Chicago has the 606, New York City has the High Line. Now there's a plan to bring a new urban bike trail to the heart of Milwaukee through the 30th Street Corridor.
The corridor used to be part of Milwaukee's manufacturing backbone. Today, it's in need of some investment and some imagination.
One idea gaining support would take an old piece of railroad track and turn it into a public trail nearly 7-miles long.
If you look at it just right, like the 30th Street Corridor Corporation's Cheryl Blue, you might just see the potential.
"I see unlimited potential. This area of the city was once one of the biggest manufacturing areas in the world," Blue said.
Blue has big ideas for the little-used railroad track running from the Menomonee Valley to just north of Silver Spring Drive.
Her goal is bringing this area back to glory.
"Harley Davidson, Master Lock, Briggs and Stratton. All of these corporations started in the 30th Street Corridor," she said.
Part of the comeback plan is laid out in a study that suggests using the tracks to build an urban trail.
The group Rails to Trails envisions a path running alongside the tracks and says it is a very do-able idea.
One of the big parts of making this dream come true is convincing the community it will benefit from this change and making sure the people who have stuck out in these neighborhoods get to enjoy this.
"We don't want people to be displaced, we don't want corporations buying up the land. We really want to make this an asset for the community," Blue said.
This is a dream years away from reality.
The next step is working to build an equitable development plan with these neighborhoods.
