Thanks, Robbie, and all of the others who were active in supporting this trail.
Mike Rewey ************************* On 25 Aug 2009 at 9:57, Robbie Webber wrote: > > FYI - > > Last night the County Personnel and Finance Committee voted 6-0 to put the > money for the > Lower Yahara River Trail (planning and preliminary engineering) money > back into the capital borrowing bill! I'm thrilled. > > This trail would link McFarland to Lake Farms Park across the narrow area > between Upper Mud > Lake and Lake Waubesa. There is currently a rail tressle there, and lots of > people over the years > have asked me about the possibility of putting a bike/ped trail across that > bridge. The railraod > definitely doesn't want that to happen, but they are very supportive of a > separate structure, in > part to keep people off their bridge. Dane County has been planning to build > both a bike/ped > connection and have the rail bridge replaced because it causes water to back > up and flood > Monona. > > However, in an effort to save a few bucks, some county supervisors wanted to > elminate > $100,000 of planning money in 2009 to continue prepare plans and > specifications for this > projects. Without those planning efforts, the project would not be eligible > for any future "stimulus" > funding, and it is currently #2 on the list of area projects. Losing momentum > is also a concern, > because once a project is set aside, even for a short time, it can be hard t > get it started again. > Like stopping on your bike. > > (The trail isn't funded yet, so it's going to be awhile before it's built, > but it's important to get the > plans written.) > > A number of us organized people to come to the meeting last night and ask > that the money be > put back into the county borrowing package. And it worked! A small group of > people speaking, > making phone calls, sending emails and writing letters turned a previous 2-4 > lose into a 6-0 win. > Everyone on this list that wants to see change should take note. > > Three folks from Monona and the Yahara Lakes Partnership (I think) came to > speak about the > importance of the project for flood control. Two also mentioned that this was > a crucial bike link > for commuters. I spoke next about the transportation, recreational, and > environmental aspects > and the need to prepare for future funding opportunities . Peter McKeever > also spoke about the > flooding and bike connections. Kevin Luetke - planner for Bike Fed - talked > about how important > this link was for bike commuters. Sup Schmidt echoed the need to continue to > move forward, > and that others had hit important points. Sup Miles talked about the > importance of his connection > to the Village of McFarland, and how this has been in their plan for years. > People want to be able > to bike commute, transportation options, recreational opportunities with > connection to Lake > Farms Park, this will be good for property values, etc. Gary Werner sent an > excellent letter > hitting many of the points that I also made, but in a much more organized and > eloquent way than > me. > > (Hope I didn't forget anyone or forget their key points. I'm hitting the > bullet points.) > > There were questions about some financial, procedural, and planning issues to > county staff. > > I was worried that it would be a close vote, but it was unanimous! > > I heard later that there has been quite a bit of behind the scenes > maneuvering, but the testimony > from all the different interest groups was important. Without the flood > control aspect, the > transportation argument wouldn't have been strong enough without the > transportation, the flood > control wouldn't have been enough. > > Thanks everyone! > > Robbie Webber > Bike Walk Madison Steering Committee > www.bikewalkmadison.org > Join our group on Facebook! > > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
