Focus Group 7/26/10 FOCUS GROUP FOR THE CITY OF NEW BERLIN CITY CENTER JULY 26, 2010 Ted Wysocki, Alderman District 2 welcomed everyone to the Focus Group gathering. Carolyn Esswein and Mark Smith, GRAEF gave a power point presentation which can be found on the City’s website www.newberlin.org . Ms. Esswein asked for questions or comments: Ms. Esswein - How many use the library once a month? A show of hands indicated a few people did. Ms. Esswein - Do you use any of the other businesses in the area? A show of hands indicated a few people did. Ms. Esswein - Are you using services located throughout the entire City Center like where the new Sendik’s is going in, where the Walmart is? Focus Group Comment - Pick ‘n Save, Super Cuts, Subway, Dry Cleaner, Chinese Restaurant, Chumley’s Pub, Print Shop, Bank, Walmart, Hirschloffs, Great Wraps, Vision Cener, Dentist were places mentioned as places or services used in City Center. Sit down, white tablecloth restaurants where someone could entertain a client was indicated as something desired in City Center. Parking and Traffic Ms. Esswein - What is it you like about the area around the library? Is it easy to park when you go to Walmart or Pick ‘n Save? Focus Group Comment – Yes, it is very easy to park. Ms. Esswein – Is it easy to park in the area by Sendik’s? Focus Group Comment – Yes, it is easy to park. Ms. Esswein – Is it easy to park in the area by Great Wraps? Focus Group Comment – No. The parking is tight. It is confusing how it wraps around. It seems small. Ms. Esswein – Would you like the area by the car wash to be included in the PUD? Focus Group Comment –Yes. Ms. Esswein – How do you get to City Center? 1 Focus Group 7/26/10 Focus Group Comment – Mostly drive or walk with your life in your hands. The walk signals are short and don’t help because of the green turn arrows. Ms. Esswein – Do you feel there are sufficient paths or trails to get you there if you wanted to walk or bike? If not, where do you feel we should explore other connections? Focus Group Comment – No. A crossing by culvers at Acredale Road is needed. Ms. Esswein – Is there generally enough access to all parts of this project? Would it be easier with more cuts? What do you think about Howard Ave. and Coffee Road connecting? Focus Group Comment – I think that would enhance going to the post office and also getting over to Moorland Road and going south towards I-43 especially from Glen Park Subdivision. Ms. Esswein – Can you explain why you would not support that connection? Focus Group Comment – I have heard before that the developers are comparing us to Brookfield and the traffic flows on Bluemound Road . Hopefully that little connection would not lead to that. It would be a nice cut-through but I think it would drastically change things for the people that live behind the post office and in Glen Park Subdivision since it would become even more of a cut-through. Also, it will be more difficult to turn left out of Pick ‘n Save. Ms. Esswein – It is coming down to cost as well. Right now it is developer driven so that road is not going to happen unless a developer comes in. If the survey comes out, there might be a question if you would be willing to pay tax dollars for the road to be extended? Would you be willing to pay tax dollars to buy more land to preserve the land as open space? Focus Group Comment – Would connecting that street bring in new cars or would it just reroute existing cars? I think it would end up to be more of a cut-through. Ms. Esswein – It could be a cut-through, but it comes down to how it is designed. It can be designed to make motorists drive slowly by sharper curves and stop signs. Focus Group Comment – I think it is indicative of a much bigger problem all along National Avenue because it is horrible pulling in and out of the Walmart/Pick ‘n Save area. Wall Street is a mess because people don’t know how that intersection works. With the increase of traffic with Sendik’s going in now the whole situation is not good. There is a lot of traffic cutting through Walmart and Pick ‘n Save parking areas because it is so dangerous in the whole area. Ms. Esswein – Where are people confused on Wall Street? 2 Focus Group 7/26/10 Focus Group Comment – The confusion is coming up from Walmart, people don’t necessarily stop. When going into the bank, your blinker is on and people don’t stop at Walmart. If people are walking through there, it is very dangerous. The assumption is you are going to pull into Walmart. Anyone going left into City Center or the bank has to be careful because people coming out of Walmart come straight out. People don’t realize it is a road, they think it is Walmart’s driveway. If traffic is increased going down Wall Street, that problem will be even worse. I don’t think people should be able to make a left turn off of National Avenue into that area. On Bluemound Road you can only make left turns at certain spots. I live in Regal Manors North and sometimes trying to get out and cross the lanes on National Avenue in front of Culvers is almost impossible. Sometimes you have to go the other way and then find a place to turn around and come back. The key issue of getting businesses to be attracted to that area is National Avenue. The traffic pattern in that area is what you need to spend the time on. You have to get people willing to put their business there where they feel cars are going to stop, come in, and feel invited. Right now, that is a tough place to feel invited. When traffic is moving rapidly, drivers are paying attention to the traffic and not looking for what businesses are there. The traffic is moving too fast. Open Space Ms. Esswein – It has been discussed that the square of open space in front of the library would be a good place for outside concerts or the farmer’s market. Is there interest in that or are you more interested in smaller open spaces where you can sit, have a sandwich, and read a book? Focus Group Comment – I envision a town square or a plaza with a farmer’s market. In the winter there could be a small ice rink like Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee. Bayshore is doing things with artists and musicians in their town square. They have jazz trios at night, the big Christmas Tree in the winter, Halloween jack-o-lantern carving, they use their town square well. Ms. Esswein – Some of the things you are suggesting are fairly easy, however some are very expensive like the ice rink. There is a balance between a big wish list and what is practical, but it is important to think about all activities. Focus Group Comment – We have “Movies in the Park” at Malone Park. We could move it to City Center by the library. We could add some benches and landscaping. Mr. Kessler – It is up to the Library Board as to what happens within the library green area. They have always been concerned about their parking expansion. Focus Group Comment – I don’t think the area by the library green area is big enough to handle the farmer’s market. 3 Focus Group 7/26/10 Ms. Esswein – Let’s consider another area on the site. Focus Group Comment – What restrictions are there on the lands allocated for snakes? Ms. Esswein – The area cannot be mowed along with other restrictions. Alderman Wysocki – I understand that within the last couple months Butler Garter Snakes have been taken off the endangered species list, but I would like that to be checked into. Another thing I would like to add is that technically the City is a developer in City Center because of our library location. Further comments concerning the road extension, if you recall from the very beginning with the Master Plan, the developer was to put the road systems through. The city has never financed this kind of road system. We could assess the developments that go in there, but as with the Decade ownership, they said there is not enough there to justify the cost. If the Butler Garter Snake is no longer there, it opens up the land south of the library for an area that we could do a lot of what we talked about, and the smaller area could be for future parking if needed. I would also like to make it very clear that the multi-family zoning we talk about envisioned within the category was condo use. Within that condo use we had the Deer Creek approval which was the beginning of 108 units of condo. Let’s make if very clear that there was a beginning in the multi-family zoning of condo use. Mr. Kessler – I will investigate the change in the status of the Butler Garter Snake habitat. To actually build that road, Alderman Wysocki is correct, development can only occur on the west side of the road. In order to build that road, current cost estimates are just under $2million dollars including side paths and storm water infrastructure associated with it.