MILWAUKEE — In the middle of a neighborhood on Milwaukee's northwest side, a creek gently bubbles away and people walk their dogs along a winding road.
It’s Lincoln Parkway, which is part of the Milwaukee County Parks system.
Jessica Wineberg is the trails coordinator for Milwaukee County Parks.
She is working on new ideas to best link this part of the city with the rest of the county.
“There's this little bit of nature here -- there's little bits of nature everywhere, and we want to see them better connected by trails,” she said.
Milwaukee County Parks have a ton of amenities but knows it can do a better job tying them all together.
“Some places are super well used and really busy, and that's wonderful. Some places people aren't sure if they're comfortable, if they're getting the recreation opportunity they want,” she said.
It's a disparity easy to see on this map -- that made the rounds on social media.
It shows the most frequently used paths from people using the fitness app Strava.
Strava - a popular fitness tracker app - heat map of Milwaukee showing where app users walk, jog, & bike.
— Michael Bradley (@MikeBradleyMKE) September 26, 2021
Yet again every map of Milwaukee is the same map. pic.twitter.com/s89IGKuufG
Hot-spots stretch up the lakefront and north from Wauwatosa.
But there is a giant, glaring gap stretching across the city's northwest side.
“It does help tell the story that there are a lot of people who would like to have more time out in nature -- walking, biking, moving around. But they need to feel safe and need to have the spaces to do that in,” she said.
This is where you come in.
The county's Northwest Trail Connections program is looking for input on how to better serve this part of the city.
You can submit Northwest Trail Connections ideas by clicking here.
That feedback will help draft a new trail connections plan in the summer of 2022, with the goal of better connecting places like the footbridge over Lincoln Creek with everything else the county has to offer.
“This trail doesn't take you to other safe, trail-like places to ride. We want to close those gaps and add more trails so people can have a traffic free outdoor biking, walking, rolling experience,” she said.
