Board Backs Less Road-To-Trail Conversion in Jackson Park

Jackson Park Roadway. Photo by Milwaukee County Parks.

The Milwaukee County Board is backing a plan by two supervisors that would change a road-to-trail project opposed by some neighborhood residents.

Milwaukee County Parks planned to convert a section of Jackson Park Drive into a trail. But after significant pushback from some of the neighbors, two area supervisors have developed an alternative plan and secured the backing of their colleagues on the board.

The roadway, owned by Parks, has not been redone since the 1980s. The department planned to convert the parkway to a mixed-use trail between S. 51st Street and S. 58th Street. The project would not cut off driveway access for any homes along the street. The project would save parks money in the short term on the reconstruction and in the long term on maintenance costs.

Enough residents were outraged that parks would remove a roadway that the two local supervisors, Peter Burgelis and Juan Miguel Martinez, came out against the parks plan and pushed a different plan, which they view as a compromise between Parks’ vision and residents’ concerns.

The compromise plan reduces the converted trail from seven blocks to just two, between S. 51st and S. 53rd streets. The plan would cost taxpayers more, as roads are more expensive to reconstruct and maintain than trails.

The department estimated the compromise plan would cost $1,804,704. The original road-to-trail plan was estimated at $1,531,025.

Martinez told his colleagues at the board meeting on March 21 that he heard a “resounding consensus” from local residents opposing the plan and desiring to have the road rebuilt as it is today.

Supervisors Felesia Martin and Sheldon Wasserman congratulated their colleagues for developing a plan that creates a compromise between what the neighbors want and what parks want.

But at a meeting of the board’s Committee on Parks and Culture, residents that spoke in opposition to the project also opposed the compromise.

Parks reasoning for converting the trail was to reduce longterm road maintenance costs and pollution caused by stormwater runoff.

Sup. Shawn Rolland was the only supervisor to vote against the proposal. With its vote, the board has communicated to parks what project it prefers their colleagues’ proposal. The department planned to pursue funding for the conversion project in the 2025 budget.

However, whether supervisors feel like spending extra money on the supervisors’ compromise plan in the fall remains to be seen. The Office of the Comptroller is already projecting a budget deficit for 2025, reporting that cuts and property tax increases will be required to balance the budget next year.

In the first year of the new 0.4% sales tax, county policymakers were able to replace property tax funding used for pension costs with new sales tax dollars. This created a pool of property tax dollars that were used to provide property tax relief and fund a number of new projects. But that pool of funding won’t be available in the 2025, because it was moved to other areas of the county budget.

Supervisors were awash in extra cash during the 2024 budget cycle. With a return to deficit budgeting, there will be less money for much desired park projects in all 18 supervisory districts, and the difference between the compromise plan and the original parks plan is roughly the cost of a new playground.