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Beloit council adopts Pleasant Street corridor master plan focusing on traffic calming, riverfront activation
Summary
The Beloit City Council approved a corridor master plan for Pleasant Street that proposes a road diet, new pedestrian connections, riverfront overlooks, lighting upgrades and redevelopment concepts to add housing and commercial space; the plan will move next to design and DOT coordination.
The Beloit City Council voted to adopt a corridor master plan for Pleasant Street that aims to slow vehicle speeds, improve pedestrian connections to Beloit College and animate the Rock River frontage.
The plan, presented by Community Development Director Julie Christensen, maps improvements from White Avenue to St. Paul Avenue and includes a “road diet” to reduce travel lanes, new sidewalks on both sides of the street, expanded landscaping or medians, targeted on-street parking to calm traffic, riverfront overlooks and a lighting program to illuminate the corridor and river features.
“People felt like traffic was going too fast and what could we do about it,” Christensen said when she introduced the plan to the council. The study incorporated stakeholder input from Beloit College, Hendricks Commercial Properties, Brown Swiss, Visit Beloit and the Downtown Beloit Association.
Consultant renderings included mixed-use redevelopment options on vacant college-owned parcels and commercial properties, with housing above ground-floor retail, first-floor or underground parking, and a cantilevered riverwalk near the Powerhouse site. The plan shows alternatives for reusing the Brown Swiss site and other private parcels to add active uses and river access.
Beloit College Facility Director Nate Osterberger told the council the college is “very excited about reimagining what Pleasant Street could be for the city of Beloit.” He said the college intends to participate in the planning and redevelopment conversation.
Implementation steps described by staff start with street design work and coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation; lighting and placemaking projects were identified as possible early actions that private partners could help fund. Julie Christensen said curbs would not be removed in the near term so the city could reverse changes if traffic needs change in the future.
Councilor Terrell moved to adopt the corridor master plan and Councilor Dench seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote. The resolution approving the plan is recorded as Resolution 2020561.
