Underwood Parkway: Wildlife graces construction zones

It seems as though there is construction going on everywhere this summer - including in some of our parklands. Underwood Parkway, between 115th St. and Bluemound in Wauwatosa, is one of my regular routes. I've passed by its labyrinthine arrangement of construction fences many times since construction began on new power lines last June. (See my previous post about that unfortunate project.)

Yesterday as I drove along the parkway I spotted two adolescent fawns. One was between two lines of fencing, browsing on the grass. The other was standing directly in front of the closest rank of construction fences, as if the bright orange pattern was a studio backdrop. I wish! Fortunately, I had my camera with me. Unfortunately, it was in the trunk of the car. By the time I pulled over, got the camera out and lined up a shot the deer had jumped over the fence to join its sibling.

I took a few shots. As I was doing so, leaning casually against my car in order to minimize the chance of startling them (they looked up at me periodically to see what I might be doing), a large doe wandered into the scene.

After taking a few more shots I continued on with my errand. On my way back I slowed to see if I would spot the deer again. Lo and behold, not deer this time, but no fewer than seven wild turkeys were strolling along the lawn near the fencing. Three of them were youngsters (or females?), judging by size and coloration. But the other four were the largest wild turkeys I've ever seen!

They were predictably camera shy (maybe thinking about Thanksgiving as autumn arrives!) They scurried off into the riparian woods when I started trying to get close for a good photo.

ATC begins tree cutting in Underwood Parkway

Those who have been following the Underwood Creek Parkway controversy about placing power lines through there to provide power to the proposed We Energies substation on the County Grounds know that permission was granted by the WI Public Service Commission months ago. (Read my original post describing the issues by clicking here.)

The work began in earnest recently. Wauwatosa, an officially designated "Tree City USA," is losing more of them. The power lines will run along the north side of the railroad tracks from the existing powerlines near 119th St. to 115th St. (above) They will then cross the tracks, the road, and Underwood Creek to follow the Oak Leaf Trail east of 115th St. (below)

I don't know what is being done in the park between the Parkway road and the creek west of 115th, but something is. Construction fences surround many of the existing trees and cyclone fences surround at least two sections where work is being done. Here's what it looked like over the weekend.

Power lines and parklands don't mix

I just returned from the Wauwatosa City Hall where a public hearing is underway regarding the plans to run transmission lines through parts of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa. The new lines would provide power to a planned substation to be built by We Energies next to its existing plant on the County Grounds. (Read more about these plans. Pictures included in earlier post.)

Much of the testimony was from people associated with either St. Theresa or the Milwaukee Montessori School, both of which will be impacted if plans proceed to run overhead power lines along their properties. I agree with their position that power lines should run underground. Since I don’t live next to any of the proposed routes, my concern is more general. However, it is no less passionate. I don't believe that this is merely a local issue.

Here is the gist of my testimony:

Many of us have heard from representatives of the ATC that the Commission will be choosing a power line route solely on an economic basis, that the cheapest route is always chosen. Furthermore, since parklands will always be less expensive to develop than locations with existing development, they will always be sacrificed for this inherent short-term economic advantage.

I hope that the ATC has mischaracterized the Commission’s intentions, that your deliberations will prove more flexible than they have claimed and that your understanding of the economics involved is more nuanced. If the only economic consideration is the narrow one that considers only the cost of constructing a power line, then by default our community will lose its parklands. More than that, every community where these circumstances exist will sacrifice parkland. Sadly, the places this loss will be felt the greatest is where they can least afford it, densely populated urban areas like ours.

There are many ways besides the cost of construction, of course, to measure economic costs – and benefits. In this case the benefits of preserving parkland and the benefits of burying the lines outweigh the narrow, short-term economic considerations. Some of the benefits are less tangible, like quality of life, but others truly are economic, like property valuations and the costs of physical and emotional health. These costs would not be bourn by the ATC but by the larger community. Ultimately, the short-term economic argument makes everyone poorer.

This is not just hearsay. There is legal precedent for the larger, more long-term economic view. In a 1971 ruling the US Supreme Court established in principle that parks should not be developed solely because they would be the cheapest alternative.

The loss of scarce parkland in urban areas is not an insignificant issue. Because of the well-documented benefits the current trend in cities throughout the country is to revitalize open spaces and to increase parklands wherever possible. Wisconsin has a well-earned reputation for its concern for the natural environment. If power lines are allowed to be built in urban parklands, not only will local communities suffer, but our reputation will be tarnished. It not only will be a huge step backwards but one that goes against prevailing wisdom.

