Cities try to meet somewhere in the middle on 27th Street

Franklin - Franklin and Oak Creek city officials both indicated that talks about the 27th Street corridor need to take place, but there appears little impetus to schedule a meeting.

"Both communities need to get together and have a joint Common Council meeting," said Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor.

Oak Creek Mayor Al Foeckler concurred: "It's a really good thing that Oak Creek and Franklin sit down and talk about it. We're still committed to it."

At the same time, no meeting date has been set to discuss mutual plans about the six-mile stretch from College Avenue south to County Line Road.

Priorities elsewhere

Oak Creek Alderman Tom Michalski, chairman of the 27th Street Joint Steering Committee, said the city's been focused on developing the former Delphi Automotive plant site and its lakefront property, and the corridor hasn't been a priority.

"Right now, there are a lot of irons in the fire in Oak Creek," he said.

"27th Street is dropping off the immediate priority list right now," agreed Foeckler.

Franklin Alderman Steve Taylor noted too that with the upcoming elections in Oak Creek, when a new mayor will be voted in and three incumbent aldermen are being challenged in spring, it's difficult to make decisions when the administration may change in April.

"You may have some being gun shy about talking about 27th Street until after the election," he said.

What's needed?

The joint committee is to decide details including street lighting options, decorative signage, walkways, bike paths and streetscaping plans before 27th Street is reconstructed and widened by the state Department of Transportation, which will begin no sooner than 2015.

In a 2011 report prepared by Mead & Hunt for the DOT, the Wauwatosa-based engineering firm said that crashes on the corridor were above the statewide average, and that traffic and congestion would only increase as development occurs.

Additionally, there are no bike or pedestrian paths, even as the number of employees added to the area is expected to increase, and the pavement condition is poor, the report said.

"One of the things that's pushing this is the DOT," said Mayor Taylor. "Within the next six months, what types of things need to be put in place? I think the DOT's going to demand that decisions be made."

Money management

Franklin's mayor said the two cities' combined cost was estimated at $9 million, funding that both Oak Creek's and Franklin's common councils would need to approve. Their immediate focus, he said, would be the two-mile stretch from College to Drexel, where a new interchange is planned.

However, the expanded roadway is expected to be a financial boon to both cities, generating as much as $1 million per developed acre, and Alderman Taylor said that will occur when the road's widened and is not dependent on the steering committee's recommendations.

"What's attracting development is location," he said.

Michalski said the economy, not decisions made by the committee, will dictate future development along the corridor.

"A lot of 27th Street will be driven by Northwestern Mutual, the new interchange for Drexel Avenue," he said. "Everyone does want to see 27th Street succeed."