The Brady Street Business Improvement District, recently in the news over disputed changes to the street's traffic pattern, is searching for a new leader.

Rachel Taylor, the district's executive director since March 2020, is resigning. Taylor, whose last day on the job is Nov. 30, said her decision has nothing to do with the recent street controversy.

"My reasons for resigning are personal and I will not be sharing them with the media," Taylor told the Journal Sentinel.

Taylor said she's continuing to manage the district's events while also preparing files for her successor.

"This is clearly an indication that I wish the board, the businesses and the neighborhood a strong future going forward," she said.

The district's board plans to post the job no later than Oct. 15, according to the board's latest meeting agenda. The board is a quasi-government unit funded by assessments on Brady Street commercial properties.

The district made headlines recently over its opposition to street changes made in August by the Department of Public Works.

The most noticeable change: a new lane striping on part of Brady Street which uses a curve, instead of a straight line, near the North Arlington Place intersection. That's designed to slow down cars.

Also, four parking spaces, including two spaces used as a temporary loading zone, were removed from in front of two restaurants: Dorsia and La Masa.

The changes amount to a short-term measure to make Brady Street safer, especially for people riding bikes and walking, said Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, whose district includes the street.

The district board said the changes were making the street less safe by "pushing the fast moving cars closer to the curbs." The board also said the changes hurt businesses located in that portion of Brady Street.

Those changes came after a district-commissioned study in June provided recommendations for more extensive measures.

Those include barring cars from portions of Brady Street ? which would need approval from the Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

The district's board hasn't voted on whether to support any of the study's proposals, including the street closings.

"The board still needs to lay out what the next steps are," said Andrea Rowe Richards, a board member.

There have been some high-profile Brady Street crashes over the past year or so, including a fatal hit and run in September 2022 and others this summer that caused severe injuries.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at [email protected] and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.