About Rethink 794
Who We Are
We are volunteer community members from Milwaukee building an inclusive vision. We advocate for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to propel Milwaukee into a prosperous and sustainable future.
Our goal is to see the east-west stretch of I-794 replaced with a human-scale, at-grade boulevard that reconnects the downtown and creates long-term social, environmental, and economic benefits for the people of Milwaukee.
Transformational change isn't simple, but our community of volunteers is committed to open dialogue about what is possible. We're your neighbors, chat with us!: rethink794@gmail.com
"Look around us. Seoul, San Francisco, Rochester, Syracuse, Detroit, and Milwaukee circa 2002 all recognized the value in urban highway removal and are better off for it. There is nothing radical about this idea anymore."
- Joe Weisner, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"Great cities are built on vibrant, walkable neighborhoods not highways. People don't love Manhattan because of the traffic."
Xu Zhang, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"Milwaukee has a great architectural history, people cherish the third ward, we shouldn't separate it from the rest of the downtown with overpasses and surface parking"
-John Everitt, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"As someone who works in public health, I've come to see the built environment as one of our most powerful determinants of well-being. The way we design our streets and public spaces shapes how people move, connect, and experience their city. I'm excited to support a vision for Milwaukee that transforms I-794 into a people-centered boulevard."
Ulisa Blakely, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"Our city deserves more green space next to the public market, more housing next to Amtrak, and a downtown that isn't severed by a highway"
-Dee Dee Walla, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"The center of Milwaukee is one of a few places in Wisconsin where dedicated design for the pedestrian both makes sense and has a major league payback for the region"
-Greg Walthers, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
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Taylor Korslin, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
"Let's move past my boomer generation's freeway crush and make sure our grandchildren inherit a thriving city that works for them."
- Larry Witzling, Distinguished Milwaukee Urban Planner, Professor Emeritus - UWM SARUP
“I worked with Mayor John Norquist and City Planner Peter Park, who led the Park East Freeway removal. The unfounded fears about traffic were just as loud then — but the difference is that the opportunity with I-794 is greater than the major success of the Park East.”
- Jeff Bentoff (left) Rethink 794 Advocate with Peter Park (right) Former City-of-Milwaukee Planning Director
"794 highway-to-boulevard can be a legacy making project. I want to be on the right side of history."
Montavius Jones, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
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"There is mounting evidence to support the claim that allowing this section of highway to be replaced by a boulevard would significantly improve Milwaukee as a maximally livable, accessible, and attractive City in the long term."
- Sara Pope, Volunteer Advocate, Milwaukee
Growing Support
2022
A community vision is formed by residents of Milwaukee, forming Rethink 794
When the State Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the need to replace a section of the crumbling 794 elevated highway, community members started sharing ideas about what a better vision for this section of our city could look like. Volunteers created visuals and discussed ideas for a neighborhood and boulevard to replace the elevated infrastructure that separates Downtown from the Lakefront and Third Ward. These ideas started a movement about our city’s future, now known as Rethink 794.
2023
Freeways Without Futures highlights local groups seeking to revitalize their communities by converting urban highways to boulevards. Rethink 794 made the national list in 2023.
2023
Highway-to-Boulevard vision adopted in City's Connec+ing MKE: Downtown Plan 2040
An unprecedented amount of community comments in the downtown planning process showed there was widespread support for replacing infrastructure-that-separates with neighborhood connections. The city officially adopted the plan, which calls for full evaluation of the option to remove the downtown section of I-794 to replace it with a neighborhood.
2024
State DOT includes removal among study alternatives
The state DOT adds the “removal option” amongst the study alternatives and expands its limited study area to consider wider impacts of the elevated highway through downtown.
2025
Strong Towns Metro MKE members join forces with Rethink 794
Milwaukee residents and members of the Strong Towns Metro MKE community who had been advocating for I-794 removal began coordinating with Rethink 794. Together, we aligned our efforts, strengthened a shared vision, and expanded community outreach and education around the Lake Interchange study and the opportunities beyond it.
2025
State DOT is urged to include Environmental and Redevelopment opportunity in study.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) phase is the process that state DOTs must use to evaluate long-term environmental, social, economic, and community impacts of major highway infrastructure decisions. While the EIA phase of large infrastructure projects is not always funded as a part of the initial study, the state DOT included environmental and redevelopment opportunity analysis to the study process after community engagement made it clear this decision would have generational effects.
2026
Common Council members Sharlen Moore, Bob Bauman, and Alex Brower release joint statement, ’I-794 Highway-to-Boulevard Option is Best for City of Milwaukee’ calling for a bold vision for Milwaukee.
"We have to begin to start thinking about things objectively, and differently, and boldly in order for us to create again. This is longevity thinking. We’re not thinking about tomorrow. This is us thinking about decades in advance.” - District 10, Ald. Sharlen Moore
About 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
1000 Friends of Wisconsin (1kfriends) works with communities to advocate for land use policies and transportation decisions that promote healthy, thriving, equitable, and climate-friendly communities. We work with Rethink 794 providing technical and coordinating support to help the advocates communicate their vision for Milwaukee.
Learn more at 1kfriends.org
Transportation Policy Analyst, Milwaukee