State Street pedestrian mall may need to wait until 2024

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Ald. Juliana Bennett plan to introduce a resolution to the City Council proposing an experimental closure of the 400 to 600 blocks of lower State Street to nonemergency vehicle traffic to test the potential of a pedestrian mall, according to a report from the Wisconsin State Journal. 

The pedestrian mall test was initially considered for this summer, but it will likely be postponed until 2024. The opportunity for the experiment arose after Metro Transit removed buses from the lower blocks as part of a system redesign. The process will be methodical, allowing time for staff to work on the project, gather community input, and develop a design and management plan. 

The city’s Downtown Coordinating Committee has been studying the possibility for months and is expected to discuss the resolution in a meeting soon.