Madison – Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and eastside Ald. Judy Compton announced today that the Stoughton Road Revitalization Project (SRRP) has been named the 2008 winner of the National Neighborhood of the Year award, in the category of Multi-Neighborhood Project Partnerships. The SRRP was one of five finalists, competing against projects from Wilmington, California; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and San Jose, California.
“It is a great honor to see the hard work of the residents, businesses, City planners and other stakeholders receive this national recognition,” said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. “The Stoughton Road area is on its way to becoming a more vibrant, successful and livable part of our community, thanks to their commitment to improve the neighborhood.”
SRRP is a grassroots committee representing eight eastside neighborhoods contiguous with the Stoughton Road Corridor between Highway 30 and Highway 12/18. It includes neighborhood residents, Alders Judy Compton, Larry Palm and Lauren Cnare, and County Supervisors Dave de Felice and Tom Stoebig. Along with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and County Executive Kathleen Falk, the committee also had the support of Rep. Joe Parisi, Sen. Mark Miller and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
“I have never been more excited about any project,” said Alder Judy Compton. “These dedicated residents have worked very hard to create a plan that connects their neighborhoods through multimodal transportation and invites businesses to locate on the corridor, which will create employment opportunities and offer services that residents currently have to leave the neighborhood to enjoy. With the implementation of this plan, the neighbors have ‘put out the welcome mat’ at Madison’s front door.”
The committee formed in the summer of 2005 to enhance and improve the appearance of one of Madison’s key gateways. The group raised money from a variety of private and public sources, and worked with City planning staff to organize a number of public forums and individual work groups, which included residents, businesses and property owners..
The resulting Stoughton Road Revitalization Project plan was unveiled in March, 2008. It can be viewed online at http://www.cityofmadison.com/planning/pdf/SRRP031708.pdf. The plan has been approved by eight City boards and commissions and will go to the Common Council for final approval in June.
The Neighborhood of the Year honor was awarded by Neighborhoods USA (www.nusa.org), which recognizes the outstanding work of neighborhood organizations, businesses and municipalities from all across the United States for their exemplary efforts in improving the quality of life for their neighborhoods, residents and municipalities.
