The public is invited to give feedback on the redevelopment of Lake Monona’s shoreline and explore what pedestrian and bike amenities could look like along John Nolen Drive.
Madison’s parks department will host a virtual public information session on January 23 between 6:30 and 8 pm.
The parks department and representatives from Sasaki, an international landscape design firm, will present plans for the first phase of simultaneous projects to change the face of Lake Monona’s shoreline.
Two separate projects– a redevelopment of the John Nolen Causeway and the designing of a 1.7-mile shoreline park along Lake Monona – are essentially running hand-in-hand.
The first phase of the John Nolen Causeway redevelopment is expected to begin this year and run into 2026. Phase One will involve construction between East Lakeside Street and South Broom Street.
The city is planning to reconstruct six bridges along the Causeway, with three new separated bridges being constructed for bikes and pedestrians.
The first phase includes plans to improve traffic signals, rebuild storm sewers, improve street lighting and create a new car lane configuration.
It will also expand the existing bike and pedestrian path along Lake Monona to make it safer.
“We received federal infrastructure money to rebuild the six bridges that make up the Causeway,” said Mike Verveer, an alder representing much of downtown. “When you think of the volume of folks who have utilized the lake path through the Causeway and Law Park, it’s our most used state trail. So, we’re prioritizing making it as safe as possible.”
The second phase is planned to run from Olin Park to East Lakeside Street and will begin when funding is available.
Lake Monona Waterfront
Meanwhile, Madison’s LakeWay project is also underway. The LakeWay project is the creation of a nearly two-mile-long park along Lake Monona.
The project is based on John Nolen’s hundred-year-old vision of what downtown Madison should look like.
In the early 1900s, Nolen presented ideas to the city of Madison which called for the Capitol building – under construction at the time – to be the centerpiece of the city. Nolen wanted building height limits to prevent anything from eclipsing the Capitol dome in Madison’s skyline. He also wanted the Capitol Square to be connected to the waterfront of Lake Monona through a large park extending down what is now Martin Luther King Boulevard and culminating in a green space along the shoreline.
Nolen was basically fired by the city for presenting such expensive plans, although thel building height limit he proposed remains in practice today.
Over the next hundred years, many people, including famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, had visions for designing parks connecting Lake Monona with downtown Madison.
Wright spent a decade designing Monona Terrace, which wound up being constructed almost 40 years after his death.
Madison LakeWay Partners, a group of local architects, business people, historians and nonprofit leaders, have spent a decade trying to rekindle elements of Nolen’s vision for a shoreline park.
In 2022, they invited international landscape design firms to participate in a Lake Monona waterfront design challenge. Dozens of firms were involved initially.
Three firms emerged as finalists in the challenge. The city of Madison then invited the public to view presentations from the finalists.
Stunning renderings depicting a futuristic downtown Madison were presented to standing-room-only crowds at Monona Terrace and the downtown branch of Madison’s Public Library in the fall of 2022.
Madison’s parks department then opened an online portal for public feedback on the design firms’ presentations.
The survey netted more than 4,000 public comments and 1,500 survey responses. The public ranked and rated the presentations and overwhelmingly favored the presentation of Denver-based Sasaki.
“I’m confident this project still holds the record for online survey responses for anything the city has asked the public to do,” Verveer said. “It was approved unanimously by the Common Council. No one in the community spoke against it.”
Sasaki’s vision includes an elevated nature walk and community center in Olin Park; boardwalks and fishing piers along the John Nolen Causeway; and a lake lounge near Machinery Row including a public plaza, possibly an amphitheater and the potential for a boathouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Moreover, Sasaki’s vision is for the project to represent a return of sorts to the shoreline’s Ho-Chunk roots.
Sasaki’s project has included feedback and planning from the Ho-Chunk Nation, and has focused heavily on the health and ecosystem of Madison’s waterways.
Construction on Sasaki’s project is planned to begin in 2027 and could cost up to $15 million. A capital campaign will be launched to help fund the project.
People wishing to participate in the virtual feedback session on Jan 23 can follow the link here.
