MILWAUKEE — On Monday, Oct. 28, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) shut down the College Avenue Northeast Park and Ride. This comes just one week after WisDOT shut down the Holt Avenue Park and Ride. There is fencing around both lots now, in addition to concrete barriers blocking the entrance.
Next, the College Avenue Southwest Park and Ride will be reconfigured to keep only a small portion open for Milwaukee County transit users. According to WisDOT, on Sunday, Nov. 3, law enforcement agencies will place 48-hour orange courtesy tags on all property and vehicles in the southwest lot. After 48 hours, any remaining vehicles will be towed and personal property thrown away.
WisDOT attributed the lot closures to “declining safety conditions.” It reported an increase in emergency calls about dangerous or unsafe activity in and around the park and ride lots. There were a combined 275 calls for service between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2024. That’s nearly a 42% increase compared to the same time period in 2023.
James, who has been living at the Southwest College Avenue Park and Ride, admitted he’s witnessed some illegal activity and violence while staying at the lot. However, he said the majority of people staying at the lots are good people just trying to catch a break.
James asked that Spectrum News 1 not publish his last name due to privacy concerns.
“Not everyone is a drug user or an abuser,” he said. “There are survivors trying to get back into society and contribute again. Myself, I’ve applied for hundreds of jobs and I only recently this week have started getting calls back.”
James was packing up his belongings Monday and trying to decide where he’ll go next. He said the majority of people who’ve been staying in the lots are in the same boat.
“As far as I know, very few had anywhere to go unless they had family to reach out to,” he said. “It’s kind of a somber, melancholic feeling.”
Nic, an Army veteran, is a third shift machine operator. Nic asked that Spectrum News 1 not publish his last name due to privacy concerns. He said he was evicted from his last apartment, and with an eviction on your record, it’s hard to find a new place to live.
So, he also came to live at the lot.
“With my vehicle not working, I bus back and forth to work,” he said. “I saw a guy sleeping in a bus shelter. I’ve seen people sleeping on the side of the street. At least here you have some stability and other people looking out for you.”
Alba Santiago lives in an apartment complex near the College Avenue Southwest Park and Ride. She admitted that she’s been afraid at times, such as when fights have broken out among people living in the lot. But she also doesn’t want to them forced out with nowhere to go.
“Something has to be done,” she said. “They just can’t be outside. It’s getting colder and some of them are going to freeze to death if they don’t find a home.”
Milwaukee County homeless outreach workers and local nonprofits have told Spectrum News they’ve been trying to connect with everyone still living in the lots, to find them housing or shelter.
James is trying to stay positive as he gets ready to leave the lot he’s called home for months.
“My goal is getting a job, two if possible, building my income, having my own place,” he said. “Building so that one day, I would like to help those like me, put in a situation that might not always be by our choice, but by our choices in the past, that led to it.”