storyhill.net, March 26, 2007

Murphy seeks new off-ramp to Medical Complex
Questions further development plans

March 26 -- The state should consider adding an off-ramp leading directly to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center when it reconstructs the Zoo Interchange, according to Ald. Michael Murphy.

. "This would greatly relieve traffic pressure in the area," Murphy wrote in a letter to State Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa).

Residents living around the County Grounds have protested loud and long about the neighborhood traffic impacts caused by the development of the County Grounds.

"I have received numerous complaints regarding this issue in the past, and I believe this solution would satisfy the concerns of our constituents," he said.

County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin said three years ago that the State Department of Transportation promised to study building such a ramp, but reneged. The county relied on that promise when it allowed major development on the County Grounds, she said.

Murphy, in a separate letter to DeBruin and County Executive Scott Walker, raised new concerns about County Grounds development. He said he rrecently learned that the Medical Complex revised its master plan to include 4 million square feet of development, rather than the 1 million square feet previously anticipated.

"This significant increase in proposed development will have a large impact on the adjacent transportation system and residents nearby that I represent," he said.

"I would encourage the county consider the type of roadway improvements necessary to suppor this expanded development...and whether or not these improvements are feasible or practical to build," he wrote.

Gov. Jim Doyle has proposed accelerating reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange, but has not indicated how the state would pay for it.