There is no question that the connection between Milwaukee’s lakefront and downtown is underwhelming. Despite the fact that they meet at Lincoln Memorial Drive, there is no grand connection between the two, which is unfortunate as the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Drive and Michigan Street is a gateway to the city.

The original plans for Lakeshore State Park called for an interpretive center to be built on the park at a time when funds are able to be raised to pay for the development of the facility.

Much like cities around the world, Milwaukee owes its existence to water. Access to fresh water allowed it to become the Brew City, fueled its development, and was quite literally why it is located where it is, at the gathering of waters. This history has given the Milwaukee area a firm foundation in water technology and research that can be applied to water issues facing the world.

At the May 3rd, 2010 City Plan Commission meeting the proposed Milwaukee River Greenway Overlay District was brought for the commission for approval. This overlay district would impact 370 properties, these are properties that property lines are within approximately 50 feet of the river bluff, of which 70 to 80% is existing parkland.

Lake Michigan faces a wide range of threats, but the most pressing is the latest in a long line of invasive species, Asian Carp. The issue isn’t simply that these fish consume the food supply of salmon, trout, bass, and perch destroying the ecosystem in the process, but the havoc that these fish create is a danger to recreational users. These fish can grow up to 100 pounds and have a dangerous habit of jumping out of the water when disturbed by boats.

Waukesha has been working towards obtaining a diversion of Lake Michigan water from the City of Milwaukee purportedly, because Waukesha has an issue with radium in their water supply due to depletion of their well water levels to an unsustainable level. The question of selling Great Lakes water to communities outside of the Great Lakes Basin is one that demands numerous questions be answered prior to any diversion being allowed. The request needs extra scrutiny because it would be the first request of its kind handled under the recently past Great Lakes Compact.

The UWM School of Freshwater Sciences will not continue their plans to build a new headquarters for the school on the lakefront site that formerly housed Pieces of Eight restaurant. We had supported the location choice, but that location choice was certainly controversial. Seeking a less controversial site to house the cornerstone piece of something so valuable to Milwaukee’s future is a wise move.

Normally we would greet you on Monday with an urban advocacy piece, but we were a little too busy enjoying all that urban Milwaukee had to offer this weekend. While normally just one of these events would pass as a big entertainment attraction across every other Wisconsin city, urban Milwaukee had at least eight organized and noteworthy events going on this weekend.

Rivianna, proposed by Developer Bob Schultz, will go before the Milwaukee City Plan Commission on July 13th, 2009. Schultz is attempting to gain approval of his detailed plan development as well as an amendment to general planned development and riverwalk design approval. If approved, the development will go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, and then onto the full Common Council.

It’s certainly good that we value our parks, public places, and the lakefront, so a public debate over the appropriateness of placing UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences on Lake Michigan is worth having, but the downtown lakefront is the right location.