I urge the Commission, as so many others are doing, to choose a route other than Underwood Parkway and to bury the lines.  (End of testimony.)

I might have added that, as a ratepayer myself I am willing to pay the extra amount that would be charged to pay for underground transmission lines. I also don’t understand why the ATC (as opposed to the PSC) has been so insistent that the cheapest route be chosen. Their interest, which is to profit from the construction of the line, is served in any case.

Earth Day Reflections on Milwaukee's Urban Wilderness

Adapted from a talk at the annual Earth Day celebration sponsored by the Great Waters Group of the Sierra Club.

When I decided in 1999 to name my book Urban Wilderness, I had never heard the term. I thought I’d found a new, wonderfully paradoxical metaphor for the powerful experiences I’d had in Milwaukee. I found out later that someone else had a book so named back in the 1980’s about New York City’s parks, but the term certainly was not in common usage. Today, it’s a different story. Google alerts me whenever someone in cyberspace uses the term and it happens a couple times a week. I think it is an indication of how far we’ve come since 1999.

Fallen giant - Riverside Park

Definitions of “urban wilderness” generally emphasize two things: First, the ability of a natural area to sustain a level of biodiversity that is not typical of urban parks; and second, the aesthetic of wildness, which is to say an appearance of not being managed (almost universally an illusion). The idea of “urban wilderness,” with all its contradictions, challenges, and aspirations, seems part of the spirit of the times. I consider it a hopeful measure of how we see ourselves in the world. To embrace the idea of urban wilderness is to welcome nature into our lives wherever we live, especially in cities or in suburbs.

This may not seem like a radical notion. After all, the Sierra Club has been caring for the earth for over a hundred years. But during most of that time “nature” meant pristine parklands, usually far away and in need of protection from ourselves. Truly more radical, “urban wilderness” expresses the idea that we can enjoy valuable experiences with nature without leaving the city. Olmsted conceived something like it, to be sure, but the casual way the term is used today seems a recent shift in public awareness.

County Grounds Park

As our cities grow ever larger (which they must because high-density living is the only sensible way to avoid sprawl), we will need more opportunities to spend time in relatively wild nature – not just parks – within our urban communities. We must be vigilant constantly about what little parkland and open spaces we have left. Although this requires leadership, it is too important to be left solely to traditional “environmental advocates.” Open green spaces are simultaneously the most important places to save for public use as parklands and the easiest to exploit for economic development. In contrast to the usual scenarios in which “environmentalists” are pitted against “developers,” we cannot afford to see this as a conflict between “good and evil.” We need economic development. We also need to preserve green space. The questions are where and how.

I believe “urban wilderness” is a hopeful idea. But it is also a challenging one. Its central paradox is that urban natural areas are not natural. Their existence depends on deliberate decision-making, planning, and – yes – management. Wherever there is open space there will be pressure to take advantage of it. Conflicts often arise out of genuine needs that seem to be in opposition.

Underwood Creek Parkway

I don’t have to look far from home for examples. We Energies and the American Transmission Company want to run power lines through Milwaukee County’s Underwood Creek Parkway. That has never happened before; thus, it would set a tragic precedent. The plan is broadly and justifiably opposed. But the problem is complex. We all bear responsibility for the need to have power lines because of our energy-intensive lifestyles. We also need unsullied parks and parkways. Any alternative route must acceptable to We Energies – and all stakeholders – as well as the outraged public. But an alternative must be found.

Another example is the Milwaukee County Grounds, where most of the land once considered for economic development has been preserved as open green space. But after more than ten years of public pressure to “preserve the County Grounds,” and after many compromises were reached, one of the most beautiful sections of this remarkable landscape remains unprotected and zoned for economic development.

Economic Development?

Ronald McDonald House provides an indisputably good service. They need to expand. The Milwaukee County Regional Medical Complex, which serves the health needs of thousands of people from all over the region and beyond, continues to grow. There is no evil here. These and other stakeholders -- everyone in the community -- must agree that saving such a beautiful natural place as the County Grounds is in their own interest, which it is.

Managing an “urban wilderness” involves balancing myriad competing interests that rarely can be conveniently dismissed as a struggle for good versus evil. To paraphrase Ken Leinbach, director of the Urban Ecology Center, “this game of preserving, managing, and restoring very public green space in our fair city is not a game for the faint-hearted. Trying to accommodate one user often alienates another.” Avoiding the polarization that is so commonplace today is hard work – but essential if we are to maximize the potential of our urban green spaces.

