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Milwaukee’s Washington Park, one of the city’s three legacy parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. in the early 1890s, and featured in ������������’s (������������) Landslide 2022: The Olmsted Design Legacy report, is facing yet another threat to its historic integrity. A proposal is being publicly floated to turn a significant portion of the 128.5-acre West Side park into a “bike park,” including use for mountain biking and races. The concept includes installing a “bike skills track” and a 1.26-mile “bike loop” around the park’s perimeter. 

An open-to-the-public “brainstorm” meeting was hosted in November 2022 by Wheel & Sprocket, a Milwaukee-based bike retailer with numerous stores. The concept is .  

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Dave Boucher, a 26-year neighbor of Washington Park and longtime advocate for biking and responsible park stewardship, thinks that any discussion of a bike park there is “way too premature.” He has worked for more than a decade on behalf of creating a much-needed recreational trail along the nearby “30th Street Corridor.” That project is currently being studied by myriad public agencies and the non-profit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Boucher supports the idea of a dedicated bike park somewhere and hopes that those pursuing the concept will analyze potential spaces that won’t jeopardize access, safety, or a historic landscape that offers many opportunities for enjoyment. “My wife and I regularly walk our dog and do bird watching throughout Washington Park. Having to contend with bikers speeding around the park would definitely impact many people’s experiences of this park,” he said. “Throwing more stuff in the park to serve an underserved community that has asked repeatedly for folks to follow the goals set forth in the park’s 2000 revitalization plan is a little like using a screwdriver when a pipe wrench is called for. And ultimately the community gets blamed for not appreciating what’s been provided,” he said. Boucher was one of the neighb