Opinions on the Street

design concerns delay South Barstow project vote

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

PREPARE THE JACKHAMMERS. Repairing the crumbling surface of South Barstow Street, shown here in 2011, and replacing sidewalks and amenities is slated for the summer.
PREPARE THE JACKHAMMERS. Repairing the crumbling surface of South Barstow Street, shown here in 2011, and replacing sidewalks and amenities is slated for the summer.

According to the old joke, there are only two seasons in Wisconsin: winter and road construction. The unseasonably wintry weather almost brought the two together in Eau Claire, but that’s OK because city officials delayed their decision on 2013’s most extensive road project – the reconstruction of South Barstow Street – because of design and cost concerns from some property owners.

However, the deadline is almost here for a decision: If the Eau Claire City Council doesn’t approve a bid for the work at its Tuesday, May 14, meeting, the work will have to wait until 2014. At their April 23 meeting, council members voted to delay accepting a $1.57 million bid from Has Sons of Thorp to tear up and rebuild the five-block stretch.

“Do you think that putting gardens on the sidewalk is going to bring business to downtown? I don’t."
Property owner Lisa Aspenson, on her concerns with the South Barstow redesign

The project has been planned for years and is long overdue, as anyone who has rattled down South Barstow can attest (the street was last rebuilt in 1971). Through discussions with an advisory design committee and others over the past two years, the city created a plan that includes numerous concrete bump-outs (areas where the curb curves out into the street); 17 landscaped sidewalk “parklets” (small, ground-level spots for plants); new street lighting; and irrigation and sound systems (costing an extra $37,500 and $37,800, respectively). Property owners on the street will pay about 36 percent of the $1.57 million bid – or about $535,000 if the bid is accepted. Some property owners have been vocal in their critique of the design: They feel their ideas haven’t been considered even though they are paying a large share of the cost.

“I expect a protracted discussion about changing the bump-outs, but it is hopefully going to settle the question of streetscape once and for all,” City Councilman Dave Duax says of the May 14 meeting. “What we’re seeing is a battle between wants, desires, and what businesses are willing to pay for to maintain.”

Entrepreneur Lisa Aspenson has been among the most active property owners who have questioned the street plan as presented. Aspenson – who with her partner, John Mogensen, owns numerous downtown buildings – says the city hasn’t listened well enough to property owners. For example, the plan calls for a 12-foot-by-6-foot parklet in front of Acoustic Café (which is in a building owned by Mogensen), squeezing out the space used for outdoor seating during warm weather. “Putting that big parklet garden there is not what the owners of the building want nor the renters of the building want,” Aspenson says. Farther down the street, she says, the design calls for bump-outs and parklets adjacent to side doors for U.S. Bank and the Ramada Convention Center, making access more difficult for those businesses. “Do you think that putting gardens on the sidewalk is going to bring business to downtown? I don’t,” Aspenson says.

In addition, Aspenson is concerned that the parklets will be difficult and costly to maintain and that costs will fall back on property owners. Finally, downtown businesses have expressed concerns about parking. Removing the bump-outs would increase the number of parking spots on South Barstow, and Aspenson notes that consultants told the city as long ago as 2001 that bump-outs should be removed.

The design was the subject of an April 25 meeting of the South Barstow Street Business Improvement District Board. Attendees debated the merits of the 17 proposed parklets (business owners want five of them removed). The parklets will include 18 inches of soil planted with native herbs, grasses, and perennials. In addition, plans call for 25 new trees, though that number could change depending on if some of the parklets are axed.

City Public Works Director Brian Amundson says removing bump-outs and parklets could turn South Barstow into just another street. He notes that there are already 21 mid-block bump-outs, the same number as in the new plan. In addition, there are currently 30 raised concrete tree planters containing landscaping – twice as many as the number of parklets the plan calls for. While concern has been expressed about the parklets getting in the way, Amundson says they will arguably be less obtrusive than the currently concrete planters because they are flush with the ground. “I would say the concrete bunker walls are kind of inhibiting what you can do down there,” Amundson says of the current planters. “What the design proposal is is probably more user friendly than what’s there now – a much more updated design.”

Aspenson disagrees, noting that elements such as bump-outs date back to the 1970s. They were a mistake the city shouldn’t repeat, she says.
Overall, Aspenson says she hopes property owners’ voices are weighed more heavily in future projects, as they were several years ago when Water Street was rebuilt.

“The majority of the people just want this project done, which is fine,” she says. “I would like to see (the city) do the minor changes of the designs, maximize the parking, listen to the property owners who have submitted their changes, and get the project done.”