Military Ridge State Trail is owned by DNR. (Some other trails are
in rail bank.) It is multi-use, and that includes both bicyclists and
snowmobilers. DNR does what it can with limited resources to keep it
available in good condition for all users. Bicyclists cause little
damage if they don't ride when the trail is wet and tires leave grooves.
Grooves have to be leveled by a tractor pulling a drag. In winter, the
trail is closed to snowmobiles when conditions dictate. The biggest
problem with snowmobiles has been deterioration of wooden-surfaced
bridges from the studs on many snowmobiles. When you ride it you'll see
some wooden bridge decks have now beren replaced with concrete (very
expensive, and funds are short). This is to mitigate the damage from
studded snowmobile belts. DNR does the best it can given the limited
resources it has to work with.
Bill Hauda
Bicycling Representative
Wisconsin Nonmotorized Recreation and Transportation Trails Council
On 4/16/2016 4:24 PM, Robert Schultz via Bikies wrote:
I think it's worth pointing out that the Military Ridge State Trail is
not a bike trail. It's a multi-use trail that allows bikes and
bicyclists.
I don't think singling out certain types of trail users and casting
blame is a good way to address problems with the trail. Are the ruts
we're discussing even caused by the snowmobiles? Presumably the trail
surface is frozen when they're out. The ruts are probably from
cyclists using the trail when it's too wet -- maybe we are to blame
for more damage than the snowmobiles.
And let's be realistic: cyclists are never going to ouster
snowmobilers in Wisconsin (though global warming may eventually do it
anyway). Instead, we should work to find a compromise that makes the
trail accessible to the largest number of people and activities
possible. If that means more regular trail grooming instead of paving
out through Verona, great. If it means we pave through Verona, and
snowmobiling happens between Verona and Mt. Horeb, great. I'm just
happy this resource exists for everyone.
I see a lot of comments on newsfeeds and articles saying that cyclists
as a group have no place in X location or on Y street. I'd love for
this group to learn from the vitriol that we, as cyclists, experience
and try to avoid doing the same to others.
Best,
Rob
On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 3:31 PM, via Bikies <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Bikies digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: Military Ridge Trail in Verona (tim wong via Bikies)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2016 17:30:11 -0500
From: tim wong via Bikies <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
To: Michael Rewey <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
Cc: "[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>"
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: Re: [Bikies] Military Ridge Trail in Verona
Message-ID:
<CA+Uhu2W+8T-bMvRKiFXM+z-bURS4ZhQk-vDCyE=wrpbway8...@mail.gmail.com <mailto:[email protected]>>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Heavily polluting snowmobiles should be banned nationwide,
certainly on
bike paths. Let the snowmobiles ride on the car streets and highways.
On Thu, Apr 14, 2016 at 10:13 PM, Michael Rewey via Bikies <
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
> Grant. Contact me. I was directly involved with money and
design and got
> the DNR to revive
> an old transportation $$ application, which they got. The
non-paving in
> Verona was a DNR
> concession to snowmobile groups - do not blame Verona. It had
nothing to
> do with
> maintenance.
>
> Mike Rewey (retired WisDOT)
>
>
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