We, the residents, workers, students, and advocates of Oshkosh, are calling for a generational shift in how our city approaches mobility, public space, and economic development.

While the city's move to secure site control of the 17-acre City Center property is a major step forward, true progress requires a unified vision. We must transition from a car-centric model to a human-centric city that treats reliable transportation, accessible public spaces, and community health as public rights.

We petition the City of Oshkosh to implement the following progressive updates across our transit infrastructure, active transportation corridors, and the upcoming City Center redevelopment master plan.

1. Complete Transit Equity & Micro-Mobility

Reliable public transit and safe active transportation are the backbones of economic mobility and community health. We call on the city to expand upon fixed-route improvements by investing heavily in multi-modal networks:

•  Expanded Fixed-Route Service: Finalize the implementation of extended evening bus hours, dedicated Sunday service, and strategically added stops to eliminate current coverage gaps.
•  Protected Bike & Scooter Lanes: Transition from basic painted lanes to physically protected, curb- or flex-post-separated micro-mobility lanes along major commuter arteries to ensure safety for cyclists and scooter users year-round.
•  Main Street Pedestrianization: Establish a pedestrian-first commercial zone on Main Street between Algoma Boulevard and Parkway Avenue to stimulate local business, support outdoor gathering, and reduce emissions in our historic downtown core.
•  Continuous Riverwalk Expansion: Complete a seamless, uninterrupted Riverwalk loop by expanding the trail from Oshkosh Avenue to Wisconsin Street, better linking the university, downtown, and residential zones.
•  Infrastructure Connectivity: Prioritize and complete the existing plan for the Highway 41 pedestrian bridge to safely reconnect the city across the highway barrier.
•  GO Connect Microtransit Expansion: Build on the success of the northern "Red Zone" on-demand pilot by expanding GO Connect microtransit services to the south and west sides of Oshkosh, ensuring transit-dependent residents in lower-density areas have point-to-point access to core route trunks.

2. A Progressive, Human-Centric City Center Master Plan

The acquisition of the City Center property is an unprecedented opportunity to build a community anchor. We demand that the master plan reject predictable, car-heavy commercial layouts in favor of an inclusive, forward-thinking district that features:

•  A Year-Round Indoor Farmers Market & Winter Garden: Capitalize on the success of our local agricultural community with a permanent, indoor public market and an all-season community green space to keep downtown active, vibrant, and healthy through the winter months.
•  Culinary Incubator & Pop-Up Kitchens: Incorporate a licensed commercial kitchen space featuring a rotating, public-facing "pop-up counter." This will allow local chefs and food entrepreneurs to test concepts and build a customer base before taking on the financial risk of a brick-and-mortar storefront.
•  A Community Services Collective: Dedicate permanent, affordable space within the facility for a community resource hub sponsored by local businesses. This space will house essential mutual-aid and community services, potentially including The Tool Library and The Vagabond Network.
•  An All-Ages Public Tech Hub: Bridge the digital divide with a free, state-of-the-art public digital lounge featuring high-speed Wi-Fi, a computer lab fully equipped for modern media creation (podcast recording, music production, and video editing), 3D printers, and a dedicated gaming/esports zone for youth engagement.
•  Active Transit Integration & Charging Hub: Establish a dedicated multi-modal transfer station within the district. This must include an indoor waiting area with real-time digital displays of transit schedules, automated kiosks for WisGo card management, and a secure public charging hub with lockers for electric scooter and e-bike batteries.
•  Pedestrian-Focused Perimeter Pathway: Encircle the redeveloped City Center with a wide, dedicated multi-use pathway optimized exclusively for foot traffic, bicycles, and scooters to keep the interior core quiet, safe, and entirely pollution-free.

Conclusion

Oshkosh is positioned to be a leading progressive city in the New Midwest. By combining transit equity with a truly public, entrepreneurial, and sustainable vision for the City Center, our local government can ensure that future growth benefits all residents, not just a select few.

We, the undersigned, urge the Common Council and City Leadership to adopt these priorities immediately as official directives for city planning.