Case 3: Reconfigure Freeways For New Generations

End The Boomer Affair With Urban Freeways — Make Boulevards & Neighborhoods

As a Boomer, I was born into the wonder of freeways. As an architect, I still view freeways as the awesome Roman aqueducts of our time. But as a Milwaukee resident since 1972, I have outgrown my Boomer freeway crush. Today, my generation must respond to changing values for the next generations and plan our city for their future. This matters more than ever, as we design the future of I-794.

What type of freeway fits my older generation in 2025? I like low stress driving, no traffic jams, plentiful parking, and – when I reach my destination – familiar places and friendly people. These preferences are habit forming, even addictive. I recovered. I still look for good places and people, but I no longer believe that high-speed lanes, short commutes, and convenient parking lots should be developed for everyone.

These three photos show I-794 in the mid and late 1970s. It is worth noting the amount of undeveloped land surrounding the freeway. The same was true of Park East.. Today, while some of the land has been developed, the area after 50+ years did not see the relativelyfaster development around Park East in 20 years once the freeway was completely removed. Left and center photos from online sources. Right photo b y the author 1970s.

For younger generations it’s a different story. Many (not all) seem to prefer riding bikes and scooters – safely – to their destinations. They want affordable and comfortable public transit along with new food and entertainment options that are walkable. They want sustainable neighborhoods. And when they do use a car, they like someone else to drive (like an Uber). They would rather save money on not building freeways and instead invest in public transit, public places, and an active street life. My generation raised great kids and grandkids, but they don’t love freeways.

When we replace freeways (like the Park East freeway) the sky does not fall. In fact, everything gets better. When we discuss replacing a segment of the I-794 freeway with a boulevard, many boomers say, “this is very different than Park East – it won’t work this time”. They are only half right – I-794 is different than Park East, but it won’t be less likely to “work”, it will work better. The sky will not fall – it will get brighter. Yes, some parts of the freeway network will experience ripple effects, but that is not new. This is not our first traffic rodeo. Traffic on freeways almost always increases over the years. “Will there be jams?” Of course, but that is not the right question. The right question is “How will we respond to traffic in the future?” Replacement of I-794 with a boulevard and street grid system will be a quantum leap better than Park East.

So, what do we do? In Milwaukee WisDOT has created freeway choices for “fixing” the short one-mile link between the Marquette Interchange and the lakefront ramps to the Hoan Bridge. The engineered choices range from (1) “doing nothing”, (2) “to replace in-kind” (meaning the same function but slightly improved), to (3) “improvement” (partial removal with replacement), to (4) full “removal” and “replacment” with a boulevard and street grid.

In my view the best option is “removal”, but “removal” does not mean we would be left with nothing. The label “removal” is correct only in freeway jargon, not in the language of urban planners and those who want to fix cities. Freeway “removal” refers only to the federally funded concrete travel lanes above grade, but (in the language of urban planning) it also means full “replacement” with more travel lanes (for new generations) on an urban boulevard with an active, effective circulation grid (AKA a well-designed, fully operational, high value, at-grade urban circulation system). The language of “replacement” is not simple.

Currently the overhead concrete lanes prohibit the construction of community wealth building. With “removal” we gain open land in the highest value place in Wisconsin. We can generate life-changing amounts of new public revenue that will support innovative neighborhoods, make better pedestrian places, and expand transit. We can afford to increase vertical housing density, both affordable and luxury housing. Housing that can supporting a larger, diverse population within walking distance to jobs, restaurants, stores, and favorite places like Summerfest, the Public Market, Museums and other venues.

Moving past the older generation’s love of freeways will not be easy. Community change is always controversial. In this case. we must preserve our history and accept the challenge of increasing public revenue with transformational, community-wide wealth. Can cities like Milwaukee really implement such transformations? The answer requires a deeper look at economic value, circulation systems, and neighborhood development.

Before Freeways We Had Neighborhoods — Why Not Again?

Let’s go back to 1910 and look at the maps prepared by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. The blocks of streets, lots, and buildings which occupied the land that would become I-794 in another 50 years. In 1910 the land was filled with people, places, and activities. A quick count of the parcels indicates that 360 different structure filled the land (see the illustration below). It is no quirk of fate that persons in the insurance business might prepare these maps and look ahead more than a few years to see what risks accrue to the places they are insuring. Today we may bemoan the lack of insurance along waterfronts. prone to hurricanes or floods, or areas more likely to experience wildfires. The perceived higher risk is not the fault of the insurance company — they are just the messengers.

This Sanborn map includes streets and blocks from 1910. The top row of blocks corresponds to the blocks currently under I-794 from the Lakefront (on the right edge) to 6th Street near the left edge. The top street is now Clybourn, the middle street is now St. Paul and the bottom street is now Buffalo. Collectively the blocks between Clybourn and St.Paul (which correspond to the area eventually replaced by I-794) included 360 individual parcels with residential, commercial, and institutional buildings that were part of one or more neighborhoods.. The map was created from the digital map collection at UWM.

