Law-First Plan
1. Blue Harbor to Downtown, Fast
Endpoints used: Blue Harbor, 725 Blue Harbor Drive (South Pier), and City Hall at 8th Street and Center Avenue. Straight-line distance is about 0.52 mile. Coordinates from OpenStreetMap Nominatim; route times from the OpenStreetMap OSRM foot, bike and car profiles (routing.openstreetmap.de), queried October 26, 2026.
Walk today
Route Around via the 8th Street bridge and roundabout
Distance 1.09 mi
Door-to-door minutes about 23
Status Measured (OSRM foot)
Walk via new bridge
Route South Pier Drive, swing bridge, Virginia Avenue, 8th Street
Distance about 0.7 mi (estimate)
Door-to-door minutes about 14 to 16, plus any wait while the bridge is open for boats
Status Estimate from map; bridge targeted late 2027
Bike or e-bike today
Route Street route
Distance 1.15 mi
Door-to-door minutes about 8
Status Measured (OSRM bike)
Bike via new bridge
Route Same as walk via bridge, if bikes are allowed or walked across
Distance about 0.7 mi
Door-to-door minutes about 5 to 7
Status Estimate; bike rules on the bridge are an open question
Harbor Loop shuttle
Route Blue Harbor, South Pier, 8th Street bridge, Riverfront, City Hall, back
Distance 1.15 mi each way
Door-to-door minutes about 9 to 10 at a 10 minute frequency (5 min average wait plus about 4 to 5 min ride)
Status Ride time from OSRM car profile (4.0 min); wait is half the frequency
E-scooter share
Route Street route
Distance 1.15 mi
Door-to-door minutes about 8 to 10
Status Estimate at bike-like speeds
Water taxi (summer)
Route Blue Harbor area dock to Riverfront dock
Distance under 0.5 mi on water
Door-to-door minutes about 10 to 15 with boarding
Status Estimate; gains little time once the bridge opens
The pedestrian bridge. The city plans a movable swing bridge from the end of Virginia Avenue (Riverfront District) to South Pier Drive at the narrowest point of the river. It stays open for boats most of the time and closes at set intervals for people, so walkers no longer have to circle the busy 8th Street roundabout. Construction 2027, completion targeted late 2027. A federal RAISE grant of $5,341,931 with a city match of $1,335,483 supports it. Sources: WHBL, June 8, 2026; Sheboygan Sun; city Public Works packet.
The v2 move. The bridge is the fastest single win. v2 asks that its closing schedule favor people: closed to boats by default in the hours with the most foot traffic, with a posted, predictable cycle so a walker never waits more than a few minutes. Wayfinding and a continuous, lit, snow-cleared sidewalk on both approaches make it the obvious route. The Harbor Loop shuttle covers bad weather and anyone who cannot walk it.
Law check. The bridge schedule is a city operating decision for a city-owned structure, subject to federal navigation rules for the river (the exact Coast Guard drawbridge requirements for this crossing are an open question). A circulator is ordinary fixed-route service for Shoreline Metro. A water taxi carrying up to six paying passengers needs an operator with a Coast Guard OUPV ("six-pack") credential; more than six makes it an inspected small passenger vessel under 46 CFR Subchapter T with a Certificate of Inspection (uscg.mil National Maritime Center; eCFR 46 CFR Part 175).