Main Street Green was officially launched on Monroe Street, where the local merchants association and 26 businesses representing various retail, food and beverage, and service establishments are making a strong commitment to superior environmental performance.

The Greening of Monroe Street: A green urbanism initiative enabled festival-goers to learn about innovative “green” street design and infrastructure practices that could turn the Monroe Street area into a vibrant “eco-district” that draws people to visit local shops, boutiques and restaurants while preserving, highlighting, and enhancing the area’s exceptional natural and historic resources.

The Greening of Monroe Street featured ten stations that showcase innovative approaches to green infrastructure and green-street design, including:

• Landscaped Pop-up Parks made up of sod, native trees and shrubs, and potted plants to create an outdoor living room and gathering space along the street right-a-way.
• Design Visions for the Crazy Legs Triangle and nearby intersections that show a vibrant Monroe Street Corridor using pedestrian friendly scale and green infrastructure features.
• Zero Waste Stations with receptacles and signage to clarify materials that can be recycled or composted and where to put them.
• Displays and educational materials by the Friends of Lake Wingra, Edgewood Sustainable Leadership Program, WEI, Formecology Landscape Design and the Monroe Street Library.
• Wisconsin Bike Fed and Pedestrian Safety Demonstrations.
• Tours along the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Nature and History Trail.

“The Greening of Monroe Street is an innovative way to showcase the potential of “green urbanism” and “green infrastructure” approaches in our community,” said John Imes, Executive Director of Wisconsin Environmental Initiative. “By incorporating cutting edge green design and sustainable practices along Monroe Street, we can protect extraordinary natural resources while creating an even more dynamic shopping destination."