What can be destroyed through enviornmental disasters can also occur as the result of public actions (like urban renweal, redlining, and property takings for infrastructure (like freeways). While there is no insurance to avoid the risk of public acts except, perhaps, the use of regulatoins about reimbursements for property “takings”. In the case of I-794, property takings, if reimburse at all, were based on the value at the time of demolition, not the long-term future of the property. Part of this public policy shortcoming is that when governments take private property the only value to be reimbursed is the private property value at that moment, not the long term loss of public revenue. Presumably the long term loss of public revenue has been more than made up by the increase in value for all those using the freeway. Put bluntly, we “take” thelong term tax revenue (and all other future direct and indirect benefits) from the immediate area and return different benefits to the wider community (typically the region). With these new benefits we get to travel further, faster, than in any time in human history. What was incredibly valuable when the freeway beneftis began and the neighbohood value was demolished, may no longer be true. It is time to “measure twice” and “build once”.

This image comes from the UWM studen scenarios described later in this essay. There hundreds of feasible options that can be imagined, each with potential to improve the city and the surrounding area. This master plan ws anmed “The Stitch” by the student team which included Seth Amland, Dulce Carreno, Drake Dahlinghaus, Erik Heisel,
*Isabelle Jardas, Gordy Russell, and Gabe Zaun*

How Should We Measure A Freeway’s Value?

Do Urban Freeways Have A Cost, Opportunity, Asset, Or Liability?

We know for certain that the “free” way is not free. It has a clear cost. But it feels free — we don’t get a monthly bill for freeway service like electricity, heat, cable, internet, water or utilities. If we did get a monthly bill for freeway services you can imagine some of the outcry: “I don’t use that freeway any more, so why should I pay?” It is just like a taxpayer decrying public school costs when that taxpayer has no children enrolled. Or a person in one neighborhood decrying the costs for some other neighborhood’s park. The general public does not usually appreciate or support indirect or community-wide benefits.

What is not known at the outset of freeway planning is who will pay for the freeway (I-794) and how much. The theory behind this form of public decision-making is that the community must first decide the best option and only then estimate costs. Ultimately, each option will have a different price and the bills will go to different public entities. Nonetheless., at this point in the decision-making process we cannot be precise about costs but we can make reasonable observations. (For example, no one has given serious consideration to a tunnel, like Boston’s Big Dig, because we know, reasonably, that we will not acquire those resources).

For decades officials have debated resources fees for freeways in the form of gas taxes, wheel taxes, tolls, user fees, and so forth. The conclusion, often, is that freeways are so critical to community well being that the cost should be shared. In cities, we require a right-of-way for every lot, so perhaps there is an unspoken right-of-freeway. Assuming that is the case, then the same rationale for shared community-wide support for a multijurisdictional freeway system should be applied to mutlijurisdiction shared system of neighborhoods and urban places. State policies, however, do not allow such sharing so, instead we need to balance community wide support throuigh property values and similar public decisions.

We can, at this point in the process, that new constuction of an overhead freeway (or even partial replacement) will cost a lot more than demolition. Simply put, two levels of roadways will cost more than one level. An at-grade boulevard will cost a lot less than a fully elevated rebuild. We know, however, from the experience (Park Esat) that freeway demolition and replacement with high quality at-grade streets is far less expensive. As of this writing the ‘guestimates’ heard by the author for a partial or full replacment range from $300 million to $500 million. Usually most freeway costs are paid for through federal funds (i.e., taxes) and include the freeway-related infrastructure. This infrastructure may include at-grade streets and blocks. Full removal should also include at-grade improvement of all the streets and blocks (but it does not require any taxpayer funding for the above-grade hihg-speed lanes).

Put simply, removal will probably cost a lot less than replace-in-kind or partial replacement. But that is still not the key value question. The question, which cannot be answered fully by transportation engineering, is “what does the city get”? This essay is not suggeting that freeway users outside of MIlwaukee’s downtwon should pay more to replace the current freeway — just the opposite. this essay is suggesting that all parties — urban and suburban —- should pay less for freeways and, at the same time, the value of freeway land can increase the wealth of the communtiies where the land is located. Measuring the positive impacts of freeway removal requires a completely different lens.

For example, when a transporation agenecy undertakes an “impact” analysis the assumption is that a freeway (or highway or arterial or just a local turning lane) will have a negative impact that needs to be measured presumably to avoid negative impacts. Unfortunately the “positive” impact of NOT undertaking a transportation action often gets overlooked precisely because it is NOT a transportation issue. Transportation agencies rightfully point out that the vacated land provides an opportunity for others. The value of that opportunity cannot be determined by transportation professionals (or their consultants) — it must be measured by the community. The agencies that could measures such positive impacts — in the case of I-794 this is the positive impact of full “removal” — are non-transportation agencies (planning departments, economic devleopment departments, social service departments, etc.).

The Basic Value: Measuirng Long-term Property Values

Fortunately, in Milwaukee, we have already estimated the value of removing a freeway once before. Milwaukee estiamted, planned, removed and redeveloped the Park East freeway land. We measured and grossly underestimated the potential for positive economic value. The 2002 estimates of new property tax value was approximately $477 million and the final positive outcome was close to $1 billion — twice as high. Moreover, we did not measure jobs, sales tax, or disposable income for the downtown. What can we measure (or at least estimate) in the case of I-794? Answers will not determine which option is best but they can certainly help evaluate decisions for the community.

How big is the potential revenue “pie”? Here too, at this time, there are no precise answers but there are several reasonable scenarios to explore. Major public projects always require a complex analysis and the details invariably become confusing. For example, when the State sells land for redevelopment that is a “benefit” to the State, but it may be “cost” to the buyer (like the City). And then the City may sell the land to produce sales and tax benefits as clear “benefits” to the city but also a clear cost to the investors. Put another way, an increase in annual taxes (both property taxes and sales tax) is not labeled usually as a direct “benefit” to the State but it is a positive “impact” for the City.

