revise the transportation recommendations for the north-south public street from Regent Street to West Washington Avenue from bike/ped friendly to bike/ped only (with emergency vehicle access) for the north section from Regent Street to Braxton Place.
Body
WHEREAS, the Triangle Monona Bay Neighborhood Plan (TMB Plan) was adopted by the Madison Common Council on July 2, 2019; and,
WHEREAS, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Committee designated the Triangle and Monona Bay Planning Study Area (Census Tract 12.0, Block Group 1 - see Attachment 1) as a CDBG Concentration Neighborhood for the purposes of providing planning assistance; and,
WHEREAS, the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development utilized the City’s Racial Equity and Social Justice (RESJI) tool to develop the Triangle and Monona Bay Neighborhood planning process and to define membership positions for the Triangle and Monona Bay Ad Hoc Neighborhood Plan Steering Committee (Steering Committee); and,
WHEREAS, the Steering Committee, which the Mayor appointed and the Common Council confirmed, guided the planning process and met 16 times from February 2018 to April 2019 to review and discuss background data, issues, opportunities, public and stakeholder input, and draft recommendations of the TMB Plan; and,
WHEREAS, representatives from the Steering Committee, Monona Bay Neighborhood Association, Community Development Authority, and Bayview Foundation, Inc. solicited community ideas and input through stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions, surveys, individual conversations, three public open house events and neighborhood association and other community meetings; and,
WHEREAS, the TMB Plan describes the desired future of the planning study area and provides recommendations to guide land use and urban design, including recommended changes to the City’s Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map (see Attachment 2); and,
WHEREAS, the TMB Plan also provides recommendations to enhance transportation, improve community health and wellness, expand community programming and services, upgrade parks and open spaces, increase housing diversity with a range of affordability options, improve housing quality, preserve existing housing scale and character in low residential areas, and incorporate age friendly and specialized design for people with disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, following the recommendations of the Steering Committee, the Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB), the Community Development Authority, and Plan Commission, the TMB Plan was adopted by the Common Council with a new street connection shown between Regent Street and West Washington Avenue (new north-south street) to accommodate multi-modal transportation, including automobile access for existing and future residents and visitors, including visitors to the community center; and,
WHEREAS, the Bayview Foundation received $2.9 million in 2019 from the City’s Affordable Housing Fund to redevelop its housing and community center, with groundbreaking scheduled for spring 2021; and,
WHEREAS, Community Development Authority plans to redevelop and rehabilitate its housing on the Triangle in the next 5 years; and,
WHEREAS, throughout the planning process, a majority of Triangle residents at Bayview and CDA Housing (including members of the Steering Committee and interested neighbors) repeatedly voiced opposition to the recommended new north-south public street; and,
WHEREAS, this opposition was broadly expressed and included safety concerns regarding the impacts that motorized vehicle access may pose to Triangle residents, particularly children, the elderly, and those with disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, a majority of Triangle residents strongly support bike/pedestrian connectivity, not motor vehicle connectivity, as the primary means to activate the Triangle campus; and,
WHEREAS, a majority of Triangle residents strongly support designating the north section of the north-south public street (between Regent Street and Braxton Place) ped/bike only (with emergency vehicle access); and,
WHEREAS, designing this portion of the street as a ped/bike mall would activate the Triangle campus and create possibilities for public art and place-making; and,
WHEREAS, adopting the changes recommended in this amendment addresses the need for emergency vehicle access and reconnects Braxton Place to a through-traffic flow, removing its current configuration as a cul-de-sac; and,
WHEREAS, the adopted plan recommends that if and when the decision is made to build the north-south public street, the City conduct a RESJI analysis of street design to help minimize unintended consequences; and,
WHEREAS, the process to amend the adopted plan includes a process of stakeholder engagement consistent with RESJI analysis,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Triangle Monona Bay Neighborhood Plan, a supplement to the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan, is hereby amended to revise the traffic recommendations for the north-south public street from Regent Street to West Washington Avenue from bike/ped friendly to bike/ped only (with emergency vehicle access) for the north section from Regent Street to Braxton Place.