2007 Summer Newsletter

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2007 Summer Newsletter

Three good decisions for Bender Park

Three good recent decisions have thrown some needed cold water on plans to give most of Bender Park to the City of Oak Creek for real estate development. In June, the Lakefront Development Advisory Commission, County parks committee and County Board  all approved a moratorium on Bender land transfers.

Bender lies on the Oak Creek lakefront. The County built a marina there but lacks funds to develop the 300-acre park further. Oak Creek proposes to swap other nearby land for the parkland. Our POP board recently toured the park. Here’s Bill Hibbard’s report on the trek:

In sprawling Bender Park, there’s a five-acre swatch of woods that contains one of the most diverse plant communities in Milwaukee County. So says Richard Barloga, a Milwaukee naturalist who has done plant inventories across the region. He has identified 100 different trees, shrubs and ground plants in what he calls the Beech Woodland at Bender. Walking on a carpet of wildflowers, POP took a hike with Barloga, who says Beech Woodland exemplifies much of the the Milwaukee area of more than a century ago. He points out beech trees growing in abundance, along with Red Oak, Black Cherry, Sugar Maple and Shagbark Hickory .

On the undulating floor of the woods grow a profusion of perennials such as Trillium, Trout Lilies, Jack-in-the-Pulpits, Wood Anemones, Wild Leeks. Barloga notes that these ground plants form a natural solar energy system that soaks up spring sun, putting out leaves and flowers. Then, as the tree canopy leafs out and the sun’s light is shut off, the plants move the energy into underground storage units such as bulbs and tubers.

Around a vernal pond, Barloga points out yellow Swamp Buttercups, Blue Flag iris and low-lying Mayapples. He says nine types of sedges live here. As we approach, Chorus Frogs peep, but they go silent while we’re close. Apparently they don’t like an audience. A redwing blackbird and a lark flutter over yellow violets. Barloga counts five such large areas in Bender Park. “The natural areas of Bender far exceed those in many other conservation areas in the region,” he says. “The County should not yield these values to development.”

Developers, spare those lakefront bluffs

As ever larger, ever taller apartments are built along the stretch of Prospect Avenue overlooking downtown harbor, POP has become concerned about how these large bluff-top buildings will affect the green corridor of our lakefront below. Recently, POP members met to discuss our concerns with Robert Greenstreet, City director of planning and design.

POP’s point is that our tall wooded lake bluffs are a defining asset of our city. They provide a green backdrop for our waterfront beaches, parks, duck lagoon, bike trail and beautiful Lincoln Memorial Drive. If these soaring bluffs are invaded aggressively—if they are overbuilt, overlit, deforested, or if developers create showy facades on Lincoln Memorial Drive— the lakefront’s beauty will suffer. Architectural fallout (security fences, transformer boxes, unfinished garages etc.) is another worry. The bluffs already contain too much ugly clutter.

Properties on the east side of Prospect Avenue include bluff land. They extend down the bluff to a point ten feet from the edge of the former railroad right-of-way which today contains a picturesque County bike trail. POP understands the builder’s need to maximize buildable space and profits. But we are asking the City to establish guidelines that will require builders to respect the natural wooded character of the
lakefront bluffs. We’ll keep you posted on our efforts.

Inner-city park to go from “noplace” to “showplace”

You’ve read here before about plans to renew Johnsons Park at 1919 N. Fond du Lac Avenue. The project is led by Madison’s Urban Open Space Foundation,which promotes quality urban greenspace statewide. It’s backed by strong partners—the City, County, NAACP, neighbors, businesses, civic groups including POP. POP will help fundraise for the project. Here’s why we recommend it to you:

A crying need A 2002 study of Milwaukee County parks by the Public Policy Forum rated Johnsons Park last in terms of its condition and facilities. As is, it’s a liability. Its 13 acres were left over from a 1970s freeway cut made through the central city. The park has been used for construction dumping. It has few trees and no plantings. After storms, standing water collects at the children’s playground. Rest rooms are closed. A portable toilet chained to a tree serves the soccer field. Not surprisingly, the park attracts trash, crime, vandalism. No halfway measures can save it. It needs total revision and the ongoing support of a thoroughly invested community.

A beautiful plan The renewal plans drawn by landscape architect Stephen McCarthy are closely tailored to neighbors’ wishes. They include a welcoming entry plaza with comfortable seating, sports fields, a rain garden, performance pavilion, fitness area, play space, a walkway commemorating the neighborhood’s connection to the Underground Railroad in the19th Century. An adjacent schoolyard and a set of community gardens will be renovated also; the park, school and garden will interconnect! The park will serve basic needs. A community room will have a kitchen for cooking and nutrition classes, and space for health screening and education.

A step toward more park equity The same study which gave Johnsons Park its grade of D-minus found a broader pattern: parks in poor neighborhoods are of lesser quantity and quality than parks in rich areas. Half of the park’s largely African American neighbors live in poverty. The neighborhood has many old people and children. The UOSF effort to make the park a showplace—a project receiving national attention—is part of an initiative that is improving greenspace throughout the Fond du Lac/North Avenue neighborhood. It’s a step toward better greenspace equity.

POP’s hat is off to:

• The Milwaukee River Work Group for its stellar new initiative to preserve the green “viewshed” of the Milwaukee River from North Avenue to Silver Spring Drive.
• Milwaukee Tennis and Education Foundation’s new program to teach tennis, free, to kids in five parks. The program received a $100,000 Ford Foundation grant.
• Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic’s Greenpoint resolution which aims to restore park facilities.
• Artists Working in Education (AWE), now sending its cheery “truck studios” into parks to bring art lessons to kids for the ninth summer. The trucks are in 17 parks and playgrounds this year.