The city of Madison’s removal of a little-used pedestrian bridge over West Washington Avenue this weekend is causing concern among some area residents, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The 1960s structure connected Brittingham Park to a number of low-income apartment buildings.
The city said few people used the bridge, and according to the Community Development Authority’s master plan for the redevelopment of its nearby residential properties between West Washington Avenue and Park and Regent streets, the bridge was also inaccessible to some and needed maintenance.
Some residents, however, said the bridge was a preferable alternative to crossing four lanes of traffic without a light or using the crosswalk at Park Street.
Plans would replace the bridge with an enhanced, at-grade street crossing with a prominent crosswalk, signs and flashing beacons that pedestrians can activate to draw drivers’ attention.
