Revitalized Downtown Struggles With 'Hangover' Effect

“Madison’s revitalization success of the 1980s and 90s has lured thousands of young professionals, retirees and former suburbanites to move to glistening condominium buildings in the shadow of the state Capitol’s dome and only a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin’s main campus. And there is hardly a bad night for business near State Street, where university students and tourists pack restaurants and bars to capacity even on freezing weeknights."

“But as downtown’s population and revelry have grown, so have overcrowding on the streets, vandalism and, most significantly, the police say, alcohol-related crime. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and other officials find themselves grappling with a problem that is a direct result of Madison’s successful transformation: how to tone down downtown.”

“According to a recent police department analysis of attacks in which someone was injured downtown, about 75 percent of the victims and perpetrators were intoxicated. The analysis also found that after midnight on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, police officers, paramedics and firefighters often spent half to all of their working hours responding to alcohol-fueled fights and disorderly conduct. Noise, public urination and vandalism are constant concerns.”

An ordinance to reduce the number of alcohol-serving establishments has been introduced, with the support of the mayor. It targets one square mile that "has 120 places that serve only or mostly alcohol. They have a capacity of more than 11,000 people, city officials said.” Bar owners are resisting the new ordinance.

“As an urban issue, the downsizing of downtowns has little precedent because many cities, particularly in the Midwest, are struggling mightily to bring people back to their cores, not send them away.”