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Measure The Big Secondary Windfalls: Disposable Income, Jobs, Sales Tax

Mesure The High Capacity For Public Revenue: How Many Buildings Can We Develop

Great cities evolve over decades. Now it is Milwaukee’s turn to transform its destiny as a Great Lakes city. Milwaukee already has growing neighborhoods in downtown and nearby that are attractive to people who live on the East Side and in the Third Ward. City centers always experioence peaks and valleys but, like the stockmarket, they maintain a long-term upward trajectory. Every year new buildings fill up, some quickly, and others take longer – but sooner or later they are all occupied. Young and old, boomers and zoomers, like to live near restaurants and entertainment, and especially Lake Michigan.

Often, skepticism about more redevelopment comes from a perception that short-term development risks imply bigger risks the long-term. In practice, short-term market patterns rarely last more than a few years. With Milwaukee’s Park East development, for example, the common critique at the outset was “there is no market – don’t’ tear down a good freeway”. A few years later the critique was “why does it take so long”. Then, a few years later, when Park East was almost finished, there was no congratulatory critique like “wow it really worked, let’s do it again!” But that is exactly what is happening with I-794 – and we should do it again, only bigger and better.

The development capacity that can replace I-794 occurs in the center of the city, not on the urban fringe (where capacity is often over estimated). The I-794 corridor is “smack in the middle”, the hottest point of value. It has always seemed ironic that the most expensive real estate in Wisconsin (historically under the US Bank building) sat across the street from open land in parking lots under a freeway with no property value. There is no shortage of value under I-794 – it just requires us to open it up, plan it, phase it effectively (so we minimize risks), and let the market unfold in a fair, equitable, long-term manner.

A reliable long-term forecast must use methods different than those found in short-term forecasts for market rate housing. Short-term forecasts use data effectively from the last year or two for a housing and parking estimate but rarely look out 30 years or more. Long-term projections should use broader trends of social and economic behavior. As noted, think of the stock market with daily and monthly variations versus a decades-long pattern of increase.

High-rise buildings have been added to downtown Milwaukee (and most cities world-wide) since the 1960s and follow a traditional pattern found along waterfronts and downtown centers. The increase in high-rise buildings in downtown Milwaukee seems to have entered is transformational shift in the early 2010s, right after the Great Recession. If this shift continues this essay’s estimate of 3,000 units over 30 years is quite low. Some of the student scenarios disucssed later project 6,000 or more units. Overall, a modest mid-range estimate with 3,000 units (100 per year for 30 years) seems to be a useful, and clearly \ conservative starting point.

We know urban development that replaces freeway works. The added value from freeway replacement should be measured in terms of overall capacity, not the immediate marketplace (the same 30-year long-term metric used for freeway planning). Even now, those who were pessimistic about Park East insist that it was a unique circumstance and not repeatable. Is the “glass half empty or half full”? The view that the Park East “glass may seem full” but the “794 glass will be empty” is a pessimistic Milwaukee-syndrome: just don’t take a chance; avoid the risk; stay as close to the status quo as possible; and ignore new opportunities as unrealistic. This line of thinking misses the point of Park East. The Park East project was far more successful than we imagined. The future of 794 should be far more positive. Park East was unique. So too will be 794 if we can only see past our fear of change. The age-old carpenter’s adage reminds us: “measure twice and cut once”. In this case when we measure 794 value twice, we learn that the value of Park East can be easily surpassed.

Lower The Risk: Phase Develolpment, Avoid Reconstruction

For decades user groups north and south of the freeway have lived with the debilitating nature of the freeway structure, as well as the knots and clogs due to a geometrical mess of ramps, exits, entrances, turn lanes, one-way traffic, and necessarily complex signalization systems. The old photos of land around I-794 show lots that never developed while almost all the empty lots, in less desirable locations, around Park East grew.

Thirty years ago, in 1995, if you tried to forecast the future about Park East, downtown, the lakefront and the Third Ward you would probably have missed all of the following profound economic events:

The nation came to a halt after 9 11.
There were a huge housing crisis and Great Recession after 2008 for several years.
There was a tragic pandemic impacting the whole world.
There have been major political and partisan conflicts that continue to this day

None of these critical market events were predicted in any market analysis. The point is that the immediate development market does not determine the overall long-term development capacity and public value of the Downtown and surrounding areas. The future risk is not removing the overhead structure but rebuilding it – either rebuilding the same system, or with a “partial improvement” that rebuilds some freeway with a new system of ramps, turns, signals, and jams. A poor solution copied and updated is still a poor solution. In contrast, full removal with a boulevard replacement and updated street grid will offer new rewards and opportunities. A new boulevard-based system will cut maintenance costs since we will only be paying for one level of streets rather than two levels (one on the ground and one more expensive level in the air). Also, with a street grid system, incremental changes are far easier to plan, adapt, manage, and revise as needed. Milwaukee’s long-term development capacity is highly favorable due to the following:

Government owned land under I-794 that allows for control of development and surface parking
Use of a long-term timeframe that will mitigate market peaks and valleys
Well positioned land in a natural environment with ample water and lower climate risks.
Undeveloped land (under and abutting the freeway) that offers immense value
Local agencies that can effectively regulate and reduce risk through local policies.

