Perhaps lost in the festivities of Walmart opening its new Supercenter in Monroe last week was a development in the saga of the missing sidewalk to the new store.
The City of Monroe's Board of Public Works last week unanimously approved what essentially would be a donation from Walmart to help pay for finishing a sidewalk that would link the Supercenter to 8th Street. Alderman Dan Henke
called Walmart Corporation's offer to pay $8,000 for sidewalk construction "generous."
Henke's right. Walmart's pledge is generous, and unnecessary given the terms of the company's Planned Unit Development (PUD) contract with the City of Monroe. Nonetheless, it is appreciated and helpful. Now, the City of Monroe must come up with the rest of the money and get the sidewalk completed.
Currently, there's a 450-foot gap in the sidewalk connecting the store to existing sidewalk on 8th Street. Walmart built a sidewalk from its Supercenter site to the south end of the Wisconsin 11 overpass. But from there to 8th Street is a stretch of grass on a hill just feet from the turn lane off 6th Avenue.
As we said in June, it would have made sense for Walmart to pay for a complete sidewalk from the store to 8th Street, just as it paid for the extension of water and sewer services from the city to the store site. But that's not what the city and Walmart agreed to in the PUD. By completing a sidewalk to the overpass, Walmart met its PUD requirement.
Which is why the company was generous to offer any money toward a completed
sidewalk. It will pay for about one-third of the city's estimated cost of $23,500 to finish the sidewalk.
Not only does it not make sense to have an incomplete sidewalk from 8th Street to the site, it also presents a safety hazard that must be eliminated. The city should be obligated to find a way to come up with the rest of the money to finish a sidewalk that should have been completed before the Supercenter opened.
The City of Monroe's Board of Public Works last week unanimously approved what essentially would be a donation from Walmart to help pay for finishing a sidewalk that would link the Supercenter to 8th Street. Alderman Dan Henke
called Walmart Corporation's offer to pay $8,000 for sidewalk construction "generous."
Henke's right. Walmart's pledge is generous, and unnecessary given the terms of the company's Planned Unit Development (PUD) contract with the City of Monroe. Nonetheless, it is appreciated and helpful. Now, the City of Monroe must come up with the rest of the money and get the sidewalk completed.
Currently, there's a 450-foot gap in the sidewalk connecting the store to existing sidewalk on 8th Street. Walmart built a sidewalk from its Supercenter site to the south end of the Wisconsin 11 overpass. But from there to 8th Street is a stretch of grass on a hill just feet from the turn lane off 6th Avenue.
As we said in June, it would have made sense for Walmart to pay for a complete sidewalk from the store to 8th Street, just as it paid for the extension of water and sewer services from the city to the store site. But that's not what the city and Walmart agreed to in the PUD. By completing a sidewalk to the overpass, Walmart met its PUD requirement.
Which is why the company was generous to offer any money toward a completed
sidewalk. It will pay for about one-third of the city's estimated cost of $23,500 to finish the sidewalk.
Not only does it not make sense to have an incomplete sidewalk from 8th Street to the site, it also presents a safety hazard that must be eliminated. The city should be obligated to find a way to come up with the rest of the money to finish a sidewalk that should have been completed before the Supercenter opened.
