Swing Park, located beneath the Holton Street Bridge and the site of periodic gun violence over the past few years, is temporarily closed while substantial repairs are made to the bridge.
All swings have been removed from the site near Water and Brady streets on the East Side and fencing has been installed around the property to limit public access. The property belongs to the city of Milwaukee and is operated by the Department of Public Works.
Swings made of repurposed tires were first installed on the site in 2012 on the east end of the marsupial bridge, which provides pedestrian and bicycle access between the growing business district on the south and a developing residential area on the north.
The removal of the swings is temporary and is not in response to a shooting at the park earlier this month. The swings are expected to be reinstalled in their original configuration once the first phase of work on the bridge is completed, possibly as soon as November, spokesman Brian Rothgery said.
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Although it’s expected that the swings will be back in place, Rothgery noted that there is a grassroots effort by area residents to “rethink” how the park can best serve the neighborhood. The Department of Public Works and the Milwaukee Parks Department are engaged in those conversations and are “supportive of any ideas that can lead to a more sustainable future for the park,” he said.
An 18-year-old was injured in a late-night shooting at Swing Park on Aug. 8. Neighbors said it was the third shooting there in less than two months.
In October 2021, a 19-year-old man was shot and killed at Swing Park after an argument. A 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were fatally shot at the park in August 2018 after a confrontation between two groups escalated into violence.
Much of the violence has occurred when the park is technically closed to the public. A sign posted in the park states that it is closed between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The Department of Public Works and Wisconsin Department of Transportation are conducting a rehabilitation project on the North Holton Street Bridge over the Milwaukee River from a point north of East Brady Street to East Glover/Reservoir Avenue, which required removal of the swings.
The North Holton Street Bridge, which was constructed in 1926 and rehabilitated from 1987 to1988, has become structurally deficient. More than 10,00 vehicles travel over the bridge each day.
The repair project will take place in three phases over three years. Each phase is designed separately and will each take one year to complete. The estimated cost of all three phases is $12.7 million.
