By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Aug 21, 2006 at 5:29 AM
Here at OnMilwaukee.com, we pride ourselves in being Milwaukee experts. Since it's literally our job to eat, sleep and breathe Brew City, naturally we get lots of questions from our readers.

And now we'll answer them, directly.

In this new series of articles called "Ask OMC" we take your questions, big or small, and track down the answers.  So ask us anything about Milwaukee, and we'll hunt it down, track it down and find out the skinny.  Because, as Milwaukeeans, that's what we do. 

Send your question to AskOMC@staff.onmilwaukee.com.  If you include your name and city, we'll consider it for our next installment.

Now, to get the ball rolling, here's a question that's been burning on our minds:

Q: What's the deal with that park next to Summerfest?

A: That's the soon-to-be-completed Lakeshore State Park. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the park will provide a unique 17-acre urban oasis with several recreational opportunities.

Slated to be completed in spring 2007, the park will have access via bridges on both sides.  It will connect to the new Hank Aaron State Trail, as well as the scenic Oak Leaf State Trail.  In addition, it will offer boat docks and improved fishing access, and it will eventually become part of a path from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.

The park will feature a visitor center with public restrooms and showers for overnight boaters, and a redesigned riverwalk and harbor entrance area with restrooms, landscaping and additional parking. Park supporters also hope to team up with the new Pier Wisconsin to explore educational opportunities.

The park broke ground in November 2005, and The Friends of Lakeshore State Park has been formed to support the park, assist in fundraising for public programs and improvements, and collaborate on future activities once the park opens to the public.