County to Answer Questions About Bugline Trail Paving Project

The plan to pave the Bugline Trail hasn’t had its shortage of controversy, and on May 10 supporters and opponents of the plan can voice their opinions at a public information session.

Waukesha County staffers and members of the design team for the paving project will be on hand during a public information open house from 5-7 p.m. May 10 at the Pauline Haass Public Library, at N64W23820 Main St., in Sussex. There will not be a formal presentation, but there will be people available to answer questions.

The Waukesha County Board of Supervisors as part of the capital improvements plan for the county. Federal funding would cover $1.5 million in costs for the paving project, and $272,000 in state grants would cover another portion. The county’s share would be roughly $630,000.

The project would be completed in two phases. In 2013, the county would complete phase one of the project, which is the 3.6-mile trail section from highway 164 to Lake 5 Road. The remaining 8 miles would be paved in 2014.

In January, Waukesha County Parks Manager Duane Grimm that the plan to was set in stone. However, those that use the trail are divided on whether the plan is a good idea.

Falls resident Joan Griffin, who lives a few blocks from the trail, started opposed to the project in February. Users who signed the petition want to keep the crushed limestone trail as is.

“Personally, I am outraged at the idea of paving it. I love the way it is right now with its natural look of a trail. It’s not supposed to be a road,” Griffin said. “There are so many reasons not to do this.”

According to an unofficial poll on Patch.com, 72 percent of the 870 readers that responded were opposed to the project as of Monday.

“I am opposed to the paving of the Bugline,” wrote Patch reader Kristine Kreuser in a story about the project. “As a lifelong resident of Menomonee Falls I have enjoyed the Bugline in its natural state for hiking, biking, horse back riding, and snowmobiling. Paving it would restrict many of the uses in which it was designed for.”

However, County Supervisor Jim Jeskewitz told Patch in January that paving the Bugline is all about increasing accessibility. He said usage increases whenever the county paves a trail.

“The amount of participation almost doubles on the other paths that we’ve paved throughout the county,” Jeskewitz said.