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Public Works committee approves summer street closures and event permits, flags neighborhood parking concerns
Summary
The Kenosha Public Works Committee approved permits and street closures for multiple summer events — including the Juneteenth walk, Kenosha Book Festival, Lake Fest and R&B Block Fest — while members and residents pressed for clarifications on barricade maps and no-parking postings to preserve neighborhood access.
Kenosha’s Public Works Committee on June 1 approved a series of permits and street closures for summer events across the city, while a resident and committee members pressed applicants to limit impacts on nearby neighborhoods.
The committee granted sidewalk and street-use permits for a Juneteenth breast cancer walk set for June 20; the Kenosha Book Festival on July 21 (closure of 7th Avenue from 51st Street to the crosswalk); a back-to-school event hosted by Iglesia La Familia de Dios on Aug. 1; the Kenosha Community Sailing Center’s Lake Fest at Celebration Place on Aug. 22; the Urban League’s R&B Block Fest adjacent to Kennedy Park on Aug. 29; a Defile/Independencia parade on Aug. 30; and a bookmobile parking request for the Time to Fly a Kite Fest on Sept. 26. Two certified survey maps — one three-lot and one two-lot — were also approved on the mayor’s resolutions taken together.
Eric Albury, a resident who identified his address in the 1st District, urged the committee to consider posting “no parking” signs along the east side of 5th Avenue the day before the R&B Block Fest instead of a full closure so that residents could maintain access. “Maybe a better idea would be to have no parking posted all along that would be possibly the day before,” Albury said, adding that fencing and food-truck placement might allow a more flexible layout while keeping security in place.
Applicants and staff generally reported no objections to the proposed closures. For the Juneteenth walk, Kenny Harper introduced himself as available to answer questions; for the Defile Festival parade organizers said they expect between 25 and 30 horses and will provide a cleanup crew. Staff confirmed the R&B Block Fest application’s backup map shows barricades from 39th Street to Washington Road; committee members accepted an approval while noting the district officers’ concerns recorded on the public record.
Most items passed by voice vote; motions were moved and seconded and the chair announced that the “ayes have it.” The committee did not record roll-call tallies for each item in the transcript.
The committee’s approvals allow organizers to proceed with event planning subject to any conditions imposed by other commissions (for example, Parks Commission review for programming that overlaps park property) and to the city’s permitting process. Residents with concerns about access and parking were told the issue could be addressed through signage and coordination with district officers.
