Dana White Quam Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources 3911 Fish Hatchery Road Fitchburg WI 53711
To Whom It May Concern, Please accept these as official public comments regarding the Draft Badger State Trail Master Plan. The 7.1 mile section from Madison to Sun Valley Parkway should be designed at 12' paved width to accommodate athletic caliber higher-speed bicycling and wide-stride roller blading and roller skiing. The draft 10' (5' each direction) is too narrow to accommodate current congestion seen on connector trails (Capitol City and SW Bike Path); the addition of Badger will undoubtedly increase the need for adequate passing room and accommodation for this category of "athlete" users. No mention is made of lane markings. A painted center line is required on the paved 7.1 mile section. The painted line will need to be maintained to guard against seasonal fading. The current ATV use in the draft plan is a recipe for disaster. Winter ATV use should not be allowed. Even a 3-year study will lead to unacceptable surface degradation by illegal ATV use outside of the approved schedule. The proposed accommodation for ATV use is an unacceptable compromise which will lead to demands by a well-funded, profit-motivated ATV lobbying organizations to promote increased (Sugar River, longer season) ATV use. Any ATV use is counter to the primary naturalist "silent sport" purpose of the trail. Snowmobiling should not be allowed on the trail. While the plan calls for snowmobiling only when 6" of snow is present, the fact of the matter is snowmobiliers will attempt to use the trail when conditions do not warrant it. This will lead to unacceptable surface damage. Any snowmobiling use is counter to the naturalist "silent sport" purpose of the trail. Regarding the motorized (ATV and snowmobiling) uses of the trail, each is recommended to have strict seasonal and geographic limitations. However, the plan does not propose how these limitations will be enforced. Current operational budgetary pressures to reduce enforcement, maintenance, and other necessities will likely lead to a "look the other way" attitude by the minimal enforcement staff available. If the final plan includes motorized use of the trail, then a visible enforcement protocol must be developed, featured, and fully budgeted in the plan. Any use what-so-ever by ATV and snowmobile will eliminate the possibility by snowshoe, cross-country ski, or hiking use for safety, snow quality and aesthetics (noise) reasons. Additional research and reliable statistical, historical, and scientific analysis of the opposing and mutually-exclusive proposed winter uses of the trail are sadly lacking in the draft and must be rectified prior to finalizing the document. The environmental impact section of the draft plan gives short-shrift to noise pollution. The plan itself anticipates 100,000 to 175,000 users of the trail, but does not identify what percentage of this use is anticipated for winter use, and of that total, what percentage is ATV or snowmobile. Of those non-motorized winter users, no attempt was made to quantify the decibel level of a non-motorized user when encountering a motorized user within 5'. The noise level of a passing ATV or snowmobile completely destroys a naturalist appreciation of the winter trail. George J. Perkins 4130 Yuma Drive Madison, WI 53711 Phone: 608-345-3561 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
