Trails Archives | Marek Landscaping

Beerline Multi-Use Trail & Community Park

Megan Foley — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:47:25 +0000

This project involved revitalizing an abandoned, blighted railway corridor that crosses through two Milwaukee neighborhoods. Our design included assessing trail connections to existing neighborhood parks and alleys and the existing Beerline Trail, low-maintenance native landscaping, innovative stormwater management practices such as a dry infiltration basin that can double as an ice rink, phyto remediation, stormwater trees for evapo-transpiration, micro-grading to direct runoff, plazas, and erosion control and grading plans. We talked with residents living along the railway, worked with neighborhood leaders, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works staff, the Riverworks Business Improvement District, and local aldermen, and held numerous public information meetings. The final deliverable was a set of plans and specifications sent out for bidding that was approved through the City of Milwaukee and WisDOT.

The project was a finalist for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI) – Brewers Community Foundation Public Space Award in 2012. Here’s a video about the project that screened at the award ceremony.

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Three Bridges Park & Hank Aaron State Trail Natural Area Project

Marek — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 03:22:04 +0000

This 24-acre, urban revitalization project that transformed a former vacant rail yard into a natural area, stabilizing the riverbank, managing site stormwater, improving water quality, creating native habitat, and providing fishing and canoeing access to the Menomonee River. Overall, the project provides a nearly 3-mile long extension of the Hank Aaron Trail and pedestrian bridges to connect the new trail with the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory and completed trail segments on the north side of the Menomonee River. New opportunities for recreational space include the Urban Ecology Center, community gardens, public art, and nature-based activities for the surrounding neighborhoods.

Marek Landscaping and a fluvial geomorphologist provided designs for more than 4,000 feet of riverbank restoration, including fabric encapsulated soil lifts at the riverbank. Our work also included:

developing concepts and designing the vegetation restoration and landscape architecture plans for the entire 24 acre park and within the 100-year floodplain,
developing and revising detailed enhancement zone plantings & rivercut plan sheets & details,
refining the stormwater swale to include emergent aquatic habitat, ephemeral ponds, and water quality improvement measures,
developing space saving concept of hydromulch for the asbestos containing material daily cover requirements,
revising and authoring 18 special provisions, and
assisted in developing construction/restoration phasing, and construction budgeting.

The project has received numerous awards, including:

The Daily Reporter Top Project of 2013
ACEC Engineering Excellence Award, 2014
ACEC WI Best of State Engineering Award, 2014
Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI) – Brewers Community Foundation Public Space Award Winner, 2014
City of Milwaukee Mayor’s Design Award, 2014
Public Policy Forum, Public Private Cooperation Award, 2014
Wisconsin Women Transportation Seminar, Project of the Year, 2013

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Menomonee Valley Passage & Hank Aaron State Trail

Marek — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:33:54 +0000

The open space, urban revitalization project east of downtown Milwaukee served to restore the historic connection of the surrounding neighborhoods to the Menomonee Valley, provide a trail head for the Hank Aaron State Trail, and provide access to recreation amenities and natural resources along the Menomonee River. The project involved a pedestrian underpass below the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks, a new pedestrian bridge over the Menomonee River, and a 2,000-foot long bicycle trail between the river and the railroad tracks. As a subconsultant, Marek Landscaping completed the riverbank vegetation inventory, cataloged and photographed the most valuable plants based on species, size, location, and overall condition, provided recommendations for tree protection and removals related to site grading, engineering, and landscape layout, identified opportunities to use regionally available and recycled materials in the project, assisted with identifying low-impact construction techniques, sited green stormwater infrastructure, assisted in developing stormwater management solutions, and prepared plans and specifications to WisDOT standards. Marek helped integrate the public in the design process through the use of Community Advisory Committee meetings and public informational meetings and provided renderings for meeting exhibits. This project was awarded the City of Milwaukee Mayor Design Award, the ACEC-WI State Finalist Award, and a Milwaukee Award for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI). Learn more at Menomonee Valley Partners.

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