Prescribed Burns and Street Use Listening Session

City Prescribed Burns

This year, the City of Madison Parks Division and Engineering Division will be conducting prescribed burns on areas of existing native vegetation. Prescribed burns are an important management tool for Wisconsin's native plant communities.

Prescribed burns that will occur in District 12:

• Starkweather Creek West Branch from East Washington Avenue towards North
• Warner Park Castle Creek along Trailsways

The prescribed burn Project Manager will mail postcards to residents in the coming days to remind them to anticipate a prescribed burn in their neighborhood. As in the past, the Dane County Emergency Management automated phone call system will be used to notify relevant neighbors on mornings when we will be burning.

These burns will be conducted by certified professionals with a permit from the Madison Fire Department. The burns will only take place under specific weather conditions in order to manage smoke and minimize impacts to neighbors. In addition, the burn professionals will install appropriate road signage on the day of the burn.

A list of project contacts and more information is available online. 

City of Madison Listening Session about Street Use Events with Neighborhoods & Residents

• Thursday, April 5, 6-8 pm
• Goodman Parks Facilities Building, 1402 Wingra Creek Parkway (off Olin Av), First floor meeting room. Google Maps This facility is served by Metro Transit Route 13

The City of Madison is fortunate to have an abundance of festivals, runs, concerts, marches, and other outdoor activities planned on the isthmus each year. However, that also brings challenges for City staff, budgets, Metro bus riders, neighbors, and visitors. The City of Madison is engaged in an analysis of special events in the downtown area and your feedback is requested.

Who should attend? Anyone who attends or is impacted by City Street Use Events, Festivals, and Marches – especially those downtown on the Isthmus. City staff will give an overview of concerns about events reaching a "maximum capacity" and facilitate a discussion to learn your concerns and ideas for the future of events downtown. This includes festivals, races, parades, marches, and demonstrations that close down a City street in the downtown area. (This meeting is not focused on events that are just held in City Parks.) This is part of a Racial Equity and Social Justice Analyses of the permitting process for special events on City streets.

We look forward to a continued collaborative effort as we plan for the future of outdoor activities in downtown Madison. You are an important voice in this process and we want to hear from you. Our discussion will consider issues such as the number, location, size, and length (time and number of days) of events, particularly those on the isthmus, and the impact this has on residents, businesses and city services, staff, and resources. We look forward to your insights.

Please email madisonevents@cityofmadison.com, if you have questions or comments.