Like other cost issues we must look at freeway and infrastructure maintenance from a long-term viewpoint. First, the cost of maintaining an elevated freeway infrastructure (paid by the State) would be far less if the freeway lanes are removed. (that is, there would be no state facility to maintain). Maintenance of the-grade infrastructure (paid by the City) would still be about the same but, if the freeways replaced with taxable buildings, there will be a sources of revenue for maintenance.

The key point is that long-term phased development requires a different yardstick to measure costs and benefits. With reduced risk and lower annual costs the long-term investment question becomes: “Can we spend any added revenue wisely”?

Can We Measure Wealth For The Long-tern Quality of Urban Life?

Comprehensive City-wide Value — Spend Wealth Wisely

The public revenue will come from urban development – new and revitalized buildings and their occupants. Freeways link places that generate revenue but, by themselves they generate only costs and expenses. Public revenue for cities comes from property tax, sales tax, and disposable income of urban residents. Such revenue grows with more people in buildings, not from more people in cars driving by.

In Milwaukee’s case, new public revenue can grow to billions of dollars. Like all cities, all of this revenue goes into the city’s budgeting process to pay for infrastructure and municipal services. However, the increase in revenue relative to costs (the equivalent of a public “net” revenue) is far greater when high value property combines with high value development and high value jobs. At the same the city garners stronger revenue streams in must also have plans to expend such revenue wisely.

Like many cities, especially these that grew in the heyday of Great Lakes industrialization, Milwaukee’s economic sustainability ultimately depends largely on itself. Milwaukee needs new revenues for buildings, infrastructure, and services. Without more revenue there are no added improvements, and this status quo is getting costlier each year. Fulfilling needs and wants requires resources that go beyond the social and human capital of hard work, innovation and talent. New revenue will allow not only for better circulqtin networks (bicycle lanes, transit, lakefront access) but also affordable housing, jobs, and all of the other needs we have in Milwaukee. This is not a question of “gain revenue” versus “address public needs”. It is a question of “gain revenue AND address public needs” with freeway removal versus “no revenue gains and no needs addressed”.

From one viewpoint this is a no-brainer: a rebuilt or replaced freeway will cost a lot of money, forgo revenue from the highest revenue-generating land in Wisconsin, and simultaneously diminish the appeal and social value of the surrounding areas. Several analyses of new and past development suggest that over 30 years (the freeway lifespan) we will get upwards of $1 billion (possibly as much as $4 billion) in increased taxes from private development, sales tax from increased business, and more jobs from increased economic activity. The tables in this essay (some developed by the author) portray incremental estimates of public revenues and diagrams showing how, over 30 years, incremental development might grow along the corridor.

The distribution of such revenue must be managed wisely. The private sector – developers, local businesses, financial institutions -- must make a reasonable return on their investments. As long as the revenue “pie” is also shared by the city, local neighborhoods, and the larger metropolitan area. A wise disposition of revenue is clearly possible and almost any outcome will surpass the value of highly truncated (or non-existent revenue “pie”) from full or partial freeway replacement.

A previous analysis by the author provided a conservative estimate that 3,000 new residential units would be built over 30 years A less conservative, more likely number might be 6,000 units or even higher as shown in student studies. An alternative method of estimating long-term development patterns reliably might look at patterns over the past decades. To make it simple we asked “How many high-rise buildings have been built in the last 20 years and how many units do they include? This appears to be a steady pattern that replicates growth in comparable cities. The accompanying table show reasonable outcomes.

One Option (Full Removal) With Hundreds Of Opportunities

In spring 2025 a class of 14 students at the UWM (University Wisconsin – Milwaukee) conceptualized, in detail, the development of new neighborhoods replacing I-794. Under the guidance of UWM faculty – Carolyn Esswein and Larry Witzlng – these students proposed transformative social and cultural places using a new, at-grade boulevard and circulation systems. These new urban neighborhoods serve multiple population groups, expand income diversity, support a wide range of housing types, engaging urban places, and make Milwaukee one a compelling destination on the Great Lakes.

In denser cities a neighborhood could be 500 units on one or two blocks. In older traditional suburbs (such as Wauwatosa, Shorewood, South Milwaukee) a neighborhood could be just 300 units spread across ten blocks. Jane Jacobs pointed out that neighborhoods do not have definitive boundaries like political jurisdictions. They grow, shift, and change over time. Milwaukee’s Bay View was defined as a small neighborhood until realtors spread the name to expand it as a branded market. In the Park East project, at least two new neighborhoods emerged, along with a new grocery store, more restaurants, and cafes. New neighborhoods that replace I-794 will grow, combine, overlap and change our community in positive ways for decades.

In the students scenarios 3,000 to 6,000 new housing units would represent about three or four new neighborhoods or districts, perhaps similar to the multiple neighborhoods on Milwaukee’s east side, from North Avenue south to Kilbourn Avenue. Such neighborhoods represent a vibrant mixture of places, thriving areas with both high rise and small scale budlings, with both affordable housing and luxury housing, with restaurants that represent both national franchises as well as local entrepreneurs.

A detailed redevelopment plan, that might reflect ideas in the student proposals, would address the needs and opportunities of existing property owners, residents, and businesses. With an at-grade boulevard system, access to/from local places – especially multimodal access -- will be better. Newly emerging uses, like the Fox Town Brewery, dog park, and public art need to be respected and incorporated into new plans. Vacant and underutilized parcels surrounding the corridor which have languished due to the negative impact of the freeway will be revalued much higher.

