Comments on: A Potential Stimulus Horror Story from Franklin, Wisconsin

By: Kristen Wilhelm

Kristen Wilhelm — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:19:55 +0000

Mike

Not a 4 lane highway more like a 4 lane freeway. Mayor Taylor was proposing a 65MPH street from what I heard as Alderwoman.

By: Mike Buelow

Mike Buelow — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:19:45 +0000

It is sad that the Common Council of the City of Franklin (with the exception of Alderwomen Kristin Wilhelm)and our Mayor are pushing so hard to have a four lane highway right down 51st street in a residential neighborhood. Does any one actually believe the Mayor when he says he is against expanding 51st street into a 4 lane highway? As Mayor, you can’t be against something and then continue to push so hard to have a four lane highway. Your either for something Mr. Mayor or your against something? Which is it?

Our Mayor was the one who submitted a request for 1.3 million stimulus dollars to be used for expanding 51st street. Once again, if he was truly against expanding 51st street, he would not be requesting money from the FEDS to go ahead with widening 51st street. Can anyone believe this guy? I certainly don’t!

By: Dave Reid

Dave Reid — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:10:30 +0000

Michlig does a great job talking about urban principals in a suburban setting. On top of that he’s writing from Franklin, WI which Kunstler used as the example of suburbia in his book Geography of Nowhere.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:30:55 +0000

I grew up in a walkable New Jersey suburb and consider myself lucky. It was basically a pre-WWII village with a little postwar suburban flab around the edges. You could walk along the main street of town to the adjacent towns within 45 minutes in one direction and 60 minutes in the other. Within a 10-minute walk of my parents’ house, there was an A&P, pharmacy, hardware store, liquor store, dry cleaner, diner, etc. I walked to all my schools, travel time ranging from 5 to 45 minutes, from kindergarten to high school. So there are good suburbs and bad ones. The good ones tend to be the older ones. I’m grateful to have had the chance to grow up walking, biking (yes, I did that when I had a safe environment to do it in), and for a little while, driving. I have arrived at my current preferences — city living, walking, and transit — with full knowledge of the alternatives.

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:24:54 +0000

Or perhaps they genuinely don’t believe living in a walkable community is all that important.

And I am here to tell them they are wrong. If they’re going to cite “safety” as a major reason to live in a place like that, they should provide sidewalks for kids to move around on.

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:58:15 +0000

“[W]hen parents claim “suburbs are a great place to raise children” they’re either lying or delusional.”

Or perhaps they genuinely don’t believe living in a walkable community is all that important. We’re not doing ourselves any favors if we label people rather than recognizing that maybe they don’t share our opinions.

By: pico

pico — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:42:52 +0000

Streetsbog is so clueless.

By: gary fisher

gary fisher — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:24:10 +0000

They are delusional. At least it lets them keep their children isolated from the dangers of _meeting other people_.

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:24:26 +0000

A quick look at Google Maps reveals that almost none of the housing pods in that town have sidewalks either. Which further proves my suspicion that when parents claim “suburbs are a great place to raise children” they’re either lying or delusional. Who would raise their kids in such a place? Where it is not even safe to walk to your neighbor’s house??