Moving to MKE: Are these neighborhoods safe?? Help! (Milwaukee, Shorewood: co-op, credit card)

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

Hmmm... I visited the area two consecutive days and didn't detect any odor, but still good to know! I am a bit sensitive when it comes to smells. Hope it's not unbearable!

I lived in St. Louis one mile from the Anheiser Busch brewery. On a hot humid day, the odor was stifling and unpleasant. My friends and coworkers actually LIKED the aroma.

[city414]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

Hi all. I'm relocating to Milwaukee and have been researching housing, but I have no clue as to which neighborhoods are decent and which are best to avoid. The only area I know to avoid (from another MKE thread) is the area bordered by Burleigh on the North, North on the South, 6th St on the East, and 33th on the West.

Can you shed some light on the following areas?? I'm totally guessing on the neighborhoods.
The main question is, would you feel safe letting your daughter live alone in these areas?

Region 1 (N I94 x I45/41) bordered by:
North Ave on the North,
Wauwatosa Ave/Glenview Ave on the East,
Highland Blvd/40th St on the East,
Bluemound Rd on the South.
(Wauwatosa, NW Milwaukee?)

Region 2 (S I94 x I45/41) bordered by:
92nd St on the West,
I-94 on the North,
32nd St on the East,
Lincoln Ave on the South.
(West Allis, West Milwaukee?)

Region 3 (I894 x Oklahoma) bordered by:
Oklahoma Ave on the North,
108th St on the West,
Howard Ave on the South,
68th St on the East.
(N. Greenfield?)

Region 4 (I894 x I94): 27th St x Layton Ave

Region 5 (E I43) bordered by:
North Ave on the South,
Murray Ave on the East,
Burleigh St on the North,
Booth St on the West.
Also, Prospect Ave x Beverly Rd a bit to the North (Shorewood?).

Region 6 (near Caesar Park):
Humboldt Ave on the West,
Water St/Kane Pl on the North,
Cambridge Ave on the East,
Brady St on the South.

Region 7 (near Humbolt Park): Chase Ave x Oklahoma Ave

Region 8 (Menomonee Falls?): 107th St x Bradley Rd

I'm a young female professional living solo, and my primary concern is safety. I don't care whether it's the most happening part of town, I can drive to the entertainment. I am alert/vigilant anywhere I go, but I'd like to be able to walk my dog without dodging bullets or park my car in the street without having it broken into, etc.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY INSIGHT YOU CAN GIVE ME.
It's greatly appreciated.

never ask opionions about mke regarding neighborhoods individuals opionions vary and can be racially biased, your fine,, the hell with everybody else

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by tully

And therein is a demonstration of how human beings are capable of blocking out almost anything. Whether it be a beeping smoke detector, barking dog, or in-your-face pollution.

Combine it with status quo attitude ("hey if you don't like it, why live here?"), and you get those kinds of responses.

I have had to explain numerous times, to numerous out-of-town guests, what "that" odor is.

Walk by WI Paperboard sometime at night... while it is lit up, operating full-tilt, spewing smoke and steam out of every oriface. Post-apocolypic doesn't begin to describe it.

The only reason you haven't detected it is that either a) the wind hasn't been right, or b) they've been economically impacted, and are temporarily out of operation. I've been hearing about recycling programs around the country being shut down (for lack of purchasers of their recycled outputs), and I think that's a core part of WI Paperboard's business.

What a crock. "Post-apocolyptic" [sic]. You obviously have some other beef about WI Paperboard. The only reason anyone even notices Wisconsin Paperboard is because it is visible while crossing the Milwaukee River bridge at North Avenue. If it was one or two blocks away in the middle of Riverwest, nobody would even know that it existed, like countless other manufacturing facilities. It emits some steam but I've never smelled anything from it.

I'm at home approximately eight blocks ENE, for a week or two at a time throughout the year, and I never smell anything. Since I spend most of my time out of state, I would notice if there was a funny smell in my neighborhood. It should be very distinctive in the summer, during the periods when the prevailing winds are southwest or west. But I've never smelled it, and this will be my 9th year in that area.

What you're talking about sounds like you are trying to describe the very distinctive stench of paper mills, which used to permeate parts of the Fox Valley. No such smell occurs on the East Side.

I do occasionally get a whiff of ozone type smell, which I guess originates in whatever industry remains in the metropolitan area. It's usually most prevalent with a S or SSW wind. That particular smell is distinctive, but not offensive.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

I get around mainly by bike, I ride all over the city on a regular basis, so I'm intimitely familiar with the myriad smells of Milwaukee. I have smelled Wisconsin Paperboard but it's hardly as overpowering or distinctive as some would suggest.

My regular commute route takes me right through the heart of the Miller Brewery on the west side of the city. I don't smell it until I'm actually in it, and, what do ya know, it smells like beer. Like cheap American beer.

Different parts of town have different odors. I know it sounds stereotypical, but riding through the north side when the weather is nice, you will smell lots of BBQ. Riding through the south side the taquerias and little mom n pop tiendas give off a distinctive odor. Not quite a taco smell per se, more of a tortilla smell. Again, this might strike some as stereotyping certain parts of the city. But my nose does not lie.

In the more rough and tumble parts of the city, north or south side, by far the most prevalent smell is that of marijuana. Seriously, when the weather's nice I'll catch that distinctive odor about 2-3 times per ride. Not that I would know what pot smells like, of course.

[quijote]

I really enjoyed smelling the yeast produced by Red Star (?) after I moved here earlier this decade; the odor was most noticeable near the Marquette Interchange. Unfortunately, the factory closed or relocated.

