Residents, business owners and others who use North Martin Luther King Drive are being asked to help shape the corridor’s future as Milwaukee develops a long-term plan for the stretch between West Walnut Street and West Capitol Drive. The city’s Department of City Development is working with Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8 on the plan, which is expected to amend the Northeast Side Area Plan and become part of Milwaukee’s Comprehensive Plan. The document will help guide future zoning, land-use decisions and public and private investment. At an open house Sept. 15 at the Milwaukee Public Library’s Martin Luther King Branch, 2901 N. Martin Luther King Drive, participants discussed economic development, housing and transportation with city staff. They also marked up maps and posted comments on boards describing what they want to see along the corridor. Popular suggestions included planting more trees, expanding housing options and bringing more people to the area. Participants also cited litter, speeding and traffic safety as concerns. “I want people to feel physically safe from cars,” said Ruth Weill, community development manager for Riverworks Development Corp. and a member of the project’s resident leader council. Kyle Gast, a senior urban design planner with the Department of City Development and project manager for the Northeast Side Area Plan, said much of the corridor north of North Avenue has not undergone a comprehensive planning effort since 2009. The business improvement district expanded from Locust Street to Capitol Drive in 2021. Executive Director Raynetta “Ray” Hill said the COVID-19 pandemic changed the retail and office markets, prompting new questions about how to maintain and activate the commercial corridor as residential development and other projects move forward. The planning team includes P3 Development Group and Ce Planning Studio. RINKA, an architecture and urban design firm, will use community priorities to create visuals showing potential redevelopment concepts. Organizers are also forming a resident leader council to help guide engagement, review ideas and ensure that neighborhood groups along different sections of King Drive are included. Vanessa White, organizing director of the 5 Points Neighborhood Association and a council member, said the group cannot resolve every issue but can document whether concerns were considered. Hill said residents have praised the colorful murals in the southern portion of the corridor and raised ideas including additional trash receptacles and changes to traffic flow at North Avenue and Locust Street. White said she hopes the process produces stronger support for small businesses. Residents can submit comments and respond to other ideas at engage.milwaukee.gov/KingDrivePlan. Organizers expect to hold another public meeting in winter and a third in spring after a draft plan is prepared. The city’s approval process is expected to conclude in spring or summer 2027. Once approved, the plan will help city officials identify investment opportunities and assess whether proposed zoning or development projects fit the community’s long-term goals.