Kinnickinnic River Parkway - Jackson Park Drive

I feel Option D is best. Keep JPD as it is. . It serves both as a road and a bike/hiking path.


The traffic on the road - as little as it is- contributes to neighborhood safety.
The road allows emergency vehicles access to homes on JPD, which also contributes to neighborhood safety.

The majority of homeowners in the area value having the road. Please don’t change it.

I strongly favor option D.

We feel the road should remain open and so do the great majority of our neighbors who live on or near the parkway. There are many statements posted that explain the reasons for leaving JPD as it is and I agree with them. Please listen to those of us who live here and will be most affected.

I like option B the most and I think it would be the best for the local community.
I think options A and C make no sense and I question the 20 year life span. Maybe it should split out the lifespan of the road vs the path.
Option D would be the next choice for me.

Option B would encourage more local pedestrian use due to the removal of car traffic.
Option D would be keeping the road benefits we currently have.
Option A and C would just be taking the drawbacks of options B and D with none of the real benefits and at the highest costs.

This isn't a compromise type project. Either change the space for the benefits of pedestrians or keep the benefits of the road.

After three “public input” meetings and two opportunities to post comments, Option D is the clear preference by an overwhelming majority of neighbors - every time. Repave the parkway the way it is, plain and simple. Over and over again neighbors have voted, spoken out, posted, etc. If any part of Jackson Park Drive is replaced with a trail, it would be clear that Milwaukee County Parks does not care what the majority of neighbors want.

To spend millions of dollars the County doesn’t have on removing the parkway, landscaping and putting in a trail, is fiscally irresponsible. Tax-funded maintenance for the parkway was budgeted years ago and never implemented. Maintenance has been deferred long enough. Residents deserve the road to be repaved. Anyone can see that 35% of the curbs do not need replacing. They are not cracked or crumbling. This seems to be an inflated number. Repaving the road will last more than 10 years, if done right. Remember, maintenance for the road has been neglected for many, many years. Proposed costs have not been transparent.

No good reasons for the proposed change have been offered except that the project “meets our goals” of County Parks to eliminate hard spaces. Save the money to spend on other programs and simply repave the road.

In addition to the gross waste of tax-payer funding, there are many consequences to replacing the parkway with a trail, as many other neighbors have already mentioned, with no solutions offered:

1. Safety - Crime occurs where there is opportunity. A dark and secluded trail behind homes could lead to assaults, robberies and home break-ins. Even the sheriff encourages people not to walk alone on Milwaukee County trails. See links to several articles where there have been attacks. Scary stuff! Homeless people and tents have already been found along the parkway and could increase with less visibility. Coyotes will continue to breed and run wild along the parkway in greater numbers with little human intervention and traffic.
2. Access - Many neighbors will lose access to the front of their homes and require address changes. Fire and police will no longer be able to drive on the parkway for more immediate response to emergencies. This is not acceptable.
3. Yard Waste - Will pile up on neighboring roadways like Andover and Jerelyn leaving little room for cars and pedestrians, which would be dangerous.
4. Beauty - Neighbors don’t want ugly, reflective No Through Street signs and orange pylons where there used to be a beautiful meandering parkway. Some ugly barriers would be required to stop traffic.

I think it’s sad and disappointing how this project has turned neighbors against each other. There’s been name calling: disgruntled, afraid of change and NIMBYs. It’s terrible what tension and stress this whole mess has caused. Repave the road.

The only way replacing the parkway with a trail will go through is if the County doesn’t care and disregards the opinions of the neighbors who are directly impacted.

It is unfortunate to see so many people afraid of change. Bike/pedestrian pathes increase property values. Creating a more calm and quiet environment. I am in favor of option B. It makes the most financial sense, environmental sense, safety and general well being. You have to ask yourself, why is it the county parks job to maintain a road that serves no connectivity function? The parks are desperately underfunded and the last thing they should be doing is spending money on a road that serves no function.

