A better North Sherman Avenue?

(I wanted to put a nice picture at the top of this post, but Google couldn't find one. Apparently there's no such thing as a nice view along North Sherman Avenue. How appropriate!)

Tonight, Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway convened a community meeting at Warner Park to share data and collect resident input on traffic and safety along Sherman. The meeting was well attended (I'd estimate the crowd at 70-80, although the crowd skewed older) and came hot on the heels of a resolution she pushed through the Common Council just last week on this issue.

Is Rhodes-Conway reopening the fight over our neighborhood's Main Street?

When Sherman was rebuilt five years ago, it was done as an exact replacement of the four-lane road designed decades ago. The decision to rebuild as-is was pushed through by then-Ald. Dorothy Borchardt and elements of the business community, who prevailed over advocates of a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly redesign. It was highly controversial at the time, and remained so in 2009 when Rhodes-Conway fought off an attempt to reopen the debate within the Northside Plan.

Things are different today. Longtime residents are having a harder time crossing Sherman as they age. Younger folks who value transportation options are buying homes. And neither Northside alder is aligned with the old-guard business establishment.

The crowd tonight was deeply concerned about pedestrian safety and in favor of making the corridor more bike-friendly. There were voices against altering the road for fear of hurting local business, but they were a decided minority. I spoke up to point out the obvious: these concerns are nothing new, they could've been addressed five years ago, and the only real solution is to spend the money and make Sherman the way it should've been rebuilt in the first place.

80 people came out on a week's notice to talk about how North Sherman Avenue is unsafe for all users. If our alder truly intends to reopen this fight, I think she can win.