Due to neighborhood opposition of a proposed downtown homeless shelter, a county official is proposing an alternate location closer to Madison’s downtown.
According to Dane County Supervisor Paul Rusk, District 12, officials raised concerns about a proposed site on Wright Street because it is in a residential neighborhood and far from the center of downtown.
“There’s a neighborhood center right there in East Madison where there’s kids and all that,” Rusk said. “It makes much more sense to me to put [the shelter] in a location that is not residential.”
Rusk proposed an alternate location on the 800 block of East Washington Avenue at the former Lussier Teen Center, which is much closer to services homeless people use, such as the Salvation Army shelter and an Episcopal church shelter.
“Keep in mind [this shelter] is just during the day,” Rusk said. “Folks have to go somewhere else for the night, and the [800 block] is much closer to where people would go at night.”
Additionally, the Wright Street location requires city approval of land use permits while the East Washington Avenue location “requires fewer hoops,” according to Rusk.
“In my opinion, the [800 block] is the better site,” Rusk said.
Rusk said the committee is currently considering both the Wright Street and East Washington Avenue location, but Wright Street will be the focus of the Dec. 3 public meeting unless the alternate location is approved before then.
The homeless shelter would be temporary, according to Rusk, running from around Nov. 1 to April 1.
