Council directs staff to pursue procedure to remove proposed Bay Street sidewalks

The Common Council on June 10 gave direction to staff to identify the proper procedural steps to remove sidewalks from the Bay Street reconstruction project (from Bayshore Drive to the Fox River).

Council members said the narrow, dead-end character of Bay Street and nearby river access make sidewalks on both sides of the street unnecessary. Council member Nichols described a prior personal experience in which neighbors petitioned the council and the council ultimately decided not to require sidewalks on a reconstructed street; he said residents who will bear the assessment should have a say. "I'll be recommending ... that we do not require sidewalks in this instance," Nichols said.

Multiple council members (Flom, Larson, Bulow, Stevenson and others) spoke in favor of removing the sidewalks from the current project or at least seeking a policy exception. City staff described the complete-streets policy that typically requires sidewalks and ADA-compliant elements when streets are reconstructed and noted statutory encroachment issues that staff would still need to resolve even if sidewalks are not installed.

Council asked staff to return to a future meeting with the procedural approach needed to change the previously authorized construction direction. Council member Flom explicitly recorded a "yes" when asked to indicate support for directing staff to develop procedural next steps; staff confirmed they will work with the mayor's office to bring a follow-up item to a subsequent meeting.

Council members and staff also discussed possibly reviewing the complete-streets and special-assessment policies in a committee setting to improve public notice and input for future projects.