Milwaukee County’s goal is to enrich your life by providing essential services that meet your needs and those of your family, neighbors, co-workers and friends.
We enhance the quality of life in Milwaukee County through great public service.
Milwaukee County is home to over 950,000 people living in one of 19 communities, which range in size from the City of Milwaukee, with 595,000 residents, to the Village of River Hills, with roughly 1,600 residents.
Still a manufacturing stronghold, the region features 16 Fortune 1000 companies and thousands of others in the financial services, medical device, hospitality and retailing industries.
Find information about things to do and happenings in Milwaukee County.
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Milwaukee County has partnered with Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to achieve Area of Concern goals related to the Kletzsch Dam Fish Passage Project. MMSD is working with contractor Inter-Fluve, Milwaukee County Parks, and WDNR to explore the community preference for east side fish passage. The project will:
If land can be acquired and the project challenges can be overcome, MMSD will take the lead on implementing fish passage design and construction, along with the dam repairs.
Milwaukee County will retain ownership of the dam and fishway and will be responsible for all future maintenance.
For updates on the Kletzsch Dam Fish Passage and other AOC projects connect with the Waterway Restoration Partnership.
Email to Sign up for Updates
The food and drink concessionaire at Bradford Beach, owners of the Dock, are proposing to enhance the underused second-level of the Bradford Beach bathhouse with additional seating and a modular container bar.
The plans for the upgrades have been reviewed by the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Historical Preservation Committee and the Lakefront Development Advisory Committee (LDAC). Milwaukee County Parks will review the plans in spring 2021.
Proposal Key Points
View Building Plans
View LDAC Review
Milwaukee County is moving forward with replacement of the culvert under the Oak Leaf Trail (OLT) Zip Line where a sink hole has developed. The sink hole is north of Silver Spring Road and west of Green Bay Road in the City of Glendale. The Zip Line is one of the most popular segments of the OLT, with average usership of over 350,000 trips a year. Currently, the trail is closed, with a detour running parallel. Construction will take place in late summer/early fall.
After viewing the Digital Information Meeting, the Public is invited to comment through Friday, May 28 at 5 p.m..
Digital Information Meeting
In an online public information meeting June 17, 2020, project team members presented information about the Ravine Road Bridge Rehabilitation Project. Topics discussed included the project scope, work to date, historical considerations, and schedule for final design and construction of the bridge. Project work has been funded through a $2M Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
2021-2022 Construction Key Points
View Project Description
View Meeting Agenda
View the Video of the Online Meeting
View the Meeting Presentation (pdf)
View Construction Site Boundaries
Consultants recently completed an engineering study of the McKinley Flushing Channel, which is in a state of significant deterioration and in need of rehabilitation. The channel currently serves as a navigation way, provides dockage and serves boating operations at the Milwaukee Yacht Club.
A project team is developing plans for reconstructing the channel walls, envisioned as primarily steel sheet pile with a concrete cap and railings. A portion of the historic channel walls will be reconstructed to tie into the headwall of the channel reconstructed by MMSD in 1996. A walkway along the west side of the channel will provide a connection to the McKinley Marina walkway system.
The public was invited to submit comments on the project through Feb. 19.
View Presentation Video
View Presentation Slides
Grant Park's northernmost parkway drives and parking lots are severely degraded, indicating the pavement has reached the end of its useful life.
Phased reconstruction will address the area from the northern park entrance (Lake Drive between Badger Avenue and Brookdale Court) eastward to the parking lot serving picnic areas (#7 – #9), and southward to the Wil-O-Way Grant facility. During paving operations, traffic on the Oak Leaf Trail will be rerouted. Reconstruction will not affect southern Grant Park facilities such as the golf course.
Construction, scheduled to begin in late spring, will consist of pulverizing existing asphalt, re-grading, and adding new asphalt pavement, concrete walk, curb and gutter, and pervious pavers. Construction will be substantially complete by fall, when turf restoration will occur.
View the Site Plan
View the Detour Plan
View the Capital Improvements Budget
Underwood Creek Parkway from West Bluemound Road to North 119th Street in Wauwatosa is severely deteriorated, with cracked and heaving pavement that is hazardous for vehicles and bicycles. This segment of parkway has received a rating of 26 out of 100.
