Planned Riverwalk Lets You Touch the Water
City seeking grant to pay for "The Node" riverwalk in the Harbor District
The City of Milwaukee is planning a special “Node” along the proposed 4,300-foot-long Milwaukee RiverWalk segment in the Harbor District. The feature would allow the public to touch the water, while also creating an aquatic habitat and spawning zone.
“The intention here is to give people a way to access the water that is unheard of on the Milwaukee River and Kinnickinnic River,” said Department of City Development riverwalk project manager Alyssa Remington in presenting a grant proposal to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee board Thursday afternoon.
But following a community survey, initial planning and cost estimating, the vision for segment was expected to exceed the $11 million construction budget.
“We are looking now to pare things down a bit, but not without seeking additional funding,” said Remington.
“The Node,” to be located approximately 800 feet south of Harbor View Plaza, is one such feature DCD wants to keep. It would cost an estimated $460,000, with $150,000 to come from a Wisconsin Coastal Management Program grant.
“Fingers crossed it all goes well,” said the riverwalk manager of the grant application. She said the city has successfully secured grants from the program in the past.
RACM board member Bill Schwartz asked how deep the water would be.
“I can’t imagine that it is going to be very deep,” said Remington, without giving a specific number. “But you’re right, safety would have to be taken into consideration.”
The city hopes to begin construction on the northern leg of the riverwalk, including The Node, in early 2022 and on the southern leg in 2023. The Union Pacific railroad tracks that run diagonally through the area divide the two legs.
RACM assistant director Dave Misky praised Remington’s work on the project and said the southern leg could eventually end up being built adjacent to a rip-rap wall instead of a traditional, vertical dockwall.
“It’s tied to these ‘Area of Concern’ initiatives we have been working on,” said Misky of the multi-party effort to remove the federal pollution designation on Milwaukee’s waterways.
“We are moving ahead with the design we can afford, but at the same time we are seeking the opportunity to enhance that,” said Remington.
One of those areas of potential enhancement is the pathway around a privately-owned parcel in the middle of the planned riverwalk. The riverwalk will need to wrap around the 1.2-acre waterfront parcel and cross the railroad tracks slightly inland to connect the two legs.
“They’ve been very approachable,” said Misky of the parcel’s owner. City assessment records indicate the property is owned by David Kadinger Jr., head of Kadinger Marine Service.
The RACM board unanimously approved applying for the grant.
The city adopted design standards for a Harbor District riverwalk in 2020.
2021 Riverwalk Design Standards
2021 Design Concepts
South Harbor Campus Renderings
More about the Area of Concern Abatement Effort
- ‘Living Breakwater’ Would Protect Harbor - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 8th, 2023
- MKE County: County Planning Habitat Restoration in Milwaukee River Greenway - Graham Kilmer - Jan 13th, 2023
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Harbor Commission Approves Massive Cleanup Facility - Jeramey Jannene - Aug 18th, 2022
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Planned Riverwalk Lets You Touch the Water - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 22nd, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Contaminated Canal To Become Restored Wetland - Jeramey Jannene - May 13th, 2021
- DNR To Host Public Meeting On Dredging Materials In The Milwaukee Estuary Area Of Concern - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - May 6th, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Massive Harbor, River Cleanup Moving Forward - Jeramey Jannene - Jan 8th, 2021
- PFAS, Other Pollutants Found In Rivers - Isiah Holmes - May 11th, 2020
- PFAS Found In Sediment and Surface Water At Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - May 7th, 2020
- Eyes on Milwaukee: $29 Million Partnership to Clean Up Harbor - Jeramey Jannene - Jan 28th, 2020
Read more about Area of Concern Abatement Effort here
More about the Komatsu South Harbor Campus
- Eyes on Milwaukee: City Expands Vision For Harbor District Riverwalk - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 16th, 2022
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Inside Komatsu Mining’s Massive New Harbor District Campus - Jeramey Jannene - Jun 27th, 2022
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Planned Riverwalk Lets You Touch the Water - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 22nd, 2021
- Friday Photos: South Harbor Campus Rising Over Inner Harbor - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 30th, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: SmithGroup Will Design Harbor District Riverwalk - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 30th, 2021
- Transportation: State To Fund Road, Rails for Komatsu - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 9th, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Who Wants To Design Harbor Riverwalk? - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 2nd, 2021
- Transportation: Railroad Expansion in the Harbor District - Jeramey Jannene - Feb 17th, 2021
- Friday Photos: Komatsu Mining Campus Takes Shape - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 6th, 2020
- Friday Photos: Construction Underway on Largest New Urban Manufacturing Plant in US - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 4th, 2020
Read more about Komatsu South Harbor Campus here
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