It makes good economic sense to preserve green space in cities where, to be physically and psychologically healthy, people need access to nature. The evidence for this is well documented. All across the nation, civic and business leaders, and the general public, are beginning to promote healthy, sustainable urban environments that include natural areas. As Peter Harnik, author of Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities, wrote, “Cities are vying with one another for ‘best park system’ and the ‘livability crown.’” I’ve long thought Milwaukee could be a contender. Instead, parks budgets continue to dwindle and shortsighted land-use policies prevail.

We must always keep the big picture in mind. Many ingredients make up resilient, sustainable, and livable cities, including a vibrant economy. One of the most important ingredients is excellent parks and natural areas. We residents of Milwaukee County have been endowed with one of the nation’s best park systems. Instead of continuing to nibble away at our greatest asset, it’s time we recognize and promote their vitality. Let’s embrace nature and confront the challenges with the hope embodied in the idea of urban wilderness.

Milwaukee River Greenway

County Board to consider resolution regarding power lines in parks

The Parks and Parkways need your support!

The Milwaukee County Parks, Energy and Environment Committee is meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24.  Supervisor Schmitt plans to introduce a resolution that would prohibit power lines in Milwaukee County Parks, Parkways, the Oak Leaf Trail, or wetlands and natural areas. This is an excellent step! He can use all the support we can give. Details below.

If you cannot make the meeting please look for the contact information below and send a note of support for this resolution.

The impetus for this resolution is the proposal by the American Transmission Company (ATC) to route a power line through Underwood Parkway. This proposal not only would compromise the integrity of Underwood Parkway, a stretch of the Oak Leaf Trail, and the common good, it would set a terrible precedent for all Milwaukee County Parks and Parkways. The ATC proposal provides alternative routes, but they have indicated that the parkway route is a preferred one. 

Proposed power line route: Oak Leaf Trail in Underwood Parkway

To learn more about this issue read my previous posts.

Here are the key points of the proposed resolution:

• The county and city support the effort to supply additional electricity.
• The county and city oppose Route B, which runs through Underwood Parkway.
• The county and the city oppose any other current or future plans involving placement of high voltage electric transmission lines along Milwaukee County Parkways, the oak Leaf Trail, or wetlands and natural areas.
• The county and city request that ATC trench the transmission lines that will traverse the County grounds.

Supervisor Schmitt has said that his resolution will be first on the agenda on Tuesday. The committee meeting begins at 9 a.m. and will be in either Room 201B or 203R of the County Courthouse. If you can attend, please allow time to go through the security checkpoint at the entrance. I hope you'll join me there.

If you cannot attend, contact:

Chairman Lee Holloway

Milwaukee County Board lee.holloway@milwcnty.com

Supervisor James "Luigi" Schmitt
James.Schmitt@milwcnty.com
 
A complete list of county supervisors is available here.

A similar resolution is being introduced at an upcoming Wauwatosa Common Council meeting. Please send a copy of your message to Common Council Chair and Acting Mayor, Eric Meaux: emeaux@wauwatosa.net

Let's keep our parkways and bike trails free of power lines.

Preserve Our Parks opposes power lines in parkway

Please write to the American Transmission Company (ATC) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) and add your voices to keep power lines out of Underwood Parkway. The more letters they receive the more impact they will have. Contact information is at the bottom of this post.

Below is the text of the letter being sent by Preserve Our Parks (POP) to the ATC and the PSC in opposition to siting of the proposed power line. POP's is a principled position that doesn't recommend either of the two proposed routes from the west. Instead it recognizes the public interest in preserving parklands and open green space. (Full disclosure: I'm on the POP board and drafted the letter for the board's approval.)

I have posted two times before on this topic. To read the earlier posts and learn more about the issues, go to my statement or to public hearing. Informative photos accompany those posts, as usual.

The letter:

RE:          Transmission line routes to new County Grounds Substation

Preserve Our Parks, as its name indicates, is an organization dedicated to the preservation of parks and public green spaces. We would like to make known for the record our position on the proposed routes for the transmission lines that are planned for the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa.

·      We oppose routing power lines, whether overhead or underground, in any part of Underwood Parkway. This would effectively eliminate most of Route B from consideration.

·      If Route A is chosen, then the segment that runs along Highway 45 through the County Grounds, should be underground. Alternatively, Route A could be used until it reaches the County Grounds at which point it could switch to the underground segment of Route B.

