Saturday, March 24, 2007

MSA comment forms


MSA, the engineering firm in charge of the redevelopment of Military Road, distributed comment forms for the project at the last public meeting on March 14th.

The original form deadline was by March 29th- although with the recent (4/6) scrapping of the previous road plan, you can still download a comment form, print it out and tell MSA exactly what you think the new plan should look like. One idea: a raised roadbed instead of ditches, which would dramatically reduce the number of trees to be cut.

Jim Bollman, P.E.
MSA Professional Services, Inc.
1835 N. Stevens Street
Rhinelander, WI 54501

Please indicate on the envelope the project i.d. number: 9907-02-00, Military Road, STH Oneida/Vilas County Line, Oneida County

Sunday, March 18, 2007

For Immediate Release:


Group Says it Has New Plan For Military Road

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/17/07

Three Lakes, WI, March 17 – Following a town meeting that drew nearly 100 people to discuss the controversial redevelopment plans for Military Road, members of the Partnership to Preserve Military Road say they have a plan that will meet everyone’s needs. The group of concerned citizens, which is seeking to preserve the trees along the road, intends to meet with road engineers and town board members to present a plan to fix the road’s drainage issues while sparing the historic old growth trees that line the road.

“We can repave the road, improve drainage, save money and make the road safer without cutting down thousands of trees,” says Three Lakes citizen Leah Moss. “There is a win-win situation to be found here and we’re confident this controversy can be solved in a way that will make everyone happy.”

Wednesday’s town meeting, hosted by road design firm MSA, the Forest Service and the Three Lakes Town Board, pulled in permanent and seasonal residents from as far as 150 miles away to ask questions, voice concerns and learn more about the project. The engineer for the project, Jim Bollman, repeatedly referred to standing water on the road as being a prime concern. Town Board members said the project would save taxpayer money. Yet, some people walked away with even more reservations about the current plans.

Chris Bean, a property owner along Military Road with a science and engineering background said, “As it’s currently written, this plan will waste taxpayer money because different portions of the road will need repairs at different times. It costs a lot just to get the roadwork equipment out there in the first place. If we repaved the entire road in the right way we could improve drainage and save money at the same time.”

Town Board members also repeatedly cited safety as a reason for reconstructing portions of the road, but police records show only three non-alcohol and drug related accidents on Military Rd. in the past twenty years. The group argues there are better ways of improving safety along the road anyway, including posting speed limits and warning signs along the road.

The group’s website (http://savelakesuperiortrail.blogspot.com) cites peer reviewed studies based
on government data that show widening and straightening roadways may actually lead to more accidents because people naturally drive faster on the improved roads. The group presented these reports to MSA at Wednesday’s meeting.

It remains to be seen if the town and engineers will consider the new plan since some have called it a “done deal” despite Wednesday’s assurance by the Forest Service that plans were only “preliminary.”

“We’d like to believe that MSA and the town are working in good faith and would like to reflect our concerns in the road plan,” said Partnership member Evan Cestari.

MSA is taking public comments on the plan through the end of the month.


Monday, March 12, 2007

What can I do to help?


The momentum is building and more and more folks are putting an incredible effort into this partnership. But for us to win this thing we're all going to need to pitch in. Here's what you can do:

1) If you're in the area come to one of our meetings every Thursday at 6:30 pm at the Three Lakes Town Hall. We always have a good ol' time!

2) If you haven't already done so, download and sign the petition! Then send it along to us at 7124 Military Road Three Lakes, WI 54562. You may also fax the petition to the Town Board at (715)546-3384, but if you do so please send us the originals so we have them on file. We've already got over 500 signatures and they keep on coming!!

3) Give 'em a friendly phone call! The folks at the Forest Service, Engineering Firm and Town Board need to hear our concerns directly. Remember, they're supposed to represent us. Let them know that you want to see a new plan to improve drainage without cutting thousands of trees by raising the roadbed instead of creating ditches. Here are their phone numbers:
  • Jim Bollman (Project Engineer, MSA Professional Services) - 715-362-3244
  • Harv Skjerven (USFS, Eagle River District) - 715-479-2827
  • Jeff Herrett (USFS, Eagle River District) - 715-479-2827 ext.1
  • Warner Stebbeds, Jr. (Town Chairman) - 715-546-3316
  • Dave Hapka (Town Board) - 715-546-2163
  • William Martineau (Town Board) - 715-546-2809
  • Frederick Schwartz (Town Board) - 715-546-2879
  • Cynthia Starke (Town Board) - 715-546-2042
  • Tony Hallman (Town Clerk) - 715-546-3316 northwoodstony@hotmail.com
4) Pick up a sign! We have signs for your yard, car, home and business. Come on by 7124 Military Road anytime to pick one up. We must stay visible!

