State Street Experiment
2024 Pedestrian Mall Experiment
In June 2023, Metro Transit moved bus routes off the 400-600 blocks of State Street. This started a community conversation about the possibilities of that space. Community members discussed Pearl Street (Boulder, CO) or Church Street (Burlington, VT) as examples. The Downtown Coordinating Committee discussed ideas with City agencies, businesses, and neighborhood groups.
On September 5, 2023, the Common Council passed RES-23-00554. This resolution directed staff to create a temporary pedestrian mall for the summer of 2024. Staff created a design and presented it on December 4, 2023 (presentation and video).
On May 8, 2024, a ribbon tying event closed the street to traffic and opened it to people. Over the summer, the street closed to vehicles after 3:00pm on weekdays and 10:00am on weekends. The pedestrian mall experiment, known as #FlocktoState, featured a flamingo theme. The plastic pink flamingo is the City's official bird, and they cover Bascom Hill every spring.
The pedestrian mall included:
- New benches & planters
- Six foot tall pink flamingo sculptures
- Street murals by Jessica Gutierrez, Sharon Bjyrd, Rahul Kamath, and Taylor McAda
- Stencils by Maeve Makielski, painted by hundreds of community volunteers
On March 25, 2025, the Common Council accepted a report on the outcomes of the Pedestrian Mall Experiment. The Common Council only authorized the Pedestrian Mall Experiment for 2024. They must approve extending the experiment or any permanent changes to State Street.
Contact:
Dan McAuliffe
dmcauliffe@cityofmadison.com
608-261-9676