State Street Pedestrian Mall Experiment

In June 2023, Metro Transit moved bus routes off the 400-600 blocks of State Street. This started a community conversation about the possibilities of that space. Community members discussed Pearl Street (Boulder, CO) or Church Street (Burlington, VT) as examples. The Downtown Coordinating Committee discussed ideas with City agencies, businesses, and neighborhood groups.

On September 5, 2023, the Madison Common Council passed a resolution directing staff to create a temporary pedestrian mall for the summer of 2024. In the spring of 2024, a ribbon tying event closed the street to traffic and opened it to people. Over the summer, the street closed to vehicles after 3:00pm on weekdays and 10:00am on weekends. The pedestrian mall experiment, known as #FlocktoState, featured a flamingo theme. The plastic pink flamingo is the City’s official bird, and they cover Bascom Hill every spring. 

On March 25, 2025, the Common Council accepted a Planning Division report on the outcomes of the pedestrian mall experiment. Read the full report.