The City of Oak Creek is planning the redevelopment of a public recreational space along the Lake Michigan shoreline and bluff north of Lake Vista Park. City staff have engaged Edgewater Resources in visioning this work, who specialize in waterfronts and provide planning, design, and engineering solutions.

The study area includes a 3,500 linear foot stretch of shoreline and upland bluff in the eastern part of Oak Creek adjacent to Lake Michigan and north of Lake Vista and Bender Parks along with the new Lakeshore Commons traditional mixed-use development to the south. Edgewater's proposal includes trails, bridges, slides, and natural play structures, along with opportunities to touch the water.

The concept plan and summary you see below is a refinement of plans that were developed from previous public input in the Fall of 2022.  

Beginning with the main entrance on the west side ①, the entry drive features close-proximity, easily accessible, ADA parking spots and a ceremonial pick-up and drop off, that lines up on the central axis of the main overlook ②. The larger, main parking area ③would provide the majority of parking for the North Bluff, as well as event parking for Lake Vista Park.  Moving east, park visitors are introduced to the natural gardens ④. These gardens are proposed to reflect and celebrate the naturally occurring plant communities of Wisconsin’s beautiful shoreline ecosystem. These gardens plots can also be converted into community garden plots for garden clubs, experimental gardens for local schools, and much more. The planting zones are formally planned around a central event lawn that graces the main promenade ⑤. The main promenade is a 15’ path that runs north/south along the top of the bluff. The main promenade links the proposed southern pedestrian bridge ⑥ to the northern future connection along 5th avenue.

Moving from the top of the bluff, the shoreline will slope down to ensure proper bluff stabilization ⑦. This slope will run consistently north/south between the MMSD site and Lake Vista Park. Native grasses will be planted along the entirety of the bluff to prevent soil detachment, provide habitat, and improve aesthetics while keeping maintenance costs low.

Focusing on the southern zone of the bluff, the design features ADA accessible pathways, boardwalk steps, and rock scrambles that all sweep, twist, and turn down safely to the water's edge ⑧. All of these pathways are designed to ensure that all ages and abilities have access to the shoreline. Interweaved into the pathways are various terraced play spaces for children. Along the water-sides of the terrace walls, Edgewater Resources has proposed rock bouldering walls ⑨ that tie into the various rock scrambles for children to climb on. In addition, there will be a slide ⑩ that children and people can use, which connects to various parts of the ADA accessible path. Lastly, at the water’s edge, Edgewater is proposing a curved pier ⑪ that will connect the southern and northern boardwalks that run down the bluff.

Moving to the north zone of the bluff, Edgewater Resources has introduced a 15’ multi-use ADA path that connects the top of the bluff to the water’s edge ⑫ and the southern zone of the bluff to the northern zone. This path is designed to be universally accessible so everyone has the ability to get down to the water’s edge safely. Various rest areas, benches, and overlooks ⑬ are strategically placed along the multi-use path for maximum comfort and viewing opportunities. In addition, for the more adventure-inclined visitors, sport trails ⑭ are proposed to interweave in between the multi-use paths. The sport trails are designed for hiking, mountain biking, trailing running, and much more. These trails are sprinkled with various rock outcrops and scrambles to provide scenic overlooks and informal connections to adjacent sport trails and ADA pathways.

Finally, a stone revetment ⑮ will be installed at the bottom of the bluff to maintain bluff stability and to provide a lake level promenade. In addition, at various spots on the promenade, there will be opportunities to walk on to the revetment and interact with the water. The revetment rocks will be specified and designed in such a way to allow visitors to step down on the stones to the water’s edge.