Village And Residents Agree: Keep Lake Drive's Trees

SHOREWOOD, WI — All eyes are on the Wisconsin Department of Transportation when it comes to the 2026 Lake Drive reconstruction project.

When plans for the project were released to the public at large in May, the different possibilities left the village and many residents concerned. Village officials told residents that the project is partially out of their hands — WisDOT is in charge of the project, and end executor of the plans.

Many of those WisDOT plans, aside from the "replace in kind" option, could remove trees along Lake Drive to widen the roadway. The public's realization of that possibility has ruffled some feathers, and led to the village waking up one day to dozens of signs on the trees near Atwater Park.

The signs exclaimed "SAVE ME," and were accented by a poem about saving the trees. Alongside the tree signs, yard signs have popped up all across the village asserting "Keep Lake Drive Green."

Patch is still waiting for follow up from WisDOT officials on the project.

A recent news release from the village, however, seeks to reassure residents that village officials agree — Lake Drive's trees should stay. To achieve that, the village said that the replace in kind plan should be used.

Replace in kind essentially means that the roadway will get replaced following the same plan that it currently has, according to the news release. No new bike lanes or parking lanes would come, but Lake Drives trees would remain.

WisDOT said that their final decisions will rest on a combination of federal highway standards and public opinion. The roadway currently fits federal standards, the village said, and the public outpour against widening the roadway has been apparent.

"Village officials and residents don’t want to jeopardize the health of historic trees along Lake Drive," the release said.

"The Shorewood Village Board continues to emphasize its unanimous, unwavering support to replace Lake Drive in its current configuration when reconstruction occurs in 2026."

The village has been in talks with state and federal officials since October of last year. Initial discussions suggested that new parking facilities could be in line for Atwater Beach.

Lake Drive underwent a traffic reconfiguration in 2018. The road was repaved and went down to two lanes from its previous four. The change brought gratitude from bicyclists, and improved parking, the village said.

The configuration is up to date with state and federal codes, therefore the village has decided that it should stay that way. The project is largely now in the hands of WisDOT officials.

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