Little Menomonee River Parkway Trail Conversion

This project involves converting an under-utilized and difficult-to-maintain parkway segment to a walking and biking mixed-use trail to provide enhanced recreational amenities, reduce maintenance costs, reduce reckless driving and speeding, and encourage active lifestyles and healthy activities. Specifically, the Parks Department proposes to convert the Little Menomonee River Parkway from Leon Terrace Ave. to W. Appleton Ave. (1 mile) to a dedicated walking and biking trail with no motor vehicle through access. This segment of the parkway was identified because it does not connect park users to assets, the street network provides alternatives, the roadway is in poor condition, reckless driving is an issue for park users and staff safety, and the Oak Leaf Trail is routed on this parkway. Similar projects have been converted in Greenfield Park and along Underwood Parkway and have added value to the park system and neighbors in the process.

With this project, maintenance for these segments is estimated to be reduced by 50%. The expected lifecycle of trails is 25 years. It is estimated that the maintenance reduction will save $12,000 of 52 hours worked per year in asphalt patching and road plowing. These savings could be realized financially or reallocated to other needs in the parks system.

This project aligns with Milwaukee County's goal to become the healthiest county in Wisconsin by achieving racial equity by bridging the gap when it comes to health disparities.

Milwaukee County Parks has funding for design and construction.

Summary of Public Information Meeting

Milwaukee County Parks alongside GRAEF facilitated a public open house on Monday, November 13, 2023, from 5:30pm-7:00 pm at Maple Tree Elementary School (6644 North 107th Street, Milwaukee, WI). The public meeting was promoted via the County website, social media, and yard signage that was posted in the neighborhood. Approximately 21 people attended the public meeting.

At the Public Information meeting, the project team presented two trail concepts for the Little Menomonee River Parkway roadway-to-trail conversion project. Trail Concept A proposed a new 10-foot-wide asphalt trail in place of the existing roadway from Appleton Avenue to Leon Terrace. Trail Concept B proposed a new 10-foot-wide asphalt trail in place of the existing roadway from Appleton Avenue to Mill Road and a separated trail adjacent to reduced road travel lanes from Mill Road to Leon Terrace. Attendees at the public meeting preferred Option A, showing full roadway-to-trail conversion for Little Menomonee River Parkway from Appleton Avenue to Leon Terrace due to the desire to eliminate cars and dumping.

Active Streets Closure Result

Since the start of the Active Streets road closure, which closed off a segment of Little Menomonee River Parkway from Appleton Avenue to Mill Road to vehicular traffic, illegal dumping incidents have drastically decreased in this segment. However, dumping continues to be an issue between Mill Road and Leon Terrace where the road remains open.

Oak Leaf Trail Connection

When evaluating the trail system in the area, the current roadway is a gap in the off-street Oak Leaf Trail hard trail network. A roadway-to-trail conversion from Appleton Avenue to Leon Terrace would eliminate this gap and provide nearly a mile of new off-street trail which connects to the existing off-street trail from Congress Street to the south and continues all the way north to Bradley Road, with only a small segment where the trail is on the road.

Design Decision

Since the existing road network offers alternate routes and based on feedback from the public information meeting and the considerations mentioned, the project team is proceeding with designing a roadway-to-trail conversion of Little Menomonee River Parkway from Appleton Avenue to Leon Terrace as shown on the map below.

Timeline

Planning and Intake: January 2023 - April 2023
Community Engagement: May 2023 - November 2023
Design: September 2023 - February 2024
Procurement: January 2024 - February 2024
Construction: January 2024 - September 2024
Closeout: September 2024 - December 2024