Supervisors Support New Zoo Entrance

Milwaukee County Zoo. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A proposal to redevelop the admissions gate at the Milwaukee County Zoo received support Thursday from a committee of the Milwaukee County Board.

County government is on track to finish 2023 with a $36.6 million budget surplus, according to the latest projection from the Office of the Comptroller. Sup. Shawn Rolland authored legislation that would use $1,737,050 from the surplus to reconfigure the entrance at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

The zoo entrance project was previously vetted and approved by an ad-hoc county committee that reviews infrastructure projects, but funding did not make it into the 2024 budget.

“To me, there’s like four words, it’s about revenue, experience, safety and traffic,” Rolland said of the project.

The zoo’s parking lots are located behind the admission kiosks, which can cause large traffic backups at the entrance. Cars are regularly lined up along W. Bluemound Road all the way to the nearby freeway on-ramps, Rolland said. In addition, the long wait to get into the parking lot can cause cars to drive away rather than continue to wait.

Rolland said he was stuck in a long traffic jam with his family on his way to the Wild Lights event. “I saw others decide to park across the street and then try to run across Bluemound — which is like almost like trying to run across a race track — with little kids,” he said.

The plan is to move the location of the admission kiosks closer to the actual entrance to the zoo, allowing patrons to park before getting in line to pay admission.

“This is an opportunity to drive revenue to the zoo, improve the zoo experience, improve safety for the folks who visit the zoo and improve a traffic issue,” he said.

Zoo Director Amos Morris said he is “fully supportive” of the project. “I think not only will it help the zoo or help the community that surrounds the zoo,” he said.

Morris said the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has plans to resurface Bluemound Road, and that this will make the traffic situation near the entrance worse. “So it’d be nice to get ahead of that,” he said.

The Committee on Finance voted unanimously in favor of the project. It goes to the full board for final approval on Dec. 21.