5) Write a letter to the editor. They say that one letter to the editor represents the thinking of 1,000 people. Plus we'll post it up on this blog! Here are the contacts:


Flagging is Done!



If you happen to drive down Military you're bound to see lots of orange. Why? Because we've marked hundreds of trees that are scheduled to be cut along the road with orange ribbon. You'll see some pretty magnificent old growth white and red pines that are hugged with orange ribbon along with many other smaller trees.

The Town Board and Project Engineer are trying to portray this project's impact as minimal. We suggest you take a look at the ribbons and make up your own mind!

For folks who didn't catch it Channel 12 News in Rhinelander picked up this story as their headline news for last night.


"Military Road Might Lose Its Soul:" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


by Dennis McCann Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=575105

Military Road Might Lose Its Soul With Its Trees

Three Lakes - That Military Road is a historic passageway is told by an oversize marker on the road's northern end.

You are on the location, visitors are told, of a military wagon road begun near the end of the Civil War to link Fort Howard at Green Bay with Fort Wilkins in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Before that it was known as the old Lake Superior Trail, a moccasin path for Indians for centuries and later used by trappers, travelers and drovers heading to mineral-rich northern Michigan and by lumbermen who came to clear the great northern forest.

That Military Road is scenic needs no such explanation.

Simply drive it. The stretch from Highway 70 on the north to Three Lakes on the south is a narrow, winding, rolling road bordered by towering pines that close together high overhead, like hands folded in prayer, a drive so beautiful that in 1990 it was designated a National Heritage Scenic Byway. In autumn, when the maples blush, Military Road is a popular destination for leaf-peepers, though last week's fresh snow provided a just-as-lovely winter wrap.

But drive it soon, because change could be imminent. Today Military Road has become its own battleground, pitting those who would keep it canopied and, yes, crooked against those who would modernize the road by widening it in places, putting in ditches along the sides and straightening some of its curves, even at the cost of many of those tall pines and wildlife habitat.

You can guess which side has the money.

"Improvement," is the word backers of the $1.7 million project use.

That's the last word opponents of the reconstruction would use. They don't deny that Military Road needs work in spots, but in a late attempt to save the trees - bids are scheduled to be let in May and reconstruction would start by fall - they have launched an effort to save the road from "improvements" that would alter its scenic value. What they don't want to do, said one area resident in a letter to the editor of the local paper, is "turn Military Road into just another country road."

No local money

The fight over Military Road broke out last month after the Three Lakes Town Board voted 3-2 to spend $1.7 million in federal money - no town tax dollars are involved, which opponents say is just the problem - on the reconstruction. The vote came despite pleas from those associated with Teaching Drum Outdoor School, a wilderness-skills school located on Military Road, to spare about a dozen tall pines that stand along the road.

"Just from our standpoint," said the school's Glenn Helkenn as we stood in the road one day last week, "this is our storefront."

After the vote and subsequent attention brought to the project, said Helkenn, opposition to the plan "has just ballooned since then. Native Americans have gotten involved, neighbors up and down the road . . . people from all over the community have got concerns over this project."

A meeting to form a "Partnership to Save Military Road" attracted about 40 people, said Evan Cestari, also with Teaching Drum, and launched such efforts as a Web site, www.savelakesuperiortrail.blogspot.com, a letter campaign to town board members and a petition drive that will be presented at an informational meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at the town offices in Three Lakes. Engineers for the project are scheduled to explain their plans, and representatives of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will be available to answer questions.

They'll no doubt get some. Goldie Longtail, cultural preservation officer for the Mole Lake band of Chippewa Indians, said it is likely there are remains of tribal members buried along the road that would be disturbed by reconstruction. Tribal officials "don't want Military Road disturbed at all," she said, calling it "a spiritual thing with us."

Helkenn and others argue that if the issue is safety of motorists, as backers of reconstruction claim, the so-called improvements might actually make it more unsafe. As it is, the hilly and winding route demands slow going. But if the road is widened and curves straightened, higher speeds could lead to more accidents, he said. In fact, opponents have collected accident reports that they say show Military Road has had only three non-alcohol or non-drug-related accidents in 20 years, and those were caused by a deer, a tire blowout and bad weather.

