Future of Doyne Park

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

For the past 40 years Doyne Park has been host to a par 3, 9 hole golf course. Unfortunately, due to ongoing budget shortfalls and staff shortages within Milwaukee County Parks (see Sinking Treasure report), the golf course has been closed.

Doyne Park currently has 2 half courts for basketball, a soccer field, a section of the Oak Leaf Trail, and a playground. The playground is outdated and will likely be replaced in the next couple of years.

Please note that due to the landfill underneath the entire park, future amenities cannot include anything that penetrates the soil. Records regarding waste disposal at the site are vague, but suggest that filling may have begun in the 1940’s. WDNR records indicate that the site received wood, old appliances, and street sweepings before it closed in 1976. In response to concerns that landfill gas might migrate into nearby residences, a perimeter landfill gas control system was installed at Doyne Park in 1998.



Update from August 11, 2022

After about 6 weeks of outreach, the Parks Engagement team has gathered enough public input to assist Parks staff with decisions concerning the Future of Doyne Park. Below is a summary of the outreach and results.

This web page with the information displayed above the line, helped inform park goers of the permanent closure of the golf course and gave them an opportunity to share ideas for future uses. The page was shared digitally with neighborhood organizations. Engagement staff had a physical presence at Doyne Park on 5 different occasions at 3-hour intervals and at different times of the day to capture the opinions of different audiences. Parks staff spoke with anyone willing to stop, which included dog walkers, cyclists, walkers, joggers, neighbors, and visitors. All input was recorded onto this web page, so that all the input was located in one place.

The Engagement team scheduled a public meeting to help narrow down the results with a goal of hearing from neighbors as opposed to the general public. The team invited people door-to-door at all households adjacent to the park and across Wells street.

In preparation for the public meeting, the results from the Ideas section of this page were compiled. The graph below does not include uses that had less than 2 mentions or was determined to be more invasive to the landfill cap. Suggestions like splash pads, picnic shelters, and pickleball courts were not included. Bicycle related uses came out on top with disc golf not too far behind.

At the August 4th public meeting, about 45 people showed up. Roughly 80% of them lived within a half mile of the park. People had the opportunity to ask questions about the uses and then vote on their top choices using a ranked sticker system. Red stickers = 3 points, Yellow stickers = 2 points, Green stickers = 1 point, and Blue stickers = -1 point. The results in the chart below tell us that neighbors of Doyne Park would prefer to see a native prairie/butterfly garden and bicycle related uses like a mountain bike trail and pump track. There was strong opposition for a disc golf course or dog park.

The next step is for Parks staff to review the results including the thoughtful comments on the Ideas section of this page, then prepare cost estimates, and then meet to discuss the feasibility of each project. If leadership approves a project(s), then they apply for Capital funding and/or private funding. If funded, the project gets designed and constructed.

Based on these results, the top 4 amenities Parks are pursuing are Native Prairie/Butterfly Garden, Pump Track, Mountain Bike Trail, and an appropriate vendor at the former clubhouse. The Parks design team will prepare a few options of how these facilities could be laid out on a map. The Engagement team will then share this with the public.

For the past 40 years Doyne Park has been host to a par 3, 9 hole golf course. Unfortunately, due to ongoing budget shortfalls and staff shortages within Milwaukee County Parks (see Sinking Treasure report), the golf course has been closed.

Doyne Park currently has 2 half courts for basketball, a soccer field, a section of the Oak Leaf Trail, and a playground. The playground is outdated and will likely be replaced in the next couple of years.

Please note that due to the landfill underneath the entire park, future amenities cannot include anything that penetrates the soil. Records regarding waste disposal at the site are vague, but suggest that filling may have begun in the 1940’s. WDNR records indicate that the site received wood, old appliances, and street sweepings before it closed in 1976. In response to concerns that landfill gas might migrate into nearby residences, a perimeter landfill gas control system was installed at Doyne Park in 1998.



Update from August 11, 2022

After about 6 weeks of outreach, the Parks Engagement team has gathered enough public input to assist Parks staff with decisions concerning the Future of Doyne Park. Below is a summary of the outreach and results.

This web page with the information displayed above the line, helped inform park goers of the permanent closure of the golf course and gave them an opportunity to share ideas for future uses. The page was shared digitally with neighborhood organizations. Engagement staff had a physical presence at Doyne Park on 5 different occasions at 3-hour intervals and at different times of the day to capture the opinions of different audiences. Parks staff spoke with anyone willing to stop, which included dog walkers, cyclists, walkers, joggers, neighbors, and visitors. All input was recorded onto this web page, so that all the input was located in one place.

The Engagement team scheduled a public meeting to help narrow down the results with a goal of hearing from neighbors as opposed to the general public. The team invited people door-to-door at all households adjacent to the park and across Wells street.

In preparation for the public meeting, the results from the Ideas section of this page were compiled. The graph below does not include uses that had less than 2 mentions or was determined to be more invasive to the landfill cap. Suggestions like splash pads, picnic shelters, and pickleball courts were not included. Bicycle related uses came out on top with disc golf not too far behind.

At the August 4th public meeting, about 45 people showed up. Roughly 80% of them lived within a half mile of the park. People had the opportunity to ask questions about the uses and then vote on their top choices using a ranked sticker system. Red stickers = 3 points, Yellow stickers = 2 points, Green stickers = 1 point, and Blue stickers = -1 point. The results in the chart below tell us that neighbors of Doyne Park would prefer to see a native prairie/butterfly garden and bicycle related uses like a mountain bike trail and pump track. There was strong opposition for a disc golf course or dog park.

The next step is for Parks staff to review the results including the thoughtful comments on the Ideas section of this page, then prepare cost estimates, and then meet to discuss the feasibility of each project. If leadership approves a project(s), then they apply for Capital funding and/or private funding. If funded, the project gets designed and constructed.

Based on these results, the top 4 amenities Parks are pursuing are Native Prairie/Butterfly Garden, Pump Track, Mountain Bike Trail, and an appropriate vendor at the former clubhouse. The Parks design team will prepare a few options of how these facilities could be laid out on a map. The Engagement team will then share this with the public.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

Where in Doyne Park would you like to see improvements?

almost 2 years

As we begin this planning process, we are interested in hearing from the community about what you love and what you think could be improved. Click the "plus" button, then drag and drop one of the pins onto a location within the park and provide comments there!  

Please note that due to the landfill underneath the entire park, future amenities cannot include anything that penetrates the soil.

Page last updated: 29 Jun 2023, 01:26 PM