in Trailbuilding and Advocacy

The Village of Cross Plains Parks and Recreation Committee will be discussing the use of bicycles within the Village owned conservancy lands as part of their monthly meeting this Monday.  The discussion is aimed at establishing mixed use single track trails in the Cedar Glen, Cedar Hill, and Glacial Valley conservancies as shown on the attached Parks Map.  No decisions will be made at this meeting, but it is a chance for local residents to speak for or against bicycling in conservancy areas.  It would be great to have local voices at the meeting to represent the mountain bike community.  Also there may be opposition to at least a portion of the proposed trail system in the Glacial Valley conservancy that is part of the Ice Age Trail Alliance master plan.     
 
Currently we invite anyone who is local to the Cross Plains area to join in the discussion.  Attached is the Parks Committee Agenda. 

Meeting Information:
 
Date:  Monday 3/14/16
Time:  6:00pm
Location:  Rosemary Garfoot Public Library, 2017 Julius Street, Cross Plains, WI 53528   
 
We will keep the CORP community informed of future opportunities to join in the discussion and get involved!
 
Thanks,
Mike Cliff
macliff@uwalumni.com
CORP Member

This is happening tonight please try to make the meeting to support the project.

Thank you.

How did the meeting go? I live in CP and was unable to attend. If this takes off I'm will to help with whatever is needed.

Thanks,
Brett

The meeting went well.  The parks department is very interested and supportive of the project. We will be presenting a plan at the next meeting in April which will also be an important meeting to attend.

Glad to hear things went well.  The above map link is not working; where is the land being considered?

I re-uploaded the attachments in the original post.  Not sure what happened to them, but they should work now.

I missed the opportunity to attend the meeting due to work travel, but as a Black Earth resident this is promising to see/hear. Please keep us posted on the April meeting date and agenda.

I missed the opportunity to attend the meeting due to work travel, but as a Black Earth resident this is promising to see/hear. Please keep us posted on the April meeting date and agenda.

I will throw it out there in the FWIW column. Being a former elected official, I can't stress enough how much impact having local concerned citizens at a meeting means. You have way more influence than you think. This is what gets talked obout among board members after the meeting is over. If at all possible, try to make these meetings.
And don't discount having a meeting with lots of support from the mountain bike community at-large. Boards like to know what is happening in other communities and what people want to see. If they hear that lots of people love to mountain bike, and really want to live in a place with mountain biking available that they don't have to drive to, they will get behind it in a heartbeat.
Keep us informed of the next steps and how to best support this project.

Update:  Thanks for everyone’s input on the Cross Plains trail proposal!  We received a lot of really good information which has helped to create a convincing proposal.  Attached is the submitted document that will be discussed at next week’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.  The trail system that is being proposed shows approximately 6 miles of new trails through varied terrain.     
 
Next week’s meeting will be an opportunity for the CORP community to show their support.  It would be great to have everyone who is interested join in the discussion.  Our goal is to drive home the benefits of mountain biking to local communities, provide some background on mountain biking enthusiast, and speak to CORP’s commitment to trail construction and management.  We would love to hear in-person examples of all of these points.   
 
Meeting Info
Date: Monday, May 16, 2016
Time:  6:00pm
Location:  Rosemary Garfoot Public Library, 2017 Julius Street, Cross Plains, WI 53528   
Agenda:  To be posted at www.cross-plains.wi.us , under Parks and Recreation Committee
 
We hope to see you there!

Mike Cliff

The cross plains meeting is tonight. Anybody who can make it to show support is encouraged to attend. 6pm at the library.

Also, here is a link to the agenda and submitted discussion packet for tonight's meeting.

See everyone there!
Mike

How did it go?

Thanks to everyone who attended the May parks and rec committee meeting and helped with the trail proposal.  Every indication is that our proposal went over well.  A couple action items that came out of the meeting are that 1) Mike Axon (Parks and Rec Manager) will post a proposed mountain bike trail notice in the June Village newsletter, and 2)  We should meet with the Ice Age Trail Alliance to get an idea of what they are proposing for a trail route through the Glacial Valley Conservancy.  Pending good feedback from residents and the Ice Age Alliance, the parks and rec committee will propose an action at the June parks and rec committee meeting to hopefully approve the proposal.  This meeting is Scheduled for Monday 6/20 at 6pm and it will be important to have a good showing from supporters. 

We will pass along the posted Village notice when it is issued and it would be great for everyone to reply and show their support!

Thanks,
Mike

 

CROSS PLAINS MTB TRAIL QUESTIONNAIRE- PLEASE RESPOND

A Village newsletter was mailed out yesterday and had the following questionnaire posted about the proposed mountain bike trails in Cross Plains.  Please respond to Mike Axon (Cross Plains Parks and Recreation Manager) and let him know where you live, that you are in support of the new proposed trails and, if possible, would be willing to help construct and maintain these trails.  Also, please pass this notice along to friends and community members who may also be interested in seeing these trails built.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Would you like to see mountain biking added to our local Conservancies? Yes or No

Mixed Use Mountain Biking and Hiking
Over the last few months, an unofficial group of local mountain biking enthusiasts and trail building volunteers have been attending monthly Parks and Recreation Committee meetings, to discuss the viable option of allowing mountain biking in Village owned conservation areas.  Local residents have teamed up with the Capital Off Road Pathfinders and the International Mountain Bicycling Association, to develop a proposal for a “Mixed-Use Mountain Biking and Hiking Trail” for the southern- most conservation hillsides, including Glacial Valley, Cedar Glen, and Cedar Hill.  The current proposal would phase the trails into the 3 conservancy hillsides, starting with Glacial Valley Conservancy.  The current proposal would not allow for bike access through residential easements, but only commercial and/or parks and open space.  The cost for the mixed-use trail improvements would be entirely donation based as raised by volunteers and the Capital Off Road Pathfinders.  For the complete proposal go to www.cross-plains.wi.us . (Click on Special Projects)  Please submit any feedback to the Parks and Recreation Director at maxon@cross-plains.wi.us or by phone 608.798.3241 ext. 107.  We appreciate all feedback as we explore the best option for our community.

It appears that an official decision on these trails will not be made until the July 18th Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.  This should give us plenty of time to rally support and hopefully have a good showing at this meeting.  They may make a quick mention of the trails at the June 20th meeting, but this meeting has been reserved for an exciting dog park discussion. 

Keep an eye on this discussion thread for updates.

Thanks!
Mike
macliff at uwalumni dot com

You guys are so amazing -- thank-you so much.  While reading the material provided to Cross Plains Parks, I kept saying "wow" to myself.  Having been deeply involved in advocacy, I know how important education is.  Congratulations on doing such an amazing job.  Now the rest of us need to stand up and be counted.  And if you live in X-Plains, you count even more.  I'm going to send my in my vote of support today.