The State Street Design Project Oversight Committee unanimously approved the latest plans to revamp Peace Park at their meeting Thursday.
Mike Sturm, the project manager from Ken Saiki Design, presented the plans to the committee and highlighted new design elements.
An eight-foot Peace Pole, designed in 1955 in response to the Hiroshima bombings, will be erected in the park. According to Sturm, the pole symbolizes world peace and will be constructed to withstand the harsh State Street environment.
Sturm also highlighted improved sight lines from the work stations within the building and ZD Studios designed panels on the outside of the structure featuring the Peace Park name.
Sandra Torkildson, owner of A Room of One's Own Bookstore, voiced her approval of the park's design. According to her, the addition of a visitor center to Peace Park will be especially beneficial. She said a significant portion of her business comes from visitors and attracting more will be helpful to the county as a whole.
The SSDPOC is the last committee to approve Peace Park before it goes to the Madison Common Council for final approval. The Urban Design Committee, Planning Commission, Public Works Commission and Parks Commission have already approved the plans.
The committee also approved an amendment limiting the number of spaces available to newspaper vending machines and calling for boxes with a uniform color and design.
The committee approved the amendment 6-1 after clarifying that it only applied to State Street, 125 feet from the Capitol Square. The newsstand companies have six months to comply after Common Council approval.
""Now that the square and State Street have been beautified, the idea is to have news boxes as attractive as they can be,"" said Madison resident Rosemary Lee. ""It is not at all trying to restrict anybody's distribution of newspapers.""
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, however, voted against the amendment, saying it was unnecessary and put more pressure on an already strained newspaper industry.
""With the certain state of publications right now, the last thing I want to be doing is restricting them even more,"" Maniaci said.
