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A long-range plan for redeveloping Milwaukee's lakefront that includes razing freeway ramps and the downtown Transit Center was advanced Tuesday by the County Board's parks committee.

The plan, developed by a special panel that reviewed the issue, also calls for terracing O'Donnell Park to make it easier for pedestrians to reach Lake Michigan. The plan further recommends conversion of E. Clybourn St. to a two-way boulevard, aimed at improving links to the lakefront from downtown.

In addition, the plan from the county's Long-Range Lakefront Planning Committee calls for adding a bicycle and pedestrian lane along the Hoan Bridge, though it does not recommend a specific design.

An effort to sever the Hoan recommendation from the plan failed on a 4-2 vote of the parks panel. Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo said a bike lane could pose safety risks. Supervisor Patricia Jursik said, however, that adding a bicycle and pedestrian lane could make the Hoan a tourist destination as well as a key link between downtown and the south side.

The parks committee endorsed the full lakefront plan on a 7-0 vote.

In other action, the parks panel put the brakes on a separate proposal to allow AT&T to build a 60-foot-tall cellphone tower in Veterans Park. That project would include construction of a new park shelter and restrooms. The company would build the structure and pay the county $1,000 a month in rent. The entire package, construction included, would be worth some $600,000 total over 25 years.

AT&T wants to add the tower to improve cellphone reception in that area of the lakefront.

The idea was held for further study after several residents said the cell tower would hinder views of the lakefront and set a bad precedent of allowing commercial development near the lake.

Jursik also questioned whether the AT&T plan should have been competitively bid. But Deputy Corporation Counsel Mark Grady said the County Board has authority to directly OK such proposals despite a general bidding requirement for large projects.