For people voting for option D, I hope you understand it is actually the most expensive option by a mile due to the fact that the life expectancy of it is only 10 years, where as all other options are 20. So in 10 years they will have to come back and spend the money again.

Don't let your fear of change prevent the best option from moving forward, I ask you all to support option B

The neighbors living on and in the vicinity of Jackson Park Drive in favor of simply repaving the road, as it exists now (in-kind) with no bike/pedestrian path easily number in the hundreds and growing. Neighbors connected and organized early on in the process, and informative materials, including a petition, were translated into Spanish to include the growing Hispanic population in the neighborhood. A subset of these individuals/households includes those residents with homes situated on Jackson Park Drive – approximately 60 homes. It is important to note that the majority – 80% conservatively, of those 60 homes located directly on Jackson Park Drive favor not closing the road, but to repave the road as it is with no bike/pedestrian path.

At the February 2023 meeting at Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School regarding the proposed plan, approximately 125 individuals from the neighborhood attended. Public testimony was allowed, with each individual able to speak 2 minutes. When it was her turn to speak, one neighbor in favor of repaving the road as it is with no bike/pedestrian path asked those who agreed with this model to stand. Again, a conservative estimate of 85% of those 125 present stood. This included County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, the Chair of the Parks and Culture Committee. After the meeting, the two County Supervisors serving the area impacted by the proposed project pledged their support of the neighbors in favor of having the road repaved as it is with no bike/pedestrian path.

The aforementioned petition with neighbor signatures was sent to many individuals and entities including but not limited to: County Executive Crowley, Parks Director Guy Smith, Mayor Johnson, County Supervisors representing the area – Peter Burgelis and Juan Miguel Martinez, Alderman Borkowski, and other elected officials.

The Jackson Park Drive vicinty neighbors have also connected with their Lincoln Creek Parkway neighbors living on the north side of Milwaukee who are facing a similar proposed project to which they are opposed and have taken similar action to organize and oppose. They also have a petition with hundreds signatures representing many households.

As this project drags on, more and more interesting information is uncovered. For example, in recent years similar projects have been proposed by the County in quite a few suburban neighborhoods to include a stretch of West Allis parkway, and one bordering South Milwaukee and Oak Creek. In these instances, neighbors were in opposition and were heard as the projects were cancelled. This is a question of equity if these projects are allowed to go forward in Milwaukee when suburban neighborhoods were heard and projects were cancelled. Most individuals first hearing about this project mention it sounds like something that would be located in a gated suburban community. I’m told that one of the County staff working on the project design lives in Fox Point.

The main reasons neighbors are opposed to this model is it will destroy the unique planned aesthetics of the area, decrease safety for individuals both using the parkway and living on the parkway, (a non policed path in front of homes, loitering and crime,) keep people away from using Jackson Park Drive, reduce property values, take front entrances and access away from approximately 20 homes, eliminate fire/ambulance/police access on JPD, etc.

Jackson Park Drive is the central feature that brings the entire neighborhood together and a major factor in why individuals still seek to purchase homes in the general neighborhood and why many have remained here for generations perfectly happy with what has been cherished for over 60 years.

Please respect the will of the people and select OPTION D - repave the road as it is with no bike/pedestrian path.

Thank you.

I live on Jackson Park Dr., and as long as we still have available parking on both sides of the street. I think project A would be the best compromise.

Dwayne

We live right on JPD and vote for Alternative D for many of the reasons already stated in other comments supporting option D. We are VERY opposed to the road being narrowed no matter what happens. From the comments it is clear we all love this park area as it exists right now. Well, except for the state of the crumbling road. Fix as is and please maintain going forward. Thank you.