The I-794 spur was built in the 1960s at a time when the Third Ward was filled with train tracks, Summerfest was in its infancy, and plans were set to tear down historic buildings for new industry. Bck then no one thought of the Third Ward as a powerhouse district – no one except a few visionaries. And I-794 was not seen as a “divisive” piece of infrastructure because there was not much to divide. Today, a half century later, the whole area has grown into a spectacular neighborhood. I-794 has become divisive due to growth of the City around it. Now the land needs to grow again.

Since that time some other transformations have occurred – they are hard to notice since they happen slowly, but they are very real. The Menomonee Valley with Harley and Pottawatomi is part of this slow but inevitable transformation. The Northwestern Mutual campus is now a reality. Even with the pandemic and Great Recession new high rises have emerged. Now I-794 is not at the edge of the growth zone – it is at the very center of four major transformative districts, and it is time for reconsideration of its value and its future. Such optimism is not a case of “if we build it, they will come”. These ideas do not rely on dreams. These concepts evolve as they have in other city centers for centuries. This area will not remain an example of a Jane Jacobs “border vacuum”. The I-I-794 land is at the heart, the point of highest value, the place of greatest potential attraction that will extend, expand, leverage, revive, engage, and stimulate the city that is already here. .

Student scenarios are NOT a single master plan — they are many overlapping plans which, over time, might insform and inspire different combinations or outcomes. There may be only one “replace-in-kind” options but there is not one “full removal” plan. There are hundreds of possible plans. These scenarios are the starting point, not the final conclusion. Many design and development realities are feasible and should be explored, especially in terms of adding net revenue for community-wide neighborhoods, region wide environmental improvements, and districts that will be impacted positively by this project.

UWM Scenarios — Make Neighborhoods, Networks, & Next Generation Places

The following illustrtions sow opportunite, not finished plans. That is the point of selecting the removal freeway option. We need opportunities. No one knew before hand how Park East would grow. When we started redeveloping the lakefront aft O’Donnell Park no knew how the Art Musuem woudl expand or it other instituions would arrive. The communiuty craeted opportunties and the concepts emerged/. That is what can happen if we remove the freeway, but not if we replace-it “in-kind” or recrate the same barriers under the label of partial improvement. Thse re just some of the opporrutnities. hopefully more will follow.

Emphasing Value and Leveraging Existing Places

The UWM students were asked to show the impacts of their proposals in terms of economic development, including numbers of residential units, property taxes, assessed value and related factors. Each team of students developed ideas for neighborhoods with a distinct character and features that fit the context. From left to right (1) The master plan for the UWM “Next Generation” proposal includes 3 neighborhoods (Madison Yards, Market District, and Hoan Landing) with linkages to activity hubs, 6,744 new housing units and 1,300 hotel rooms. (2) Analysis of the potential economic value of the Next Generation concept, by Michael Burrows, includes phasing and related economic. Note the diagram illustrating how the freeway has depressed land value (a sinkhole) for decades. (3) The Market District concept from Molly Burns builds on the existing Public Market with additional housing, and new active public places that will thrive given the area’s popular location within the City. The proposal also includes an analysis of a new assessed value of $701 million based ondevelopment on the cleared land as well as adjacent parcels. The proposal includes illustrations of the active places, and an overall axonometric depicting building uses. (4) The Festival Landing proposal from Shane O’Neill, focuses on expanding the uses near the Lake with residential units as well as a major hotel and cultural facilities. The estimated assessed value of $2.3 billion derives from 1800 housing units, the hotel, and commercial space. The proposal includes before and after images showing the improved development. Note: Click on left or right side for enlarged view

Creating New Neighobhoods From Old Idea New Urban Places

Mastodon Yards, by Luke Koelsch, provides another extensive neighborhood proposal for the area west of the Milwaukee River. The name comes from the sculpture in the Historic Third Ward called Rusty the Mastodon. Emojis of Rusty have been used liberally by the students. Left: New development, illustrated as building volumes, bring new activities with the assumed reuse of the current Post Office site for new residential development. The site provides capacity for 3,000 housing units and $1.2 billion in assessed value. Several key goals for the area include sustainability and energy conservation. Right: The images to the right show several case studies and precedents for the type of development that could be created.

Reconnecting Places, Not Vehicles : Stitches, Seams, & Synchronicity

The “Stitch” team created 4 distinct neighboods and also foucsed heavily on humanistic social expereinces that would reconnect and “stitch” together the multile places within this opportunity. Above: The master plan illustrations from the UWM “Stitch” team indicates the number of housing units, percent of units which are affordable, tax value, phasing, parking spaces and other economic factors of development. Additional economic data are shown in the illustrations in the next Part of this study. Members of the team included Seth Amland, Dulce Carreno, Drake Dahlinghaus, Erik Heisel, Isabelle Jardas, Gordy Russell, Gabe Zaun. Both of these new neighborhood proposals from UWM are located along Lake Michigan. Left: The Lakefront District proposal by Gabe Zaun is primarily residential with some ground floor retail and a new lakefront hotel. This concept extends some of the features and uses that may fit with the Northwestern Mutual campus to the north. The concept includes a range of social activities that will activate a variety of small-scale plazas and gardens across from Discovery World and Summerfest. ight: The Hoan Landing, named for the iconic bridge, comes from Isabelle Jardas. Here too there is a foundation of residential uses, but the area is also aimed at entertainment activities and those people who would gravitate to this type of district. Intended users include students, young professional and active seniors.