·      We believe that the principle of preserving the public’s interest in undisturbed parks and green spaces should be a primary consideration over and above the economics of one route versus another.

Our opposition to Route B is consistent with the position of Milwaukee County Parks Department and many other organizations concerned about parks, wildlife habitats, wetlands, open green space, and the recreational use of the Oak Leaf Trail, all of which would be compromised if a power line were sited within the Parkway. Since no other public parkway in Milwaukee County has been transformed into a power corridor, this also would set a precedent that we believe is not in the public interest.

The Parkway should not be chosen simply because it is the cheapest route since it is inherently less expensive to develop in parklands than in places with established development. Although the specifics of the case dealt with road construction instead of power lines, this principle was established in U.S. Supreme Court case law in CITIZENS TO PRESERVE OVERTON PARK v. VOLPE, 401 U.S. 402 (1971).

The decision about which two of four routes to use for these transmission lines assumes the need for additional power in this area, an assumption we do not necessarily share. We urge the Public Service Commission to look closely at this assumption and to examine other options available. These should include ambitious and creative reconsideration of how power is used by the Milwaukee County Medical Complex as well as requiring any new development at Innovation Park, the Research Park, and elsewhere to meet stringent and sustainable limits on energy usage.

Contact info:

ATC will be accepting comments until mid-January.  Email Mary Carpenter: mcarpenter@atcllc.com

The PSC is responsible for the final decision. Therefore a letter to them is critical to provide support for the parkway.

PSC: Reference the Western Milwaukee County Electric Reliability Project, Docket #5-CE-139. Email Mr. Ali Wali:  ali.wali@wisconsin.gov

Wauwatosa residents speak out against power lines in parkways

“Everyone wants a power line underground and somewhere else,” spokesman Peter Holtz intoned as he began Monday night’s presentation by the American Transmission Company (ATC). He also quickly and readily acknowledged the oppositional mood of the crowd of about 100; most were there to “say NO to route B.”

As reported in Wauwatosa Patch, ATC has proposed four transmission line routes to bring power into a new substation being planned by We Energies. The substation will be located next to an existing power plant on the Milwaukee County Grounds. Route B would access an existing line at 119^th St. and run east through Underwood Parkway.

Two of the four proposed transmission routes are said to be required in order to provide secure redundancy for the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, although that was a point of contention questioned by several in the audience.

Overhead routes are preferred because they are less expensive, according to Holtz. When pressed for specifics he said that the parkway option would cost $8 million. The longest underground option, along 92^nd St., would cost $20 million.

There was some grumbling about comparing apples to oranges, since the distances are unequal and most of the options likely would include a combination of overhead and underground construction. This includes Route B, which would dive underground in two potential alternatives after its passage along Underwood Creek Parkway.

The crowd applauded when it was observed that this is a one-time expense and the cost would be spread out over the 50- to 70-year life of the system. The higher cost of the underground options was deemed worth it to preserve the environmental and recreational value of the parkway.
There was no dissent as speaker after speaker reiterated that the parkway should be considered inviolable. Long-time resident John Novotny described moving “from the city” to the neighborhood because of the “bucolic” character of the parkway, which has “intrinsic value” that would be diminished by power lines.

In a passionate plea for preservation, Willie Gonwa went further: “We are not talking about just one mile of parkway. Eighty-six miles of parks and bike trails create a unified loop around Milwaukee County. This project would break the green necklace that was designed by Charles Whitnall in 1906. Nowhere else have the parkways been converted into power line corridors.”

In an apparent attempt to mollify the restive crowd, Holtz pointed to a slight change in the proposed route. Between 119^th St. and 115^th St. the route originally was sited north of the railroad tracks. Reacting to DNR objections that this would degrade one of the very few wooded wetlands left in Milwaukee County and therefore not be permitted, the ATC added a new alternative south of the tracks and the creek.

Holtz said, “We will advocate for siting in the wetland,” where it would be somewhat less visible from the parkway road. An apparent contradiction was noted by several people who decried the destruction of sensitive wetlands for the aesthetic benefit of avoiding one section of the parkway. (The power lines would continue east from 115^th St. next to the Oak Leaf Trail in either case.)

Holtz maintained repeatedly that the PSC would not make its decision based on “aesthetic grounds.”

