You’ve probably seen this blog before. Well, not this exact blog but ones like it. That’s OK. Ideas just seem to flow freely, keep me up at night and when they are shared they can take on a new life.
So, here you go. Here are six more ideas for a better, and hopefully more innovative and creative Milwaukee.
Close Maryland Avenue through the UWM campus
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is landlocked for expansion, so why not create more land? Close Maryland Avenue between Kenwood and Hartford or even Newport. Grass it over and create more of a campus feel. Don’t worry, cars will find a way to drive around the area and still get where they need to.
Lure an auto dealership to Downtown Milwaukee
I’d love to see an auto dealer or auto brand lease space for a boutique dealership Downtown. It would be a fun, unique way to showcase new vehicles and fill a vacant storefront.
Make Water Street pedestrian-only and create a true entertainment district
This may sound a bit similar to my UWM idea, but this one’s more about safety than function. Water Street’s busy, and while it does get closed off around bar time making the area pedestrian only all day could have many benefits. Downtowns are made for walking and entertainment districts thrive on density. Sure, it’s not Beale Street but taking the cars off Water Street could help the bar and restaurant strip truly become an entertainment destination. So, let’s consider closing Water Street between Knapp and Juneau or maybe even all the way to Highland Avenue.
Put a huge out of home sign on The Wisconsin Tower
A huge billboard would look very nice on the west side of The Wisconsin Tower, the 22-story, 280-foot-tall art deco building at 606 W. Wisconsin Ave. How about a bottle of Miller Lite or a poster-like image of Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks? Do it.
Build a food forest in the city
Vacant land? Grow it. Let’s truly be an urban food innovator and grow a food forest, a plot of land planted with several different kinds of edibles. Apples, pears, berries and herbs. If we are truly refreshing Milwaukee, let’s grow food and make it available for public picking.
Park Free day
I’ve told the mayor this one. Let’s have a "Parking Amnesty Day" in Milwaukee. No tickets, free meters for everyone. Maybe the day after Thanksgiving. Give cars "tickets" that instead say, "thank you for parking in Milwaukee, enjoy your day."
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
