Brookfield Basics

Apologies to Bob Dylan fans for this shameless play on the title of his 1964 song. But I thought it was appropriate to this column, and certainly topical to what is happening on the current American music scene.

So before I address the question of a Calhoun Road interchange, how about that Bob Dylan?! At the age of 65 he has put together a tight little ensemble and led them through ten songs that currently comprise the number one selling CD in America - Modern Times. And he's backing it up with live performances around the country, including a stop in Madison two weeks ago. I have listened to the CD, and while I find the industry critics' gratuitous fawning to be a bit over wrought; it is very good, and three cuts are excellent. The rock-a-billy "Thunder on the Mountain" and a world-weary but proud "Workingman Blues" are very good. But the disc's signature cut is "Someday Baby", a wistful, punchy reflection about being in love with someone you can't stand. And if you don't find yourself tapping your feet or humming along a little bit to this one, you might want to consult a dietician about increasing your fiber intake. The fact that the CD is number one says a lot about Dylan, his place in our national consciousness, and the sad state of offerings from more current artists. But that is the subject of another column.

Today we are inundated with hyphenated words that contain the word "change". Time-change, regime-change, sex-change, climate-change, career-change, agent-of-change, all serve as examples. One such "change" word that has a lot of relevance to this community is the word "Inter" change.

First let me state that my family does not live in the area affected by the widening of south Calhoun Road, or a potential interchange. My views on this are formed as those of a Brookfield resident, but not by the specific location of our home.

Secondly, let's do justice to the discussion by recognizing that there is no current specific proposal for the construction of an interchange. That said, I do not believe one can fairly separate the question of a potential interchange from the entire discussion about the widening of Calhoun.

The name of this column is Brookfield Basics, and as I consider this question of an interchange, I try and do so on a very basic level. The distance from the intersection of Bluemound and Moorland Roads to the intersection of Bluemound and Barker Roads is three miles. Inclusive within that distance are the two existing interchanges at Moorland and Barker. So the addition of a third interchange at Calhoun would obviously give us three, making it "an interchange per mile" along this particular corridor of I-94.

Supporters of a potential interchange at Calhoun believe that our community's needs have grown to the point of needing three such interchanges. They point to a lot of legitimate data on traffic patterns, vehicle counts, concerns of local employers, and more, to support their position. This is credible information put forth by credible people, and no serious consideration of this matter can be held without its inclusion.

But for me the answer is "NO - a third Brookfield interchange does not make sense". All of the data and all of the opinions of experts whom I respect and whose work is competent, just can't get me past this "basic" supposition.

I acknowledge that I have no data which demonstrates the rightness of my conclusions or the inescapable logic of my decision. I just don't think it is a needed public works in our community. And that's BEFORE I evaluate the prospect of an interchange AS IT RELATES TO the other significant capital spending considerations that are on our community's collective plate. I know that in my personal economy, the interchange does not come close to the level of importance of some of these other matters.

I believe this matter can and should be considered within the framework of other initiatives that are known and identified: high school facilities, fire stations, and the sharing of critical services between the Town and the City, just to name a few of the more obvious ones. I am not suggesting what your position on these other initiatives should be. I AM suggesting that we need to consider the potential of an interchange in light of these other significant capital projects.

And as for the notion that "we may as well do it because the Feds and the State will pay for most of it", you now have a better understanding of why our Federal Government is bankrupt, our State Government is bankrupt, and indeed, why government at so many levels is bankrupt.