Park Place Bridge Fact Sheet

Origin: Parking has always been an issue on Milwaukee’s East Side. Riverside Park is no exception. The Urban Ecology Center has long been aware of the added parking pressure our growth has caused to the neighborhood. To address the issue, we instituted a successful incentive for our staff members to bike, and encourage our visitors to do the same. We also do not use school buses for our programs, but instead transport participants in smaller, neighborhood friendly natural gas vans. However, these measures have not kept pace with the growth the Center has experienced. A long term parking solution exists; however, the solution requires extending Park Place across the Oak Leaf Trail. This solution is now being realized.

Parking Solution: The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) owns a half acre of land on the west side of the Oak Leaf Trail. This gravel land sits on top of a drop shaft to the District’s Deep Water Tunnel. The District requires 24 hour access to this drop shaft. Since cars can be moved, a parking lot is a viable use of this land. The Urban Ecology Center has negotiated an agreement with the MMSD to do just this, build a “green” 55 car parking lot on the site. This requires extending Park Place with a vehicular bridge. It might seem logical to use Belleview to access this land, but there is not enough room between an existing building and the edge of the bike path to build a legal street from Belleview to the proposed lot.

Public Support: The Urban Ecology Center is building this bridge in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks, Pieter Godfrey – neighboring land owner, the City of Milwaukee and the MMSD. The project has been discussed at meetings held monthly at the Center by the three neighborhood associations surrounding Riverside Park. The project received strong approval from those present at these meetings.

Bridge Design: The bridge is designed by Bloom Consultants and is being built by Vista Construction. It is designed as a high performance concrete single span arched bridge. The bridge will support two way traffic as well as pedestrian and bike traffic. The north walkway will connect directly to a newly paved access trail of the Oak Leaf Trail.

Two Phase Project Time Line: Estimated Completion Date – May 31st

Fall 2006: November through mid December – concrete/steel footings and support pilings installed
Spring 2007: Mid February through March – high performance concrete arch bridge installed
April through May: roadway, sidewalks, railings and street connections finished

Minimal Bike Path Closure: Effort is being made to keep the bike path open throughout construction. In spring it is anticipated that there will be one day when cyclists, for their safety, will be rerouted to the street.

Special Considerations: During construction the Center will park vans temporarily on the abandoned tennis court near the Center. Next summer this and all courts are to be refurbished. Six courts will result.

The Bridge as Part of a Larger Plan: The bridge is part of a 1.5 million dollar improvement plan for Riverside Park. The plan includes: a 55 car parking lot, added land, improved trails, wheelchair accessibility, a fishing pier on the river, an improved canoe launch, replacing the existing graffiti prone steel pedestrian bridge to make it accessible, improved staircases and added connections to the Oak Leaf Trail. If interested please see the master plan for this project in the Urban Ecology Center.

Bridge Sponsors: This bridge is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Brico Fund, Pieter Godfrey, the Trinity Foundation and the Urban Ecology Center.

For more information, contact Ken Leinbach, Executive Director, (414) 964-8505 x101 or kleinbach@urbanecologycenter.org