What were they thinking? Or were they?

I really hate to keep on harping about the issue but I just keep wondering what they were thinking of when the signed contract for the new LGB T Ctr. at 252 E. Highland St.? The only thing I can come up with was that they were just looking at the building in the interior and nothing else. No I can't say that the interior isn't fabulous because I really haven't seen it yet, but I am very concerned about parking and especially disabled access to the building, that being the lack of spaces for disabled parking and the appropriate and necessary sidewalk improvements. Not to mention parking in general for those people and especially groups who want to use the building.

I would strongly suggest you drive by the building and pull into what is called Market Street which happens to be a private alley which leads to a private parking garage and not public parking. And if you really want to amuse yourself as you're driving into Market Street carefully read the signs on the east side of the street. You will also note that there is a no parking sign by the City of Milwaukee facing in the wrong direction on the same side of the street. As you read this sign you will notice that there are surveillance cameras overlooking these parking spaces indicating that anyone who is not a tenant will be ticketed and towed. On the front of the building, on Highland Street again all parking in that area is metered parking. Let us not forget that directly across the street is the Milwaukee School of Engineering whose students during season tend to take up every available parking space. Kitty corner from the new LGB T Ctr. is the 1000 N. Water St. structure with eight floors of available parking, access is from the East but in order to exit you must exit from the West or you can walk down the steep incline or take eight stories worth of stairs to exit to the East. Monthly parking for this garage is approximately $100 per month and daily parking is usually about eight dollars a day if you enter before 8 AM and leave before 5 PM. All parking is automated with no attendance available.

The problem is, I have confronted to both Maggie Cage and the operations manager Dave Martin to the LGB T Ctr. and they are notoriously quiet about what is going on with the new facilities. Upon publishing the several articles such as this one I still get no response. Even the gay newspapers the Quest and the Wisconsin Gazette have failed to make any mentions concerning these problems with the new LGB T Ctr. Apparently they are only interested in politics, suicides and entertainment and not much else.

I'm afraid this is going to be one of those "I told you so" stories. Too bad everyone it is turning a deaf ear because unfortunately they have to learn the hard way, so I guess I have to say welcome to the School of Hard Knocks. It's really too bad too because they are past the point of no return and there is no way of getting out of their contract at this point in time. The idea was good but the planning sucks. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Such is life.