You can help shape the Milwaukee Downtown Plan

Okay, so we all flared up over the Janet Zweig flap, and then the arts community (well, really the whole community) won a major victory when 12 Alderman voted to keep the project chugging along, and 2 Alderman showed that they will vote nay because it's their civic duty to be short sighted on this matter. I'm allowed to be a little snotty about this--I was in council chambers, I saw Aldermanic short sightedness.

To avoid further flaps, it's time to do preemptive strikes. This week the Department of City Development is holding a Downtown Plan Workshop. The intention of this workshop is to allow residents of Milwaukee to give input on how they think Downtown Milwaukee should look, feel and function. Sounds like a good time to say, "Hey, the arts need a place in downtown Milwaukee, and we can help out with that." We being the arts community.

I plead previous unalterable plans this week, but I hope to share my thoughts with some moles who can attend. Here's the details for you:

Downtown Plan workshop
Thursday, April 23, 6 - 8 pm
Todd Wehr Conference Center
MSOE campus, 1047 N. Broadway

The City of Milwaukee is updating its downtown master plan to guide development over the next decade. All residents, business-owners, employees, and anyone with an interest in the future of the downtown are invited to participate in a two hour community workshop. The workshop will provide a hands-on opportunity for you to meet the downtown plan team, envision the future of downtown, and contribute local knowledge to the plan as the City strives to provide a framework for development that encourages investment and builds a unique sense of community and place.

You can also find out more by visiting the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development Website.

I also need to give a shout out to Radio Milwaukee for tipping me off to this one on their Twitter feed. If you haven't listened to or supported Radio Milwaukee, you really should. They are quickly becoming one of the most important voices in the "making Milwaukee a better place" mission. Their arts and community coverage and support is unparalleled in Milwaukee radio. They also spin some pretty great tunes.