Milwaukee County Zoo entrance redesign, Crowley signs legislation

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Tuesday, Jan. 30 signed legislation to start the design and reconfiguration of the Milwaukee County Zoo's front entrance.

The legislation provides $1.7 million in county funding for the planning and design for the admissions reconfiguration project. Officials said the capital improvement will help improve the safety of zoo guests, alleviate traffic concerns for the local community and enhance the zoo experience for generations to come.

For mothers like Dana and Shannon, a visit to the zoo with the kids takes some planning.

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"We try to come here during the week because it's usually quieter, easier to get in and less traffic," Shannon said.

It's an ongoing problem the Milwaukee County Zoo has seen for years, and is finally taking its first steps to fix.

Milwaukee County Zoo entrance

"We live [in] walking distance, so we chose to walk instead of driving because usually it's just so hard to get in," Dana said.

Zoo director Amos Morris said the project should be completed within three to four years.

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Milwaukee County Zoo entrance

"We think we can eliminate [congestion] by changing the way we ticket," Morris said. "With that we get a better guest experience coming in. We’ll retain more people coming to the zoo."

He said the project will help alleviate traffic concerns, get guests in faster and enhance the experience for everyone.

"This is our effort," he said. "We want to engage good architects and flow specialists to figure out the best way to use the space that we have to get people into our park."