Washington Park Bridges

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on this project. I worked as an educator at the Washington Park Urban Ecology Center for 6 years and still live in the neighborhood. I have spent a great deal of time using the bridge and am so glad they are being repaired. While I love the historical look and feel of the bridges, I strongly believe that the replacement project should strive to create structures that last for as long as possible. Our parks belong to current and future users, not past users. I want all students who visit Washington Park to use safe bridges and to return to safe bridges with their children and grandchildren. I strongly support the construction of the new concrete design and my second choice is the beautiful wooden bridge design. Thank you again for taking on this important project!
Laurel Cutright

January 11, 2023


To Milwaukee County Parks:

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments regarding the concrete pedestrian bridges in Washington Park. Washington Park is a singular natural and historical amenity, designed by famed landscape architect and social reformer Frederick Law Olmsted. As the national voice for Olmsted parks and places, we at the Olmsted Network (formerly National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP)) are grateful for the County’s interest in maintaining this exceptional park. In that spirit, we recommend that due time and care be taken before any decisions are made, as outlined more fully below.

The engineering report on proposed bridge designs -- completed in April 2022 -- should be widely circulated and publicized. https://www.mkecountyparks.org/washington-park-bridges
Notably, a majority of public comments support rehabilitation of the existing Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-era concrete and stone bridges. This is in keeping with recommendations set out in the taxpayer-funded County Historic Properties Management Plan,
https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/survey/highway/Milw%20Co%20Historic%20Properties%20Management%20Plan.pdf, p. 37
(“Rehabilitation should always be considered as the preferred treatment for a historic bridge.”)

The CCC bridges represent a critical piece of urban Milwaukee history. The CCC employed hundreds of unemployed workers during the Great Depression to create important public infrastructure. This engagement has been respected and acknowledged in other Olmsted Parks. East Bay Parks, designed by Olmsted’s son, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., relied on CCC construction. As outlined here, https://livingnewdeal.org/preserved-forever-ccc-helped-build-park-district/, a CCC model was lovingly restored. The National Park Service has chronicled the work of the CCC in the District of Columbia, where the Olmsteds were active, noting the CCC’s important role in constructing bridges in both national and state parks. http://npshistory.com/publications/ccc/ccc-ncr.pdf
Respecting these historic structures will provide residents and tourists with unique insights into Milwaukee’s past and our nation’s past.

The bridges are not just bridges; they are essential to the full appreciation of the designed lagoon.

When siting this park, Frederick Law Olmsted noted the 15-acre native forest and high rolling hills. Indeed, elevations in Washington Park made the lake visible before mature trees obscured those views. As outlined in a brief history of the park, https://olmsted200.org/spotlight-on-washington-park-in-milwaukee-wi/, published in 2022,

"Its central feature was a naturalistic lagoon that also served ice skating and boating. By the early 1900s, the park became Milwaukee’s most popular location for ice skating, according to the park commission’s annual reports. West Park was laid out with separate curving pedestrian walkways and carriage paths. Picturesque vistas highlighted the park’s undulating terrain and lagoon—and were featured on many postcards."

In determining how to proceed with these bridges, it is important to pay attention to the impact they will have on the visual and historic character of the park and this picturesque lagoon. The current bridges, though not original, have a distinctive character – as public comments surely affirm.

The budget projections are based on creating bridges that will be able to bear two kinds of very heavy trucks. Since these bridges are – and have been – pedestrian bridges, it is not at all clear why calculations would require such heavy trucks. There are ways to address maintenance and other concerns without the use of heavy trucks and alternative approaches are worth exploring.

2022 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted. Because of this landmark, there has been inspiring evidence of Milwaukee’s renewed appreciation for its rich Olmsted heritage -- Lake, Riverside and Washington Parks, and Newberry Boulevard. Notwithstanding, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has listed Washington Park on its national endangered list, https://www.tclf.org/nationally-significant-olmsted-landscapes-threatened, underscoring the park’s fragility and drawing broad national attention to actions taken by public officials and others in the park.

As outlined in the recent op ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/12/20/frederick-law-olmsted-created-four-gems-in-milwaukee-protect-them/69722757007/,
Olmsted’s parks present aesthetic, cultural and economic opportunities for the city, which require considered deliberation. Maintaining and renewing Washington Park responsibly for full public enjoyment is surely a top priority. We thank Milwaukee County Parks for initiating this effort and look forward to further conversation.

Respectfully submitted
Anne Neal Petri, President and CEO
Olmsted Network

The Olmsted Network is the national voice for Olmsted parks, places and principles. Our network includes more than 100 organizations across the country including Lake Park Friends, Yerkes Future, Chicago Parks Foundation, Central Park Conservancy, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Seattle Parks, Biltmore, Bok Tower Gardens, Yosemite Conservancy, Midway Plaisance Park Advisory Council and others dedicated to protecting Olmsted parks and landscapes. The Olmsted Network is serving as the Managing Partner of Olmsted 200, www.olmsted200.org.

I was at the Jan. 4th meeting . I like the proposed concrete bridge replacement plan. I really wish the seriously degraded post and chain barriers between the nearby landing and the lagoon would be included in this project, as they are also a serious safety issue for people near the north/east bridge. I have been told at the first bridge meeting I attended that those are the UEC’s problem, but I disagree . That landing area is a general usage area, and it is my observation, as a frequenter of Washington Park, that people who cross the bridges usually will walk down to this landing. To have ancient crumbling post and chain barriers , some of which have fallen into the lagoon , within a few feet of brand spanking new bridges will be irresponsible in terms of public safety. I urge you to address this within the scope of the bridge project .

Greetings,

Thank you for all the hard work and thoughtful design of the new bridges. I attended the Jan 4, 2023, public meeting at Washington Park senior center. It was a good discussion. I think the next step is to put the bridges into the context of all the other things that are happening in and near Washington Park. I believe it is essential to bring together at a public meeting all the other current and anticipated projects and plans for Washington Park, including the Urban Ecology Center new building, the proposed rebuild of the county parking lot and new facilities just east of the UEC "boat house", the rehab of the lagoons, the proposed rebuild of Highway 175 on the west edge of the park, all the UEC proposed clearing and replanting, and all the many elements of the original Olmsted design. I encourage you to bring all the major players, interest groups and community organizations into a comprehensive conversation about how all these pieces fit together. Collectively, the community needs to create a shared vision, a common future for our park, that integrates all these different elements into a comprehensive plan.
Keep up the good work.
thank You