RIVER HILLS / GLENDALE FIGHT OVER STREET ACCESS

In Fantasy World of Culs de Sac

Residents Troubled by Street that Actually Goes Places

and gets People Somewhere [Else]

Battle of FAGS vs. GAARRRH

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com 

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

In a lawsuit filed November 25th, 2009 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, the City of Glendale and the Nicolet School District demand a Declaratory Judgment forbidding the Village of River Hills from banning eastbound vehicular access on Green Tree Road.

Residents of the road complained to the village that traffic was passing by their homes, some of which are on the Milwaukee River, and one or two of which are actually visible from the street itself.
Close inspection showed that some of the traffic was from vehicles not registered in the Village. Traffic there has worsened since the opening of the Pick 'n Save store on Green Tree Road and Post Washington Road, just east of the Village limits in the City of Glendale. The retail store drew traffic past the homes of the Green Tree Road residents in search of food to buy and commercial activity -- all prohibited in the community. (The only food available for sale in the Village of River Hills is at the Milwaukee Country Club, the University School cafeteria and the occasional bake sale at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church.
The presence of outsiders was enough to prompt the citizens of River Hills to petition their board members to do something, and the board complied.

According to a 5-1 [Brunner voting "nay"] action by the Village board on November 18th, 2009, eastbound traffic would be banned for a 6 month trial period with the costs to be paid for by the residents of Green Tree Road.
A report by Traffic Engineering Services, Inc., dated October 7th, 2009, suggests altering the traffic "on the east leg of the River Road intersection."
According to Wayne R. Higgins, PE, PTOE, TSOS, President of the consulting firm, ""W. Green Tree is classified as a minor arterial in the Village long range transportation plan."

The arrangement is such that any traffic trying to enter W. Green Tree Road in the Village from the west would be diverted north on River Road past yet other riverfront mansions.
This, in turn, has led to competing petition gathering by the River Road set, generally considered as of a better quality than the Green Tree Road folks, if only because River Road does not go through Glendale as does Green Tree Road.

[I'd post a map, but am having the devil of a time trying to do so.--Ed.]

The geography of the proposal is as absurd as its concept. A state-constructed bridge over the Milwaukee River lies at the point where Green Tree and River roads commence their River Hills journey, and where River Hills wants to put up its barrier.
The bridge, which dates to this century, replaces a 1920's span built to connect the "minor arterial" to points west. Routing the traffic north on River Road, and thence east along Good Hope Road, as the proposal would require, would simply add more traffic to that thoroughfare.
The "minor arterial" also has a bridge on its eastern end, over I-43. Once it crosses the freeway, Green Tree Road is then in the City of Glendale.
For a "minor arterial" it sure seems like Green Tree Road has an awful lot of bridges in its 1/2 mile course through the Village of River Hills. These bridges were paid for by State taxpayers, and were not some minor village access. They were built to take passengers along Green Tree Road, not merely to jockey Green Tree Road residents from Club to Chapel. If they didn't want traffic on Green Tree, perhaps they wouldn't have constructed bridges on both ends of it.

So it looks like we have two competing groups in court -- Forbid Access to Glendale Streets [FAGS] vs. Glendalians and Allies Against Road Removal by River Hills [GAARRRH]. Chose your side. Are you one of the FAGS? Or do you support GAARRRH?