Planning staff present Southwest and Southeast area plan updates; engagement finds transit, sidewalks and affordability as top concerns

Planning division staff updated the Madison Plan Commission on June 2 on the Southwest and Southeast area plans, reporting results from community engagement to date and laying out a timeline for draft recommendations and final adoption.

Urvashi Martin, co‑project manager for the Southwest area plan, and Rebecca Kinnear, co‑project manager for the Southeast area plan, told commissioners the two plans are being prepared concurrently under the city’s 2022 planning framework and that staff are now compiling public comments gathered from online surveys, focus groups, school‑based engagement and neighborhood pop‑ups.

Key numbers: Martin said the Southwest area contains ‘‘approximately a little over 16,000 housing units in this area and approximately 37,000 residents who live here’’ and that about 37% of residents in that area identify as BIPOC or Hispanic/Latinx. Kinnear said the Southeast area has ‘‘a little over 11,000 housing units and approximately 25,000 residents’’ and that about 26% identify as BIPOC or Hispanic/Latinx. Citywide…