The neighborhood has allies. Holtz reported that Parks Director Sue Black and the Milwaukee County Parks have issued a statement opposing Route B. Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, and Jim Goulee, director of The Park People, were on hand to express opposition. Also, County Supervisor James “Luigi” Schmitt, who is running for re-election, was present and stated that his preference would be to “stay out of the parkway.”

ATC officials repeatedly deferred some of the most heated questions, about the need for additional power and the decision-making criteria, to We Energies and the Public Service Commission (PSC). That response angered some members of the audience since no one from either was present to provide answers. Holtz countered by encouraging continued involvement in the review process.

Concerned residents can attend future public meetings, review the project application on the PSC website, and ask questions of the PSC, We Energies and the DNR. Most importantly, Holtz concluded, comments can be submitted directly to the PSC, which is responsible for the final decision. The PSC contact is Scott Cullen, email: scott.cullen@psc.state.wi.us.

The public hearing was requested by a fledgling neighborhood association whose membership has been ignited by this issue. Observing the standing-room-only crowd, Kit Hansen, chair of Preserve Underwood Parkway, said that the outpouring of unified feeling about an issue was a first for the neighborhood.

Although almost everyone who spoke was from the Underwood Parkway neighborhood, a few representatives attended from the Walnut Street neighborhood, which is where one of the other proposed transmission routes is sited. They were understandably concerned about the impact underground power lines would have on their property.

Afterwards, Hansen expressed gratitude for the civility and focus of the proceedings.  The two neighborhoods could have been pitted against each other, obscuring the larger issue of environmental impacts to public parkland. That didn’t happen.

The sentiment in the room was summed up in a succinct, heart-felt statement by Jan Baldus: “This is wrong. Please don’t do this!”

This story originally appeared in Wauwatosa Patch and you can read my earlier blog post about this issue - with pictures - by clicking here.

Power lines may ruin what remains of parkway

Who will speak for nature? Who will speak for Underwood Parkway?

“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness….” – Henry David Thoreau      

       Like Thoreau, I would like to speak a word for nature. Although the “freedom and wildness” that our parks provide us in Milwaukee County can hardly be called “absolute,” that doesn’t make them less valuable or less deserving of protection. So, let me speak a word for relative freedom and wildness.

      Once upon a time Underwood Creek was as free and wild as any other stream in Wisconsin. Then houses were built near it and the Menomonee River, into which it flows. Eventually, flooding occurred. What followed, for long portions of Underwood Creek, was called channelization. Riparian woodlands were chopped down, the meandering stream was bulldozed straight, and its channel was lined with concrete. This “solution” was not only temporary; ultimately it led to increased flooding.

            Current plans for Underwood Creek include the removal of concrete and the restoration of a more naturally meandering stream. This already has been done for the short stretch that runs next to Hwy 100 as well as for stretches of other waterways in the county.

      Despite the degradations to which it has been subjected, Underwood Creek is valued enough to be part of the award-winning Milwaukee County Parkway system. A popular segment of the Oak Leaf Trail runs through it. Furthermore, a short stretch of the original, un-channeled creek lies in a densely wooded, swampy area. This is a place that is just about as free and wild as nature gets around here, a place where even Thoreau might have found what he termed the healing “tonic of wildness.”

Sadly, unless there is concerted public effort to preserve it, this small bit of urban wilderness may soon be destroyed.

      As reported recently in Wauwatosa Patch, WeEnergies is planning to build a new substation on the Milwaukee County Grounds. Electrical power will be brought to the substation via two new transmission lines to be constructed by the AmericanTransmission Co. (ATC). Four routes are being considered, from which two will be selected by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Map of four proposed alternatives

      One of the proposed alternatives would run 60- to 100-foot-tall high-voltage overhead power lines through Underwood Parkway. If this route is chosen, an 80-foot right-of-way would be cleared, effectively destroying one of the few natural areas left in Wauwatosa. What is potentially more distressing to the many people who use it, utility poles and overhead cables also would run along the off-road portion of the Oak Leaf bike trail between 115^th St. and Watertown Plank Rd.

      This doesn’t have to happen. There are three viable alternatives. Unfortunately for the parkway and the people who enjoy it, other alternatives run along residential streets. The prospect of having your yard and street dug up for a buried power line, even temporarily, is a powerful incentive to become a vocal opponent of that alternative. This is to be expected and it is how a solution that benefits the few may win out over a solution that benefits the many.

      The parkway and Oak Leaf Trail need vocal opponents of the Underwood Creek alternative. Only if many people are willing to speak a word for nature will we save it.   

