Dozens of residents weigh in on proposed changes, expansions to South Shore Park

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Some changes will be coming to Milwaukee's South Shore Park in the next few years.

Tuesday night, the community had a chance to weigh in on new ideas presented by the county with a goal of revamping the park.

Current plans in the works involve replacing the breakwater and relocating the beach to the south, both for environmental concerns.

While those improvements have been discussed for years, other concepts that were announced Tuesday will need more discussion.

The Milwaukee County Parks Department recently released a survey with several different renderings of expansions and changes to the area around the playground and beer garden.

Tuesday's public meeting gave more context to the ideas, which include amenities such as the addition of bench swings, circular seating areas, hammocks, and other design changes.

Parkgoers that attended the meeting shared a mix of opinions on the changes, many expressing that ideas need to be generated with more people at the table.

"I would hope that we take a step back, and we not reject change, and we not reject growth, but we manage it," said resident Stephanie Harling.

While there isn't funding behind most of those ideas yet, a revamped playground is a done deal, with $593,605 approved toward the project in the 2022 county budget.

"Safety is a really big concern here, this playground has been loved to death, so I'm really glad we can replace it in a way that makes sense to the community," said District 4 County Supervisor Ryan Clancy.

Along with the playground renovation came an option of moving the playground north of the beer garden.

At Tuesday's meeting, public attendees unanimously said they preferred to keep the playground where it is.

"It compliments some other amenities that we had planned for, and we installed," Harling said.

The expansion ideas bring up another concern of traffic increases in the party.

Part of the survey includes concepts for parking changes. Some ideas would increase parking capacity.

Most neighbors were averse to increasing parking, especially at the cost of losing park land.

"I don't want to see more unnecessary traffic, and really I don't want to see park space turned into surface parking along our beautiful lakefront," said resident Guy Temple.

With a focus on safety and accessibility, the county will stay at the drawing board, with plans to keep the community involved along the way.

"I knew folks would have opinions about the space, it's a really loved space by a lot of people for different reasons. I hope we can reconcile those and make it something for everyone," Supervisor Clancy said.

The new playground is expected to be completed by spring of 2024.

You can access the renderings and public survey here.

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