Don Behm

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee County Parks Department is planning a nearly $1.1 million extension of the Oak Leaf Trail off the S. Root River Parkway to loop through The Rock Sports Complex and the proposed Ballpark Commons development near S. 76th St. and W. Loomis Road.

A 3,200-foot section of off-road paved trail will extend south from the trail on the parkway in Greendale, cross a bridge to be built over the Root River, and turn east toward the sports complex in Franklin, county landscape architect Kevin Haley said.

The proposed trail will turn south between a cluster of four baseball fields and the hilltop Umbrella Bar at The Rock. The multi-use recreation center is open year-round and operates on public park land so visitors do not pay a fee to hike or bike in this open space, Haley said.

After exiting the sports complex, the new segment of trail will follow Old Loomis Road east to Horizon Drive where it will rejoin the main trail near S. 68th St. and Loomis Road.

The proposed 100-foot-long steel bridge spanning the Root River and wetlands on both shores will minimize impacts to those resources, according to Haley.

All construction will be completed in 2017, he said. A federal transportation alternatives program grant will pay 80% of the project's cost.

The 118-mile Oak Leaf Trail stretches across Milwaukee County, said Amelia Kegel, chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Trails Council. Even so, "a trail is only as good as how connected it is," Kegel said.

When the trail loop is completed next fall, both bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to safely reach The Rock and its amenities, as well as the property's "great views of Milwaukee and the forests along the parkway," Kegel said.

It will encourage more people to use the Oak Leaf Trail, she said.

Both the downtown Milwaukee skyline and Miller Park are visible from the top of the tallest hill there, formerly known as the former Crystal Ridge ski hill. The Rock continues to operate one ski lift in winter, though snow tubing and snowboarding are more popular than skiing.

A broad forest canopy of maples and oaks spreads across the landscape north of the hill in the Root River Parkway. West of the hill is the county-owned Mangan Woods, a mature forest with nature trails, and Whitnall Park.

The trails council supports building the extension, a project recommended in a 2009 Trails Network Plan, Kegel said.

A public meeting on the new trail segment is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Root River Parkway picnic shelter No. 2, on the west side of the parkway about one mile south of Grange Ave.

There is more than $10 million in private development at The Rock now and developer Mike Zimmerman is planning more. Franklin is considering spending $25.8 million within a proposed tax incremental financing district that would encompass the $101 million Ballpark Commons development.

The commons would include a baseball stadium, indoor sports complex and apartments, restaurants and hotel.

The baseball stadium and indoor sports complex to be built on county park land would be accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists on the off-road trail, Haley said.

Plans for connecting the Oak Leaf Trail to other municipal recreation paths will enable users to reach Muskego and Waukesha County as well as Racine County, according to Haley and Kegel.

For one, the county and Franklin officials are discussing a possible link along Rawson Ave. between the Oak Leaf and a city trail on the west side of Franklin. The city trail connects to a recreational path in Muskego that extends to Big Bend.

An even bigger regional picture of connected trails is being pushed by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The group seeks to connect the Oak Leaf Trail and Hank Aaron State Trail in Milwaukee County with trails in six other counties in southeastern Wisconsin to create a 400-mile system to be known as the Route of the Badger.