Great Week for Martin Drive

It has been a great week for Martin Drive Neighborhood.

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Adam Carr, producer at Radio Milwaukee, has been interviewing many residents as part of the Neighborhood Project Series – Love Where You Live! I was lucky to tag along with Adam and enjoyed talking with many of you. Adam makes you comfortable and makes you want to spill your story of why and how you came to Martin Drive and why you love it so much. We interviewed business owners, homeowners and renters and learned all the things that make Martin Drive a special to live in … for instance:

It’s affordable living.
We are centrally located.
There are great businesses.
There are great neighbors.
We love our gardens.
We are diverse in many ways.
We are next to a beautiful Olmsted Park.
We have an active neighborhood association.
It is clear that we have fun here.
Neighbors get along and work together to make this a nice place to live.
We are proud of the neighborhood.

Keep tuned to Radio Milwaukee this week to hear what Adam Carr and the other residents have to say.

What is Martin Drive Neighborhood Like?

The Martin Drive Neighborhood is a small, safe and affordable neighborhood on the Westside of Milwaukee, fortuitously located between beautiful Washington Park to the North and historic Miller Valley to the South. Due to its tucked away location, the Martin Drive Neighborhood is quiet and surprisingly free of traffic. Its mainly one-way, tree lined streets are often host to joggers, dog walkers and groups of children at play.

The Martin Drive Neighborhood is very accessible and centrally located. Only minutes from downtown Milwaukee, the neighborhood brushes against Wauwatosa to the west and it is a quick hop onto the freeway. Additionally, two large parks, a public pool, the Washington Park Library, cafes, restaurants and a number of unique shops are all within walking distance.

One of the most attractive aspects of the Martin Drive Neighborhood is its diverse and active residents, many of whom are involved in the close-knit neighborhood association. The Martin Drive Neighborhood Association is continually working to increase communication between neighbors, encouraging residents to aid in community projects and always striving to become the best neighborhood we can be!

Martin Drive Neighborhood, October-November Renovations Noted!

Keep Up the Good Work on Your Homes

As you can see, the Martin Drive Neighborhood likes signs. Neighborhood meetings occur monthly on the second Monday of every month. We have met for about 17 years at 1219 N. 43rd Street and at the Senior Center for our May Annual Meeting. Early on, we made signs for each block, and had block watch captains put out the sign to remind everyone to come to our meetings.

And now we are blessed with the ability to hold quarterly meetings at the Washington Park Senior Center. We feel this will increase attendance and offer more fresh and new faces to the mix. We had heard from some neighbors that they felt uncomfortable coming to someone’s home for fear that they would be the only new person. (And let me put that notion to rest. As long as we have been doing this, everyone is welcome, and there are always warm, fresh home-made cookies. )

Since the November meeting was our first at the Senior Center, I was careful to make sure every block had a sign. So on Sunday, I set out putting up signs and was very surprised by the number of houses which had started major exterior renovations. I captured two new roof projects, one on 42nd Street and one on Martin Drive. Another house on 44th Street is being sided and the porch is about to be restored. I also noted another major porch renovation on 46th Street. Thank you to the neighbors who are putting investment back into this neighborhood. I'll be back to take some "after" photos to show.

The Light Brigade Lights 42nd, 43rd & McKinley

Lights Make Good Friends & Neighbors

Saturday, October 27th, Paul Tracy, Al Siemsen, Naimi Adedalpo, Gwendolyn Spears and teen volunteers, Shannon Krueger and Christopher Spears hit 42nd Street and McKinley Boulevard. We rang bells, talked to neighbors and replaced more porch lights with energy efficient bulbs. We also noted a number of light fixtures that were in need of replacement and put them on the list.

As the daylight shortens and the darkness lengthens it is important to remember to keep those porch lights on. We found neighbors were thankful to receive our energy efficient bulbs and help.

The next day, Dan Larsen, Vicki Provencher and Pat Mueller made the rounds on 43rd Street talking to neighbors and installing lights. We met several new neighbors and caught up with others and gathered more e-mail addresses for our e-mail bulletins.

The best part was coming back in the evening and seeing the porch lighs lit.

Martin Drive In the News!

In the News!

On October 22, 2007, Pat Mueller was interviewed by Channel 6 News, about the Martin Drive Neighborhoods’ long standing and active block watch and neighborhood organization. A brief clip of our Steering Committee in action was televised depicting an example of an active resident neighborhood group working on neighborhood issues.

Martin Drive Neighborhood association members strongly believe in community policing, and generally getting to know your neighbors and supporting them by watching out for them and reporting crime and suspicious activities. We believe in creating an environment that is safe and not conducive to crime. This can be done in many ways including, keeping up with the maintenance of our homes giving the appearance that the neighborhood is cared for, keeping shrubs trimmed low so they do not block view and offer a place for intruders to hide
keeping porch lights on, participating in neighborhood walks and many more.

Because of this active neighborhood, we be happy that we have a low crime rate and are not experiencing some of the serious crime issues of other neighborhoods. And we are happy to be in the news in a positive light!

Let’s keep up the good work.