There's also the infamous smell of algae along the lakeshore, blech.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by quijote

I really enjoyed smelling the yeast produced by Red Star (?) after I moved here earlier this decade; the odor was most noticeable near the Marquette Interchange. Unfortunately, the factory closed or relocated.

There's also the infamous smell of algae along the lakeshore, blech.

Was that yeast / Red Star yeast?? I actually always found that odor somewhat distinctive and comforting, in a Milwaukee-only (especially in the summer) way near the now-"M-Change".

Similar smells I was always told were produced by "tanneries in the South City"...not sure how much validity there is to that (this would be in the late 80s / early 90s when I was but still a young pre-teen / teen)...but at least, it is what I was told.

Of course, anywhere between Downtown and mid-way up I-94 you'd have the Miller wafts from time to time which, again, I found pleasant.

What about Aldrich Chemical??? When they were Downtown, (I used to work there in the late-90s as a college job), they used to give off some bizarre odors with all of their chemicals! A few times when they were making the odor that is added to natural gas, people would smell it on the freeway and go into a panic and call in natural gas leaks.

Finally, yes, of course there is that infamous rotting smell (this one in a bad way) along Lake Michigan in the summertime. However, I can attest as a near-lakefront parker, that lake gives off interesting smells year-round, and most not in a bad way. Just unique and distinct.

All of it "smells" for better and worse like a great city - like a city like Milwaukee!

[tully]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

previous post

Let me guess- you're a smoker.

A smoker's opinions about odor (or lack of it, in this case) has no validity. Their senses were dulled long ago.

There is no possible way an average person, w/ average senses, would not notice WI Paperboard. At best, they'd be initially unaware, then notice it - clearly - once someone pointed it out to them. (This has been the case with a couple out of town guests.)

Look, I'm not trying to imply the area is a stenchhole. I have no axe to grind against that particular company. (If anything my axe is with metro area zoning.) But call it what it is. The Wisconsin-to-North Ave corridor, from Tosa to the lake, DOES have widespread, variable, low-grade odor. Don't mislead. It may not be as eye-watering as say, the brewery in LaCrosse. And yes, it may be a relative handful (Grede, Miller, WI Paperboard, and perhaps a couple from stallis w/ a south wind).

But as I said, a person of average olfactories WILL notice the effects of those factories, eventually. It is unavoidable. It's for that person to decide if it's tolerable and worth it.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by tully

Let me guess- you're a smoker.

A smoker's opinions about odor (or lack of it, in this case) has no validity. Their senses were dulled long ago.

There is no possible way an average person, w/ average senses, would not notice WI Paperboard. At best, they'd be initially unaware, then notice it - clearly - once someone pointed it out to them. (This has been the case with a couple out of town guests.)

Look, I'm not trying to imply the area is a stenchhole. I have no axe to grind against that particular company. (If anything my axe is with metro area zoning.) But call it what it is. The Wisconsin-to-North Ave corridor, from Tosa to the lake, DOES have widespread, variable, low-grade odor. Don't mislead. It may not be as eye-watering as say, the brewery in LaCrosse. And yes, it may be a relative handful (Grede, Miller, WI Paperboard, and perhaps a couple from stallis w/ a south wind).

But as I said, a person of average olfactories WILL notice the effects of those factories, eventually. It is unavoidable. It's for that person to decide if it's tolerable and worth it.

Trying to prove a point by appointing yourself spokesperson of "the average person", doesn't accomplish anything, except perhaps self-validation of your opinion.

As far as this discussion goes, it isn't even a discussion. There is no logic, there is no data. There is nothing to see here. The only proof you have is your co-opinion shared by "the average person".

As far as the rest of it goes, I think you do have a beef with industry. What that particular beef is, is anyone's guess. All I have is my opinion of a bunch of years living very close to one of the offenders. I don't have any data that says the factories in question don't smell bad, you have no data that shows either factory represents a hazard, or that either emits offensive odors that reduce the quality of life of residents.

In short, this is going nowhere, and if you want people to think that "everyone" thinks the area smells, go for it. If people reading this can't think for themselves, that's not my problem.

One last thing, not that it's any of your business. I don't smoke.

[tully]

you wanted data, you shall receive...

map of pollutors near 53202. click on the dot immediately above shaded area (lower left corner of 53211).. WI paperboard. Note the SO2, NOx, NH3 tons/year. Sulphur Diox., Nitrous Ox., Ammonia.. basically what we refer to as "stench". (among a few other things not monitored by EPA)

Now go to Duplin County, NC as a comparison. Click on the 3-dot cluster in lower left. Those are pig and/or poultry farms. (I think we can all agree, the average person would find those offensive.) Note the SO2, NOx, NH3.

I'll leave it for people to draw their own conclusions.

A couple parting comments:
- WI paperboard is situated at the base of a slope, west end of Eastside. Their emissions occur at low elevation (no tall stack). Just like farms.

- you'll notice 2002 is the most recent data (corresponding, uncoincidentally, with the start of the Bush era). EPA enforcement has been lacking (to put it kindly) since then. You can assume the tonnage to be worse now, perhaps several times worse.

[vemureaux]

Ok folks,

As the OP, I'm going to make an executive decision and veto the smelly talk, especially as it has, at this point, nothing to do with my initial question. If you want to continue discussing the various aromas of Milwaukee, please open another, separate thread to do so.

I'm sure other people considering moving to MKE may be interested in reading this post (I certainly checked out the other moving-related posts), and having irrelevant arguments back and forth actually takes away from the informative nature of the CDF threads. If not, I'll just ask the mods to close this thread.

Any relevant and useful input is still very much welcome.
And thanks a bunch to all those who contributed regarding the original post.