Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik’s eNews update has a couple of updates involving Grant Park, including word of joint meeting of lakefront park Friends groups set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Grant Park clubhouse.
The goal: increased cooperation around common issues like erosion, beach health and safety.
There is also good news on Grant Park’s Seven Bridges:
The Parks Department plans to restore the large lakeside bridge at Seven Bridges soon. The contractors hope to begin construction in late November and complete work by the end of 2012. While Seven Bridges shall remain open to the public, some areas will be obstructed to accommodate heavy machinery. Reconstruction of the large lakeside bridge will be prioritized. The crew will then repair the footbridge by Wil-O-Way.
To protect this sensitive area, we need to use the official paths. Unfortunately, visitors have climbed down and eroded the ravine while the bridge has been out of service.
South Milwaukee Blog 
I can’t wait until it’s finished. I use Grant Park for walking my dogs a lot, and having to only use a portion of the trail is frustrating, since on weekends, there is usually someone blocking the only way in or out while using the park for photography. Do professional photographers using the trail/bridges area need a permit? I know other communities have laws like that, and I suspect it’s largely to cut down on heavy usage, while generating income for the park system. Another big concern about Grant Park is the high number of off leash dogs in the park. I encounter at least 2-3 off leash dogs every time I’m there. I leash my animals as required by law, and it’s incredibly frustrating when others don’t follow the rules.
It’s not looking like it’ll be anywhere near completed by the end of this year….Maybe next year??? All they’ve done so far is put in 5 wooden pilings on the north side (nothing on the south side that I could see and the crane is now gone) and destroy the area with trails down the hills and breaking up the lannonstone trail on the north side of the creek. Sure hope this contractor is able to complete the work and clean up the big mess they made, they’re going to have some big erosion problems come springtime (and they made a big out of foot traffic going down the hill to get to the lake…Nothing like the mess the contractor has made).
Cory: Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t been down there in a while. I’ll check with Supervisor Jursik and see if I can get an update.
Thank you for keeping us up to date Erik with any more info you may come across. Here’s what I found in Pat Jursik’s Jan. 2013 E newsletter on her website (I hope this doesn’t mean that the contractor will just leave without finishing the project to avoid paying the penalty of their actions; leaving it unfinished for more time).:
Seven Bridges
Throughout December 2012, a contractor repaired the large lakeside bridge at Seven Bridges trail in Grant Park. Many of us were alarmed at the lack of erosion controls; at the excessive removal of trees and walls to access the site; and at the road that was built to lower a back hoe to the bridge level. This was all outside the job description.
At this point, I am working with the Parks Department and engineering staff to demand the best remedy for this sad situation. Milwaukee County will not make further payments until the contractor repairs the damage, plants trees and takes other steps. We will do our best to get this rectified.