Parking spaces reconfigured on Broadway in Third Ward

MILWAUKEE -- Parking spaces in Milwaukee's Third Ward have been relocated from the side, to the center of the block on Broadway, just south of Saint Paul, and construction is just about complete. Organizers say relocating these parking spaces makes the area more consistent. Parking fees will begin to be collected in the days to come.

Ronald San Felippo chairs the Historic Third Ward's Business Improvement District, and says nobody has been shy about filling up the new parking spaces. "Doing this block, and matching it up to the other two blocks of Broadway was always part of the Third Ward streetscape plan, that goes back to 1993," San Felippo said. San Felippo says there are the same number of parking spaces on the block, but now, they are lined up with existing center spaces in the southern part of Broadway.

The relocation of these parking spaces are getting a mixed reaction from people in the area. "It's super! We've been hoping for it for quite some time, and it really just legitimizes our block. The whole neighborhood now looks pretty consistent," one resident said. "It's configured a little differently now, and especially for our patio dining, there's going to be cars driving right by our diners," one area business person said.

An area in the middle of the row of parking spaces has been left open, to allow for the development of some sort of gathering, or display area, akin to what you can find in the other two blocks of Broadway.

For more information on the Historic Third Ward, check out the Historic Third Ward Association's website.