Kinnickinnic River Parkway - Jackson Park Drive

Jackson Park Drive Reconstruction

Project Update

At the Parks and Culture Committee meeting in March 2024, four primary alternatives for Jackson Park Drive were presented and discussed. Following this discussion, the Parks and Culture Committee, and subsequently the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on March 21, 2024, approved File #24-350, authorizing and directing the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture to proceed with developing construction plans for a compromise design referred to as ‘Alternative C’. This alternative includes the following:

• Reconstructing the city road segment in-kind
• Reducing the width of Jackson Park Drive and adding an 8-ft trail alongside it, from approximately the west County Park boundary to 53^rd Street, and from 51^st Street to approximately 130 feet from the east County Park boundary
• Converting the road to a 10-ft trail between 53^rd to 51^st Street
• Reconstructing the remaining portion of the road in-kind
• Replacing all curb and gutter and other infrastructure, such as storm sewers, where necessary

The design, along with its estimated construction cost, was presented to the board and included in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Culture’s 2025 capital project request. In 2024, the capital request for the construction of this project was approved as part of the 2025 Capital Budget.

As of March 2025, the team is finalizing the design of Alternative C. Please check back for updates on the construction timeline.

Project Location and Background

In 2019, Milwaukee County Parks received funding to complete a re-design of Jackson Park Drive. The road is currently in poor condition with a substandard pavement rating. Jackson Park Drive, which is County-owned except for a small segment (see map below), spans just under a mile and is located in the Jackson Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, bordering the City of West Allis. Jackson Park Drive is situated just south of the KK River Parkway and connects with the City of Milwaukee Street grid.

The road is adjacent to a residential neighborhood. The first 11 homes on the western end of Jackson Park Drive are located on the City of Milwaukee segment, creating a transition between municipal jurisdictions. The segment highlighted in orange on the map below is under the jurisdiction of Milwaukee County, while the segment in blue, along with the surrounding streets, falls under the City of Milwaukee’s oversight.

Public Outreach

On November 16, 2022, and October 5, 2023, Milwaukee County Parks hosted open house meetings to share project information with the public. Meeting materials from these events can be found under the Documents section.

In the weeks leading up to the November 2022 meeting, Parks staff visited neighbors adjacent to Jackson Park Drive and dropped off meeting invitations to every home north of W Cleveland Ave up to Kinnickinnic River Parkway and from S 47th St to S 60th St. Additionally, Parks staff participated in a public meeting on this project that the local County Supervisors hosted on February 25, 2023.

Alternatives Selection

Through an analysis of four potential alternatives for Jackson Park Drive, Milwaukee County Parks initially pursued a detailed design of Alternative B, which focused on narrowing the segments of roadway with driveway access, while replacing the portion of the road without residential driveway access with a 10’ wide asphalt bicycle and pedestrian trail from S 51st Street to the 5600 block of Jackson Park Drive.

Additionally, the design team pursued a detailed design of Alternative C, which includes a trail in the section between S 51st and S 53rd Streets. Road sections in this alternative would include new asphalt, new curb and gutter, and replacement of other infrastructure such as storm sewers, where necessary. Stormwater management best practices, green infrastructure, and restoration and management of natural areas may also be incorporated into the design.

As mentioned above, File #24-350 authorized and directed the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture to proceed with developing construction plans for ‘Alternative C’.