Monroe Street braces for reconstruction despite uncertainty over funding

 Monroe Street businesses says construction will be a challenge, though necessary. (Rebecca Radix/Madison Commons)

Monroe Street businesses are preparing for major road construction in spite of mixed messages from the City regarding funding for the project.

According to Carol “Orange” Schroeder, chair of the Monroe Street Merchant’s Association and owner of Orange Tree Imports, businesses and homeowners along Monroe Street have been in a guessing game about the project for a few years, dating back to 2015.

When the project was first proposed, the community held meetings to envision what the street should look like and changes they wished to see, but those meetings stopped when construction was postponed said Schroeder.

Carol “Orange” Schroeder said the proposed streetscape will include "new opportunities for pedestrian safety." (Rebecca Radix/Madison Commons)

“Having assumed that we were going to have new streetscape and repairs to the deteriorating surface and new opportunities for pedestrian safety and for the ‘greening’ of Monroe Street, I think that we had accepted the fact that it was going to happen and were looking forward to having the changes be an improvement,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder also said, however, it would “very tough” to keep operating through construction.

The construction project found its way back into the budget eventually and according to the City of Madison’s website, it is scheduled to take place throughout 2017.

A hiccup following the Mayor’s budget proposal this year had the project down-sized dramatically and labeled a band-aid fix, but according to the Cap Times, Madison’s finance board forwarded an amendment in early October that would put the project back in the Mayor’s proposed budget.

Despite the back-and-forth from the city government, business owners along Monroe Street are carrying on with preparation efforts and preparing for difficulties and apparent chaos of construction.

The construction will be a process. Joanne Berg, owner of Mystery to Me bookstore, says she knows it is necessary but not one she’s looking forward to it.

“It’s my understanding that what’s underneath this street hasn’t been touched since it went in like 100 years ago. Because I live in this neighborhood, and it probably needs to be fixed, I have mixed feelings. I would prefer not to have my street torn up where I’m doing business, but at the same time I’m a big believer in fixing infrastructure,” Berg said.

Worries about dirt and dust, parking and cuts in customer traffic are among the concerns of a number of Monroe Street business owners, but Schroeder says she thinks the area will be better off in the end – so long as the end actually comes.

“It’s kind of like having surgery. You’re not looking forward to it but you think you’ll feel better after the operation. And then if they tell you they’re going to post-pone repairing your hip or whatever, it doesn’t really heal the situation, it just puts it off,” she said.