New Park Will Be Built Atop 24th Street
One block of southside street near MPS school would become neighborhood amenity.
Road-to-park replacement of S. 24th Street. Image from Milwaukee Public Schools.
A partnership of the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) will result in a portion of S. 24th Street being converted into a public play space, including a new soccer field.
“On the really densely populated Near South Side, there is not a lot of space for new public parks,” said Department of City Development planning manager Sam Leichtling to the City Plan Commission on Monday.
But that’s what residents who live near the Rogers Street Academy, 2430 W. Rogers St. said they want, noted MPS facilities planning analyst Nicholas Straube of a multi-year community engagement process.
Additionally, a portion of the building is leased to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the nonprofit is seeking a larger playground as part of a lease extension. “It’s used a lot,” said Straube of what is currently a 15-foot-wide facility along S. 25th Street. The facility, however, isn’t suitable for playing ball games, said Straube.
The city and school district are now planning to effectively create new land for a green space. Using a portion of MPS’ federal pandemic relief funds, the partners will close the 250-foot segment of S. 24th Street between W. Legion and W. Rogers streets, which parallels the K3-8th grade school.
The central new amenity on this land will be a youth soccer field, with an artificial-turf playing surface and high netting. “The goal would be to prevent balls from flying into traffic or from getting into neighbors’ lots,” said Straube.
Other amenities include new play spaces, an outdoor classroom, outdoor musical play equipment and green infrastructure equipment backed by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. A north-south walkway will be constructed through the site.
“It was made apparent by folks at [the Department of Public Works] and DCD that this needed to feel like a public space,” said Straube.
“Mayor [Cavalier Johnson] has made a commitment to using all of the tools at the city’s disposal to increase the number of gathering spaces across the community,” said Leichtling.
A portion of the site would still serve vehicles. A new oval drop-off area at the northern edge will connect with both W. Legion and S. 24th streets.
“Pickup and dropoff, like anywhere, is kind of a nightmare,” said Straube. He said the larger traffic pattern for buses would remain, but the new drop-off loop would be more controlled and safer.
An east-west alley, running from the middle of the block to the east, would be vacated and the western portion removed. The eastern portion would remain to service one resident’s parking pad. Three houses face the street getting eliminated, but would now line up with the drop-off area and retain their north-south alley access. Straube said they have been engaged in the process.
A parking lot, currently located across the street from the school, would be reconfigured. A smaller lot immediately adjacent to the school would be eliminated.
A raised intersection, known as a speed table, would be installed at S. 24th and W. Rogers streets on the south side of the new space. “Hopefully, this can be an example of a well-designed one,” said Straub. Not quite as severe as a speed hump, the design feature is intended to slow traffic.
Protective bollards would also be added at the northern edge of what would become a T intersection. “If you’re heading north up the rest of 24th Street, you’re not going to go flying into the soccer field.”
The city would maintain ownership of the footprint of S. 24th Street, but would give up the east-west alley through a vacation. A neighboring property owner and MPS would divide up ownership.
The commission unanimously endorsed the plan.
The Public Works Committee will next review the proposal, with the reconfiguration subject to Common Council approval.
Rogers Street Academy, according to Straube, is well attended. “There’s a waiting list.” The latest state report card for the school lists a 529-student enrollment and a “meets expectations” three-star rating. Eighty-nine percent of the student body identifies as Hispanic.
The population density of the area, the city’s Muskego Way neighborhood, is more than twice that of the city average.
This isn’t the first time a portion of S. 24th Street has been closed. Four blocks to the north, a portion of the street was closed between 1975 and 1985 according to historic aerial images. The closure, today a green space with a sidewalk, is between the Milwaukee Health Department Southside Health Center and the Milwaukee Recreation O.A.S.I.S. Senior Center.
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Related Legislation: File 231134, File 230329
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