Following a full Council vote last night, a major change is coming to downtown Manitowoc.
The ordinance to change 8th, 10th, and 11th Streets into two-way streets passed on an 8-2 vote.
Prior to the vote, the public was given time to voice their input. Chris Able, who ran for mayor in the last election, didn’t argue for or against the change, but rather for a change in how the decision should be made. He pointed to how the Council implemented the change in the early 1960’s noting that they put up temporary signage for a trial run and asked the community to vote on if they liked the change.
He said in part, “Temporary signage can easily direct everyone during the pilot of the system, business can directly measure the difference between one-way customer traffic, the city can even fine-tune the plan during the pilot to correct for any unintended consequences. Most importantly, we all get to try it before we buy it.”
Randy Lueptow, the owner of Wrap it Up on South 8th Street, was next on the microphone, and he said that we already have the information Able was calling for.
“If we really want to see it in action, all we have to do is go south to Sheboygan, go north to Sturgeon Bay, go to so many towns that have already done this, that are doing it successfully,” he explained. “If we want to learn about traffic flow and snow removal, we already have those things on 99% of streets in our city. I don’t think spinning our wheels, no pun intended, is a good use of our resources or our time right now.”
Alderman Jim Brey also spoke, explaining that the change had the support of not only downtown businesses but the citizens who live on the stretches of affected roadways.
“On that route, it seems like the majority of people that have contacted myself or other councilmembers are in support of it,” he explained. “I will support the ordinance tonight.”
Mayor Justin Nickels was a major supporter of the change, and he spoke last night, saying that sometimes it falls on the Council to envision change, and “sell” that vision to the people.
“What we have researched over all these years, and what we have done over the last two months, all signs point to people are going to be excited about this next step in downtown’s history,” Nickels said. “It’s for the next generation of what downtown will be.”
The only two council members to vote in opposition to the change were 1st District Alderman Brett Vanderkin, and 10th District Alderman Todd Reckelberg.
The change will not be made overnight, however. The transition will take place over the next 12 months, and will go into effect in August of 2022.
