When Will Lake Park’s Ravine Road Reopen?

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Ravine Road is a 1,000-foot picturesque parkway that winds through one of Lake Park’s ravines, connecting Lincoln Memorial Drive to Lake Drive. The road was closed in 2014 due to potential dangers from the failing pedestrian bridge that spans it. Following a full restoration, the bridge reopened in November 2022.  

Since then, Milwaukee County has not reopened the historic road, which had been previously in use for more than 105 years. In a letter dated April 20, 2023, Tim Askin, senior planner for the City of Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission, wrote: “It is understood that the temporary closure was necessary due to the safety issues presented by the deteriorated bridge. Those safety issues are no longer present and permanent closure would harm the character and purpose of Lake Park and the Milwaukee County Parkway System.”

The 2013 Milwaukee County Parks and Parkways Historic Properties Management Plan includes guidelines for internal decision-making about historic roadways in the county’s system. The plan specifically notes the requirement to comply with the City of Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission rules regarding Lake Park.

Lake Park is part of the City of Milwaukee’s North Point North Historic District. Guidelines for the park state that, “Every attempt should be made to maintain the historic vehicular and pedestrian circulation system in the park including drives, paths, stairways and bridges.” Askin’s letter explained, “Per Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Ordinance (MCO 320-21-11), all alterations must be reviewed and approved by the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission through the Certificate of Appropriateness process. The following actions would be considered an alteration and include, but are not limited to, closure of the road to vehicular traffic; modifying the shape, width, or path of the roadway; or removing the roadway in its entirety.”

Lake Park, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ravine Road is cited as “contributing” to Lake Park’s historic significance.

In 2019, Milwaukee County proposed revamping Ravine Road, including possibly widening it, restricting its use, or abandoning it. The parks department has proposed allocating $500,000 in the 2024 budget various to study options for the roadway. According to Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, proposed options include: “An in-kind replacement of the road for automobile traffic; replacement with a pedestrian/bicycle trail; a hybrid option that includes one-way automobile traffic and a pedestrian/bicycle trail; and tearing up the road and returning the landscape to nature.”

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Tim Anheuser, of Kapur, Inc., a Milwaukee-based engineering firm, reported to Lake Park Friends on July 24, 2023: “With tree trimming and minor maintenance I believe that the roadway could be quickly reopened. I recommend removal of the vegetated understory within 15’ of the edge of the roadway, trimming the over-story to open tree canopy, sweeping the roadways, cleaning the inlets, patching the locations of missing surface course, and crack filling … I would also recommend that the road be marked “No Trucking.”

In a recent letter to Wasserman, Anne Hamilton, president of Lake Park Friends, a nonprofit citizens group that supports the park, wrote that estimates for re-engineering the road were as high as $1.3 million in 2019. “With the budget crisis Milwaukee County is facing, why spend $500,000 [for planning] or more than $1.3 million [for one replacement option] when you could open the road now for next to nothing?” 

Sup. Wasserman will host two public meetings about Ravine Road issues:

Thursday, Sept. 7, 7-8:30 PM, Marcia Coles Community Room (in Lake Park’s pavilion, lower level), 3133 E. Newbury Blvd.

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 6-7:30 PM, East Branch Library, 2320 N. Cramer St.

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