      Please attend the open house on Sept. 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wauwatosa Civic Center, 7725 W. North Ave. ATC experts will be able to answer questions about the project and explain how to provide input to the PSC. (You can email comments to info@atcllc.com if you cannot attend the meeting.)  

      The PSC will rule on the final two routes based on input received from all interested parties, including ordinary citizens as well as residents of affected neighborhoods and major stakeholders such as the Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex and UWM.

      No one wants overhead power lines obstructing their own views. Cables will be buried in sensitive locations, like the Medical Complex, UWM’s Innovation Park, and residential neighborhoods. But this is expensive. From a purely economic standpoint, the parkway seems an attractive alternative because the overhead power lines would save money. From a political standpoint, the parkway lacks residents who complain. From an ecological and recreational standpoint, however, overhead power lines and an 80-foot wide swath of clear-cut are anything but attractive.

      It is ironic that just three months ago Wauwatosa announced a new branding campaign for which the theme of the city will be Innovation Parkway. If the city is going to promote the value of its parkways – as it should – sacrificing one of them in this fashion would be antithetical to the effort. Officials in Wauwatosa who support the Innovation Parkway theme, as well as all Milwaukee County users of the Oak Leaf Trail should be pounding home the point – power lines do not belong anywhere near our parkways.

For the benefit of all, let us speak a word for nature…!

      Here is an Underwood Parkway photo essay with explanatory captions. Click to enlarge each photo.

This view west from 115th St. is the channelized Underwood Creek most people see.

This is a view of the original creek that still exists in a little-known natural area immediately north of the previous view.

This set of tracks bisects the parkway and separates the two channels pictured above.

Underwood Parkway drive and Oak Leaf Trail immediately south, adjacent to the channelized creek pictured at top.

This existing power line, at 119th St., is where the proposed new transmission line would begin. An 80-foot-wide right-of-way would be cut through the woodland to the right.

This wetland would be in the power line right-of-way. Wetlands, which slow and absorb stormwater run off, are important for flood management and groundwater recharge.

The off-road segment of the Oak Leaf Trail east of 115th St. If the Underwood Creek Parkway alternative is chosen, this scene would include overhead power lines 60-100 feet tall.

Alternative routes that run through residential neighborhoods, like this Walnut St. route, would use buried cables.

Underwood Creek: good, bad, and ugly?

Underwood Creek has long been a troubled waterway. Much of it was channelized in the 1960’s, as is most dramatically evident in this view west from 115^th Street in Wauwatosa. Now Waukesha  wants to dump its (treated) wastewater into Underwood Creek – from whence it would flow into the Menomonee River.

If you’ve been following this issue you know that the diversion of Lake Michigan water over the boundary of the Great Lakes watershed has been highly controversial. Although the Wisconsin DNR recently approved the application process, allowing it to move forward, the decision still must be ratified by the governors of all states (and provinces) that border on the Great Lakes, in accord with the Great Lakes Compact.

I urge everyone to attend one of three public hearings that have been scheduled for southeastern Wisconsin to give the DNR a chance to provide an overview of this process.

One of the public hearings is at 5:30 on Wednesday, July 27, at Hart Park in Wauwatosa.

The other two are in Pewaukee (July 26) and Sturtevant (July 28). For much more information about the issue and all three public hearings, go to Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

As part of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s flood management project, a lot of time, effort, and money have gone into removing a section of the concrete channel from Underwood Creek. The benefits of this are far more than aesthetic. This photo shows part of that work in progress in 2010. What will happen to all of this when the extra wastewater from Waukesha in thrown into the mix? I hope the public hearing will shed some light on that and many other questions.

Other things are happening along Underwood Creek. On the plus side, I recently biked underneath Bluemound Road on the Oak Leaf Trail for the first time – a huge improvement, as anyone who frequents this popular bike path can attest. As this photo shows, there is still some work to be done before the new path is completely connected on either side of Bluemound. 

On the unfortunate and ironic side, a section of Underwood Parkway, near Watertown Plank Road, is being repaved. I’m all for new pavement. This parkway has been getting progressively worse for many years. But why are they putting in curbs?

Progressive streetscaping uses swales instead of curbs. Swales are gently sloping ditches that allow stormwater to soak into the ground instead of running along the curb and into a sewer pipe. They are a perfect solution for a roadway like the parkway. How much taxpayer money has gone into flood management on both sides of this parkway, along Underwood Creek and in the County Grounds? But now we’re putting in new curbs and sewers to carry off stormwater instead of inexpensive swales?