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Milwaukee’s riverwalk is exciting and active, but it can certainly expand in terms of new attractions and uses. These two student proposals are aimed in that direction Left: Michael Burrows “Down to the River” dramatically increases river access and use, including double-decker terraces and a new area for tour boats to dock (in addition, moving the tour boats to this location will reduce the number of bridge lifts on Clybourn, possibly by 75%). Right: Erike Heisel’s Cream City Crossing provides a highly memorable visualization of the transformation from freeway to public place. The bridge over the water is actually the existing freeway structure that is preserved as a landmark that becomes a place of enjoyment for pedestrians. This might be considered the reverse of our current Pompeii Square which has always been a viewed as a less-than-satisfactory memorial.

This UWM proposal by DulceCarreno portrays for a more extensive Market District Left: The axonometric diagram shows the urban arrangement of buildings in and around the public market along with a variety of small gardens and public places. The critical theme underling the uses and places is the celebration of local food, especially as one of Milwaukee’s long-standing attributes and attractions for residents and visitors. Right: The site plan indicates how the garden areas and plazas are linked together. The illustrations below show a iversity of building uses. The overall assessed value is $700 million.

New places and neighborhoods will grow incrementally over 30 years. At first, growth occurs in small projects at the onset of post-freeway investment. Over time, projects ramp up rapidly (like the Park East announcement followed by the Riverfront housing, Moderne, Fiserv, the Museum, MSOE expansion, and multiple developments). The 794 corridor offers a much larger transformational opportunity that goes beyond current models. Each of the student projects foresees new development will that add a completely new dimension to Milwaukee (each scenario is illustrated on the following pages) Twenty years ago, we did not have a Brewery District, Deer District, Northwestern Mutual Campus, or even the Harley Davidson Museum. When plans for these districts began people were doubtful, they would succeed. No one reports that the pessimists were wrong, but all the planners remember the skeptics “Who will want to live there? Where will so many people come from? It just can’/t work?” And then it happens.

Make A Better Circulation System, Not Just Better Freeway Service

0 in kind Screenshot-2025-05-30-at-10.42.59 AM copy.jpg

What’s Wrong With Leaving The Freeway As It Is Or “Replace In Kind”?

Everyone knows “if it’s not broken don’t’ fix it!” Well, in this case it is broken – the freeway, the circulation network, and the land use on the ground. The freeway is at the end of its useful life and needs major improvement. If we simply reconfigure the existing freeway to make it more efficient, then we still have an above-grade structure splitting Downtown and the Third Ward – socially, visually and economically. And it will be broken again and again. Jane Jacobs called such major infrastructure barriers “border vacuums” because they depress all adjacent activity and value –a complete vacuum devoid of significant social or economic use.

Two-thirds of the current drivers on 794 simply get off and on downtown – for them a replacement boulevard and street system will be faster the one-mile freeway connection will still drive cross town between the Hoan to the Marquette. Traffic still works; it is just different. Cross town drivers experience little inconvenience compared to the huge lost value of a disconnected urban center. Replacing the Park East freeway led to balanced traffic, no post-construction complaints about travel time, and urban development that produced great benefits. Replacement of 794 should lead to an even better success story. We need the best version of a balanced solution. “Full removal” is not just one option – there are many ways to replace I-794 and then rebalance and reconfigure the entire circulation system for this area. It needs to be done carefully to be effective.

Major disruptions will occur no matter what transportation plans are implemented. Today freeway repair and replacement is so commonplace that WisDOT devotes a website to help drivers understand the never-ending process of rebuilding portions of freeways every year. For I-794 freeway reconstruction will create traffic snarls will cause confusion and delays for two or more years. We know, however, based on past experience, that once construction is completed, most drivers feel some relief and rarely recall past performance problems. We have not heard, for example, any indicators that the Park East driving conditions resulted in the traffic “nightmares” predicted by those who feared freeway removal. Likewise, other cities do not report significant traffic complaints after freeway removals.

WisDOT has begun to measure travel times in detail. Key issues are ripple effects, the lift bridge, on and off ramps, and overall traffic diversion. In many cases the times are comparable. Occasionally use of the boulevard adds a few minutes. In some cases, alternative routes are about the same). We can assume many people will use a variety of routes with any of the current freeway options and local street options and that chronic slowdowns can be mitigated. In addition, these estimates are based only on driving time on the freeway. When we consider other benefits across the network for parking, bicycling, and walking the added drive times may seem a reasonable balance.

The dotted red line depicts the official WisDOT I-794 area for freeway changes. From the viewpoint of a circulation network it is critical to consider al forms of movements including freeway on/off ramps as well as all at-grade vehicular movements, pedestrian crossings and quaoity, bicycles, parking, signage, signalization and so forth. While freeway traffic flow might work best with open of hte other options, comprehenaive patterns of circulation for this area will, from an urban planning perspective, work better in the “full removal” option. *This graphic was downloaded from WisDOT project website.*

Use Street Grids To Create Urban Balance & Good Service

Instead of viewing “freeway replacement” with anger, fear and disbelief we must see it as a transformational opportunity. The questions go far beyond issues of travel time. We need to know how replacement options will help (or harm) existing businesses and new redevelopment. How might it work for pedestrians, bicyclists and other? Wht will it look like? Will it be confusing and stressful? In iurban places, especially downtowns, an at-grade street system, especially with a boulevard on Clybourn, will be the best option for access, circulation, and a positive driving experience.

