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Planning staff outline Southeast and Southwest area-plan priorities; affordable housing and connectivity top community concerns
Summary
City planning staff updated the commission on two area plans that cover land use, transportation and community action strategies. Public feedback highlighted affordable housing as the top priority, Highway 51 and Verona Road as major barriers, missing sidewalks, speeding, and requests for better bus shelters and bike connections.
Planning staff briefed the Transportation Commission on June 25 about the Southeast and Southwest Area Plans, long-range neighborhood-level components of Madison’s comprehensive plan that will guide land use, transportation, housing and community investment over the next decade.
Jeff Greger, a city planner co-leading the Southeast plan, and Ben Zellers, co-leading the Southwest plan, reviewed phase 1 engagement results and the schedule for drafting recommendations. Greger said each plan addresses the comp plan’s seven elements and that the teams completed public open houses, interactive mapping, a scientific community survey (first wave: more than 900 responses), and a “Madison madness” prioritization exercise that drew more than 1,400 responses. Staff also completed a business walk that visited more than 400 businesses across both areas.
Public feedback themes the teams highlighted included:
- Highway 51 in the Southeast plan area is a major barrier to walking and biking; residents reported difficulty crossing and unsafe intersections. The DOT will hold a public meeting on July 15 at La Follette High School to discuss intersection options. - Missing sidewalks and network gaps, especially in older neighborhoods and areas south of certain schools, were repeatedly cited. - Speeding and traffic-calming needs were raised across both areas (examples named included North Thompson Drive, Swanton Road, Meadowlark Drive, Raymond Road, Schrader Road and South Gammon Road). School-related pick-up/drop-off congestion was also flagged. - Transit amenities: commenters asked for more bus shelters and benches and expressed concerns about localized reductions in bus frequency. - Bicycle connectivity: residents asked for more shared-use paths and low-stress bike connections; staff noted that some GIS base maps classify crossings as “low stress” while community testimony described them as uncomfortable or dangerous.
Greger and Zellers said staff used existing datasets, aerial imagery and spot verification to inventory facilities but noted limitations in assessing some features such as slope and cross-slope without in-person field surveys. Next steps include drafting land-use recommendations and maps for public review (target: August), further community outreach and a plan adoption process beginning in Q2 2026.
Commissioners asked about outreach to people with disabilities; Rebecca Kinnear and the staff said they had contracted the Nina Collective and held a focus group with Access to Independence to reach underrepresented groups. Other questions covered coordination with WisDOT and the DOT’s Highway 51 corridor process, connectivity with annexing areas (Blooming Grove) and possible street reconnections to improve north–south movement.
Staff did not request formal action at this meeting; they said draft recommendations and map alternatives will return to the Commission and other boards for review later this year.