Alternative A is the best option. Allows people to drive to the parkway and access for the day. Includes areas for people to have picnics, kids to run and play or someone to take their dog. Removing the road entirely would probably drive people away from the area. I like adding the walking/biking path as myself and my neighbors often walk along the parkway when the weather is nice out. Alternative A is the best idea

Had the county interviewed the people most affected by this change they could have saved thousands of dollars in design costs.
The majority of the curbing should not require replacement and the expensive relocation or removal of storm water infrastructure required by other options . Much of the severely damaged road was probably caused by poor drainage due to the road surface being below the gutters resulting in standing water during the many freeze thaw cycles. Removing the existing road asphalt and repaving with the finish grade at gutter level will alleviate standing water. The option “D” replacing the existing roadway provides the least disruption and inconvenience for existing residents or recreational traffic and simple road markings can provide bike and pedestrian zones favorable to the majority of residents that frequent the area for recreation without crowding the roadway for vehicles.

I live in the neighborhood, if walking to the park regularly counts. We walk there frequently and enjoy the park very much. We also bike in the area. We would very much appreciate a quieter, safer park, which Plan B clearly provides. It also seems like the much more financially prudent option. As a taxpayer, I appreciate that as well.

This beautiful park could be made even more pleasant by pursuing option B. The current roadway divides the park and adds a lot of unneeded pavement, at a location where creating a path for vehicle through traffic is not even a need. We walk in the park with some regularity, and would appreciate if it had a more unified and expansive feel. Thank you.

As a long-time resident of the neighborhood, I have used JPD many times over the years to feel safe riding my bike. That is, until recently because the road is now in such bad shape. I do not feel the need for a separate, narrower trail that is shared by bikers, pedestrians, and dogs. Too many chances for mishaps. Repave the road and fix the gutters and storm drains. Then keep up the maintenance of the road so it does not ever get this bad again. Option D.

Removed by moderator.

I meant, all the neighbors who live on this street want option with Roadway and Curbs & Gutter Replacement as is.

Removed by moderator.

I worry that the vocal minority are out-yelling the clear best option, which is option B. Cars are almost never on that road, rebuilding it and having to spend more to maintain it makes no sense. For cars that do want to drive on that road, it is barely an impediment at all to have them turn left onto 51st street and drive directly to Cleveland or Jerelyn. The bike path is by far the best approach.

As a homeowner on Jackson Park Drive, please do the right thing and repave Jackson Park Drive as it is, with no bike path.

To Milwaukee County:
What don't you understand about "NO"?
Let's back up about a year. This process should have STARTED by asking stakeholders for opinions. Instead, a plan had already been funded, then inadequately distributed to residents.
There was a very good turnout at the November, 2022 meeting, most in protest of the project, erroneously reported on the website.
At the February, 2023 meeting, it was stated that not enough parties responded to the informal survey to make it valid. Can we trust that? Over 75% of the speakers at that meeting were against the proposed trail. Well over 120 people were in attendance.
Why are all the signatures on the petition being ignored, as are the yard signs?
Where is our county supervisor in all of this? A year ago he stated that he would not allow a walking/bike path to replace a section of JPD if a majority of residents opposed it. Why didn't he stop it then, or now? He changes the dialogue depending on who he's talking to, and does not take responsibility for it at all. Now he seems to be abandoning it and running for alderperson. He ran for this position----where is his leadership?
A very distrustful impression of county management in this neighborhood has been evolving. The county continues to try to shove alternate ideas down our throats. They're spending time, money and energy on concocting different plans, when a majority of residents have spoken AGAINST all ideas except replacing the road in the present configuration. Stop trying to manipulate us with multiple meetings with poor notification methods, hokey online surveys and rankings that apparently go nowhere. The continuation of this debacle is very disrespectful to residents who live along Jackson Park Drive.
What don't you understand about "NO"?

Alternative D is third least expensive. I agree that, after repairing the road, the best use of remainder funds available is to repair (and maintain) the crumbling riverbank. While walking my dog along that otherwise beautiful area, I see trees fallen over, noxious weeds ignored, yard trash dumped but not removed by park maintenance. Every year I welcome a pair of mallards that nest there. It should be maintained in its natural state and cared for.
As for my neighbors whose property fronts the parkway, I share their concerns. Alternative D is my preference.