Moreover, a boulevard and street grid actually provides a better overall or comprehensive outcome – not “split” between “freeway versus city” but balanced and shared between the needs of suburban and urban communities. With full at-grade replacement all drivers still get where they want to, and all pedestrians have more destinations available along with a much-improved downtown destination. People who do not like an urban downtown (including many who pass through downtown on I-794 today) always have the option to bypass the urban area entirely. Using the other freeways and arterials. On the other side of this attitude, those who want to engage in “city life” (both current and future generations) will have destination-quality activities they can appreciate.

Street grids have provided the most effective and efficient approach to city circulation and development for several centuries. They are not a new idea. Some of our most popular urban neighborhoods were laid out long before cars were invented. This includes Milwaukee and many of our older urban suburbs. Grids are adaptable, flexible, easy to navigate and more sustainable. Grids facilitate a wider range of “multimodal” circulation needs, especially for pedestrians. WisDOT, for example, is able to identify some improtnt pedestrian parameters:

1 in 5 resdients walk to work
Over 4,000 pedestrians and bicyclists cross the intersection at St. Paul Avenue and Broadway
About 1,000 pedestrians cross daily Clybourn and Van Buren.

Based on this data and related findings it seems increasingly important to consider a “Pedestrian Level of Service “(PLOS) as equally important to a Vehicular Level of Service (VLOS). The author and others have developed and applied subjective criteria that should contribute to evaluating the street grid and an implied level of pedestrian service:

Walkability with pedetsrian prioritization, protection, ease of crossing, ease of two-pedestrian movement, microclimate protection and modifiers
Street defnnition with strong corners, continuity along block faces, layered facades, entries per street face
Visual harmony and diversity with multiple lots per block face, lot widths that fit the context, changes in building height and massing
Visual depth between interior and exterior places, frequent entries
Maintenance that is comprehensive, daily, seasonal, private/public
Overall quality inlcuding detail, materiality, authenticity, installation, visual appeal of pedestrian movement
Safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists
Origin-destination times for trips within and between activities
Reduction in confusion and stress for pedestrians and others.
Parking management (including on-street, surface lots, structures, costs

The point of these criteria is that a freeway and an at-grade boulevard circulation network are not stand-alone, independent systems. Vehicular, pedestrian and all the other components of multi-modal circulation support each other in a complex system. Maximizing one system component at the expense of the other components becomes problematic and counterproductive. An at-grade system allows for a more thoughtful and effective process. Opening and closing streets in small increments minimizes, rather than expands, then extent of individual circulation disruptions. Whether we slow down for freeway on/off ramps or we slow down for a boulevard, the real test comes in the flexibility and appeal of the rest of the circulation system. A boulevard-based circulation system is far more flexible and adaptable to the changing patterns of movement and development in dense urban areas (but not in subrban or rural areas).

For downtown workers, the situation with the boulevard gets better for some and a bit slower for others. Drivers, in the boulevard scenario, make fewer turns and hit fewer traffic lights if they leave the new boulevard closer to their destination. The same issues arose with the Park East freeway removal – the grid made it easier for most drivers to get to their local destinations a bit faster.

Expanded Transit And Bike Lanes Make a Difference

With a boulevard and improved grid system, transit and bicycle circulation will also improve with more routes, better access, more convenience to users and less need for personal vehicles. This will not happen immediately but evolves incrementally. In many cities, newly proposed public transit systems aroused negative responses by people who viewed public transit as suppporting other population groups of they viewed as undesirable. Sometimes these attitudes were based on underlying racial and economic discrimination. In many cases, however, opposition to public transit comes from the non-users — the people who do not view transit as a community-wide benefit and therefore do not think they should help pay for it. The same people, however, do see freeways as a community-wide necessity that should be financed by everyone.

Long-term, transit actually helps freeway users — as more people use transit they use cars less frequently. As more people live in denser downtowns, fewer who liver in suburbs. The same is tue for urban density — the more people desire and choose to live downtown, the less pressure there is to expand housing in suburbs. Better downtown urbanization helps suburbs in the long run, but it does not happen overnight.

Over time fewer commuters (especially younger generations) will use cars
Bike lanes and routes that already have had an impact, should grow stronger.
A return of the County’s downtown rubber-wheel trolley might help.
Improving regional passenger rail can be a big game changer.
New BRT lines can be implemented to carry more people to jobs and take cars off freeways.
Freeway bus routes that bypass downtown can now stop on Clybourn and become part of the solution.

All multimodal choices will grow (not diminish) as new generations of residents and workers adopt lifestyles that decrease use of cars (this has happened across Europe and cities in similar characteristics).

