Action
Email a comment to DeSmidt.Alex@danecounty.gov asking that the Walking Iron trail surface be paved.
That’s it — a one line email is enough.
Please make the same request in person if you attend the Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan Open House on Wed April 30, 2-6pm at Lussier Family Heritage Center, 3101 Lake Farm Road.
Background
Walking Iron Phase 2 is a rails-to-trails conversion that will run from the new Wisconsin River Recreational Bridge at Sauk City half way to Mazomanie (red in the map below). A near-future phase (yellow) will bring it into Mazomanie. A distant-future trail will connect from Middleton. Here are current photos of the trail and bridge construction.
The new bridge and some/all of this first phase of the Walking Iron trail will be open to snowmobilers. There is a club snowmobile trail in the area, but the club and DNR haven’t yet figured out where snowmobilers will transition to it (perhaps the black dashed lines on the map, but possibly at other places).
Snowmobilers are adamant that the entire length of the Walking Iron trail have a gravel surface (“crushed aggregate”), similar to the Military Ridge, Glacial Drumlin, and Badger State Trails. The snowmobilers are well-organized and will be making their voices heard.
Detail
I love our limestone/gravel trails and often prefer riding on them. And I know that many bicyclists either prefer gravel or have no real preference. But there are several reasons why I believe Walking Iron trail should be asphalt:
- This is not a rural recreation trail; this will be an 8-mile regional connector between two growing cities and employment centers. Residential neighborhoods are already springing up along the trail’s route. It will be used year-round for recreation, fitness, and transportation.
- There is no good asphalt alternative. Hwy 78 is extremely busy and Strava global heatmap shows that bicyclists and runners avoid it like the plague. County Y is better but adds several miles.
- Paved trails can be safely used in more months of the year, in more weather conditions, by a wider range of activities. They are also ADA-compliant, a requirement of the “TAP” grants used to fund this project.
- This trail will connect to the Great Sauk State Trail which is paved for 12 miles today and is planned to be paved all the way to Reedsburg. The future trail from Middleton to Mazomanie will almost certainly be paved.
- Paved trails are durable and require far less maintenance. Gravel is prone to washouts, ruts, soft spots, etc. This is a big deal because much of Walking Iron will be in a marshy area inaccessible to heavy equipment.
Snowmobiling
Snowmobiling prospects only get bleaker with climate change. In the last decade, nearly half their seasons were one week or less.
In good years with cold temperatures and ample snowpack, gravel or asphalt both serve snowmobiles well. In the more common bad years, a gravel surface might extend the season by an extra muddy day or two, at most.
Asked about snow retention, MTB trail-builder Corey Stelljes says that it “doesn’t vary greatly” between surface types and that the “biggest drivers seems to be having a north facing hillside and shade.” This matches my experience with the Cannonball singletrack trails, where the chip-sealed and crushed limestone sections seem to retain snow equally (only the fully natural section holds snow longer).
The Walking Iron trail largely runs north/south in a wide railroad corridor with little tree cover, exposing it to lethal winter sun for most of the day. The trail surface will not change that. If snowmobilers want to maximize their season, their best tool is to keep to the trees and frozen waterways as their current club trail does.