Replacement work consists of removing the existing asphalt surface and adding new concrete curb and gutter, concrete ribbon, new asphalt surface, LED lighting, new drainage structures, and storm sewer. Storm water best management practices, green infrastruture and natural areas restoration will be incorporated where applicable. In addition, sustainable practices may include reprocessed, reclaimed, or salvaged material in mixes for the surface, binder, and base courses of the pavement.
As a shared-use roadway, the parkway was designed to the Wisconsin Bicycle Facility Handbook Guidelines. The project will improve access to the existing Oak Leaf Trail, feature new OLT wayfinding signage and have a new trail counter.
Construction of the project is scheduled to begin on or after July 6 and will be substantially complete in fall.
In Summer 2020, the northeast corner of Washington Park was regraded and reseeded to address drainage issues and to improve the area for soccer fields or other field activities. The seven-acre area is the location of former baseball fields and is currently used for soccer. The majority of work on the project was completed in Fall 2020, but the area will remain out of service well into 2021 to allow the new turf to fully develop.
The Vogel Park parking lot, service building and wading pool, which has been closed for several years, were demolished in January 2021. The demolition expands the usable area of the park and opens the possibility of new amenities in the future.
As part of continued upgrades to Shore Shore Park, all of which are designed to improve water quality, four design concepts to move the South Shore Beach were proposed. Consultants completed their report, construction drawings and specifications in 2019.
View Proposed Designs
View Project Update (12/02)
Upgrades to McKinley Marina took place from August - November 2019.
The project, supported in part by grants from Fund for Lake Michigan and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, include a new entry and marina drive configuration with dedicated turn lanes onto Lincoln Memorial Drive; reconstructed parking lots; new walkways; enhanced stormwater management through the use of permeable pavers and bio-infiltration basins; installation of new lighting, trees and native landscaping; and upgrades to gas and electrical utilities.
Construction will take place in three stages to keep entry open to the marina boat-launching and parking areas during the project. One entry lane and one exit lane will remain in place throughout the project. However, parking capacity will be diminished over the course of the project.
This phase of the project did not impact the existing boat launches and piers, boat trailer parking, the fish cleaning facility or dry boat storage; those elements will be part of future phases of construction. The 2019 – 2020 construction is Phase 1 of a planned three-phase project to fully upgrade the marina facility.
View Phase I Details
Milwaukee County Parks is reviewing proposals for small cell or wireless facilities. The streamlined application process allows the department to ensure limited negative impact to parklands. Use the links to see locations of project proposals that have been reviewed. Sites under review may include multiple options.
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A former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) storage building in Whitnall Park, constructed in 1937, was identified as a serious health hazard in 2014. The facility, which was suspected of containing PCBs and lead paint, had been unoccupied for many years and was infested with rodents and black mold. The structural integrity of the entire building was severely compromised due to water infiltration.
The Milwaukee County Facilities Condition Assessment Unit visited the building in 2014 and recommended it for demolition at that time. The service contract for demolition was initiated in 2017. The process of disconnecting utilities continued through 2018-19 and demolition occurred in early 2020.
A marker currently exists at the site. This marker will be updated to match similar markers at other former CCC sites in the park system. Efforts will be made to increase the visibility of the sign to maintain awareness of the location's historical significance.
The health and safety of park visitors and staff is always our top priority.
The Dineen Park Stormwater Detention and Park Improvements Project, led by the City of Milwaukee, consists of a 7-acre stormwater pond, improved walking paths, a new community playground, a 16- by 28-foot picnic shelter, a reconstructed 350-foot baseball field, a redesigned 18-hole disc golf course, improved fishing overlook, updated pedestrian lighting, and native plantings and new trees throughout the park.
The majority of the project was completed in late 2019 with some minor landscape work carrying over to spring of 2020. In fall, vegetation was established, with measures taken to keep foot traffic off the site. Bridge work also was done within the project boundaries, and fencing remained in place until late 2020.
Lagoon dredging and channel stabilization began in November 2020, with the lagoon and area to the east fenced off until work is complete in summer.
For the safety of the local residents and workers, access is restricted to most of the park during construction. Temporary traffic signs are in place as needed, and construction vehicles use city streets.
Access to the community room, splash pad, and basketball and tennis courts on the west side of the park will remain open during construction.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) has begun work on a project to revitalize the Kinnickinnic River through Pulaski Park. The project will remove the concrete river bank and widen the channel. A new children's playground and a futsal court will be added as part of the project.
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9480 W. Watertown Plank Road Wauwatosa, WI 53226 (414) 257-PARK (7275)