UWM Scenarios — Seams, Stitches & Synchronicity

Resolve Circulation Details And Mitigate Weaknesses

Many designers have seen the phrase atributed to Mies Van Der Rohe’: “God is in the detials.” In recent years it has been restated as “the develil is in the details.” They are both true, especially in urban planning. Every complex urban design project contains unique details which must be resolved in order to make the entire project feasible and successful – I-794 is no exception. Here are some of the types o details that will need additional attention to make a “full removal” option more successful:

Traffic Diversion and Commuting. the plans move forward The Wisconsin Department of transportation (WisDOT) estimates the changs in traffic movements across a wide swath of the freeway network at peak hours, including on and off ramps. Their estimates show likely locations for points of high traffic congestion as well as times and places when traffic will flow smoothly. The current network already has several locations with problematic intersections. The full removal option also includes major traffic shifts to local street networks, that produces a different pattern with some increases in traffic snarls. All of these traffic problems can be mitigated to some degree depending on actions from other agencies including the City, County and Region. Other cities and metro areas have addressed such traffic problems successfully over time. Milwaukee can also resolve these traffic issues, on at a time, to minimize the negative impacts of traffic diversions

The Hoan
Lift Bridge
Cultural Facilities & Gateway Plaza
Summerfest
Third Ward
Riverfront, Dog Park & Fox Town
Intermodal & Canals
Port Traffic

Major Infrastrcucture. The Hoan Bridge remains in all options. It stays where it is, with reconfiguration of on/off ramps to fit the modifications on the ground. However, with a new boulevard, the number of connections to/from the Hoan increases and allows traffic to be dispersed more effectively with less stress and much less confusion.

Passenger rail. Milwuakee’s Intermdoal Statin is a “beginning”. the commnityneeds a better system of commuter and passenger rail. Several studis in the past have not led to success. New efforts may result in a feasible, politically supported commmuter/passenger rail improvmements. In the case of I-794 rail improvements shold be copled withe replacement of the current main post offic. If this occured, the area would eperience major redevelopmetn over time with new activity genrators, links to a canal walk, tourism and housing. If a new boulevard and street grid occurs, such options sold be recognized and embedded in the new plan

Cultural Facilities. In the last two decades the use of the lakefront for maor cultural faclities has expand with the Milawukee Art Musem addition, Discovery World, the Betty. Brinn Chilrens Musuem and,most recently, propsals for the Gateway Plaza. This growth, as well as future growtn, would be more successful if the at-grade boulevard and street grid were impllented along with a new, enhanced, pesdestrian and bicycle system that crete strong lakefront continuit from the Vetran’s Park to the south end of Summerfest and the Third Ward.

Major Events/Venues. As Milwaukee’s most successful lakefront development in the last 50 years, Summerfest presents multiple needs in terms of circulation and operation. In this case the at-grade option includes multiple intersections providing access and a much-expanded opportunity for surface parking (especially during the first phase of development). Long-term development also allows for expansion of Summerfest activities. Both daily traffic and event traffic may be reconfigured sightly, but both traffic modes are fully accommodated by a new grid system and multiple circulation options. Over time Summefest, as a leadng “entertainment” enterprise maight expand in an aroiudn new development (on the new land) that is easily accessed to the west.

Local Bridges. The problem of loxL bridge lifts has existed in many cities. Tpiclal it is resolved through aombinatin of innovative engineering and revised policies and regulatosn. With regard to I-794, bridge lifts are required for commercial tourist boats. In the future boat raffic will change as will the regulations. Some lifts can be eliminated without significant problems, and some mooring locations can be moved. Initially freeway backups can be reduced (esepcially duirng peak traffic times) and possibly elimianted over time. WisDOT, however, is not the sole agency that would take actions to mitigate this issue implying a strong need for inergency coordination.

Riverfronts. Man freewyas cross rivers. In this case, I-794 crosses at the location of the new Dog Park and the FoxTown enerprise. With a removed freeway both of these efforys, as well as new, copatible projects, culd expand and be even more succesful. Over time, both sides of the MIlwauee River can be equaly active.

District Circulation. When freeways come down there is always a predictionof massive traffic tie-ups. It is usually the opposite case and th new grids relieve the congestion. In this case the fear is major congestion in the Third Ward. All plans – whether it is at-grade or elevated – will require readjustment of existing streets and intersections. The speculation that an at-grade solution will add traffic to the area (especially Water Street) is unfounded. The opposite may occur. When traffic rebalances, especially within a grid system, the traffic slows down comortably, pedestrian movement increases, more people use transit, and more business opportunities arise. The history of the Third Ward from its rebirth in the 70s until today is testament to the ability to adapt and thrive.

Freight Traffic. Freeways. usually link to major freight moving areas — airports, watefronts, industrial aras. In Milwaukee I-794 links freign trafic to the Port of Milwaukee. Bay Street, a critical truck route linking I-94 and the Port, is underutilized and can handle more truck traffic without significant delays. While most of Bay Street is bordered by non-residential uses, there are, however, homes abutting Bay Street that would benefit from noise reduction actions including new policies, regulations for trucks, better technologies, and subsidized sound mitigation improvements.

Implementation and Generational Transformation

As of this writing (October 2025) WisDOT continues to study options for repairing and/or replacing I-794. Revised options will be evaluated through 2026. At the end of the process, with full community input, one alternative will be recommended. From a planner’s perspective the creation of an at-grade boulevard, new grid-based circulation system, and transformational neighborhoods could and should contribute to Milwaukee’s future.

compressed hoan frm shore2025-10-29 - larrywitzling.jpg

Tansform Freeway Land Into Next Generation Neighborhoods (Slowly)

All of the freeway projects noted in these essays unfold over a longer time period, often with many ups and downs along the way. Several of the other freeway projects have been located in smaller scale, less dense residential neighborhoods. Park East was the key exception, and the results clearly show spectacular positive outcomes. A replacement for I-794 will be stronger and better because it has more locational amenities than Park Est – especially proximity to Lake Michigan, transit, cultural activities, and entertainment. If we do not embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity, we will spend hundreds of millions fixing a freeway that will need replacement in another 30 years. Hopefully we can do it now.