David Michael Miller
The city of Madison is poised to build a tiny but expensive park in the West Mifflin Street neighborhood a few blocks from the Capitol Square. It should reconsider.
The city council was being asked to use a rare condemnation procedure to acquire several properties in the 400 block of West Mifflin Street and another on Bassett Street. But the owners of these properties were fighting the condemnation, and another property owner has approached the city as a willing seller. So, the project, now paused, will probably move forward again if a price can be agreed upon with the new seller.
But working with a willing seller or not, the project just isn’t necessary or even desirable. Proponents of the project, especially downtown Ald. Mike Verveer, cite the fact that residents of the area enjoy only 80 square feet of park space per resident compared to 1,100 square feet per resident in the city as a whole.
The trouble is that that kind of abstract numerical comparison just doesn’t make much sense. The question for any place is how it looks and feels and functions, and that can only be experienced on the ground. I don’t believe anyone who actually lives in the neighborhood or uses it feels a lack of parkland is a problem or that one additional acre would make a difference.
There is open space close by that is heavily used for recreational purposes that isn’t city parkland. For example, the big front lawn of the Kohl Center on Dayton Street and the recreation areas for the UW’s southeast dorms. And Brittingham Park is not far away, nor is the UW Memorial Union Terrace and the Lakeshore Path, which students are drawn to now.
I don’t blame Verveer for advocating for his neighborhood. Much of the success of the downtown is the result of his vision and leadership. He has long been known as a fierce advocate for his district, and he makes sure that every dollar available comes to the downtown. In this case, there are developer fees accumulating in a parks account that he wants to make sure get used in the Fourth District. I understand that he feels he’s doing his job.
But the whole city council’s obligation is to look out for the entire city, and a one-acre park in a neighborhood that isn’t clamoring for it, and has many other options, just isn’t a wise investment.