MADISON — Efforts to bring a pocket park — with public restrooms — to downtown Monroe got a little boost late last month in the form of an Alliant Energy grant. 

According to the National Recreation and Park Association, a pocket park is a small park created on a vacant lot, generally amongst more urban structures. 

While a pocket park can’t provide all the amenities of a regular one, it can serve a specific need and infuse a dash of green into its neighborhood.

The $5,000 grant will mostly go directly toward the park, but some of the money will be given to the UniverCity Year program out of the University of a Wisconsin-Madison, who partnered with the city. 

“UniverCity Year students worked with the City of Monroe to reimagine the downtown area through parks and green space, and now we have a unique opportunity through the Alliant Energy Foundation to help move the community closer to that vision,” said Gavin Luter, UniverCity Alliance managing director in a press release. 

Main Street Monroe executive director Jordan Nordby called $5,000 “really fantastic.” 

No site has been officially committed to for Monroe’s pocket park, but Nordby said it would be downtown. 

Restrooms have been a seemingly long-needed feature for that district and tops the list of desired park amenities. Parks and Forestry supervisor Josh Trame said that, in a survey on improvements, 63% of respondents wanted downtown restrooms. 

Nordby listed picnic tables, a stage and a place to lock up bikes as other possible features. 

The pocket park is still a long time away; Nordby estimated four to five years out, but said that fundraising “can change timeframes.” 

And more grant funding is on the horizon, pending the finalization of the city’s updated Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. 

“We’re kind of at the starting line,” Nordby said. “I think we’re building a good foundation.”