Main attraction

Beyond that, Helkenn said, reconstruction could forever change "the last road of its kind in the area - an irreplaceable scenic and historic treasure and a unique contribution to tourism."

That notion was seconded by a woman working in a Three Lakes business when she learned I had just visited Military Road. "That's what people come here for," she said.

Helkenn and Cestari say they are hopeful of reaching a compromise with the town board that would allow some needed fixes along Military Road, including repaving, but without removing the trees doomed by the current plan.

"There seems to be a growing base of concern," Helkenn said, "so I'd like to think the chances are pretty good. There are lots of compromises. The whole partnership is just looking for a compromise position."

Dave Hapka thinks otherwise. A pharmacist in Three Lakes who lives just off the Military road, Hapka was one of the three town board members voting for reconstruction and he said the controversy won't stop the project from going forward. By providing the town with all federal funding for the road, the U.S. Forest Service, which has jurisdiction over the Nicolet National Forest, "basically gave us a gift," Hapka said, by paying for a project the town could not afford on its own. Going forward with the project as designed will improve the road for the next 20 years, he said, while anything less would mean further work would be needed in the future.

Hapka, who said he was struck by a logging truck while driving on Military Road in the 1980s, said safety is the issue, not scenery, and that even the road's designation as a national scenic byway carried no special weight.

"I definitely can see (Teaching Drum director Tamarack Song's) position on the road. I love trees. There's no vendetta against the trees. There's no vendetta against the people (who oppose the project).

"It's just: Do we want a road that's going to last 20 years? Do we want a road that's going to be safer?

"It's a terrible road to drive everyday. I could probably provide you with six to eight people who won't do business in Three Lakes because they have to drive down Military Road."

And if put to referendum, Hapka said, the project would be easily approved.

Word is out

Opponents aren't so sure of that. They're heartened by the support of summer residents who are just now hearing of the scope of the project, like Chicagoan Jay Franke who criticized the plans in a recent letter to the Vilas County News Review, which has endorsed reconstruction. Franke said the record shows not a serious accident on the road in at least 20 years and said the town was acting "on the ancient principle of OPM - Other People's Money."

And, Franke said, "whatever Military Road may have been 200 years ago, it is now the delightfully slow way to get from, well, nowhere to nowhere."

Maybe that's the problem. Not enough people are satisfied with going nowhere slowly, especially when there's free federal money for the taking.

E-mail dmccann@journalsentinel.com.




Safety - What do the Experts Say?


The Town Board and Project Engineer have continuously raised the spectre of safety to defend the development plan to widen Military Road. But guess what? The experts disagree with that assessment! Take a look at the following studies:

Dr. Robert Noland, of the Centre for Transport Studies at the Imperial College in London, completed a comprehensive statistical analysis of all 50 states in 2001 that has been enormously influential. His 2003 paper, "Traffic Fatalities and Injuries: Are Reductions the Result of 'Improvements' in Highway Design Standards?" published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention states that the studies "strongly refute the hypothesis that engineering design improvements have been beneficial for reducing total fatalities and injuries" and "strongly suggests that widening lanes to 12 feet will actually make roads less safe [emphasis added]."

To many this is just common sense. But when the actual research shows that widening roads make them less safe the Project Engineer and Town Board have an obligation to take note.

You can read the full study yourself at:
http://www.penbiped.net/highway-safety-not.pdf

Dr. Noland is hardly a lone voice. The Conservation Law Foundation has done some thorough research on the subject as well. Their conclusions speak directly to our situation here in Three Lakes:

"Highway engineers usually assert that their projects are necessary to improve "safety." While they are typically sincere, they are also typically relying on guidelines that were not developed with the goal of making roads safer for everyone. Projects that bring roads up to 'modern' standards generally do not provide safe places for people to walk or bicycle in-part because they tend to increase traffic speeds - or they improve walking and bicycling only as an afterthought."

They continue, "Regardless of posted speed limits, motorists will drive faster when given the "safety cushion" of a wider road and greater sight distances. Higher design-speed roads have an insidious psychological effect on most motorists, prompting them to increase their speed unwittingly [emphasis added]."

The Conservation Law Foundation's report sometimes seems like a guide specifically written about the Military Road project. Read the full report at:
http://www.clf.org/general/index.asp?id=385

The folks at saferuralroads.com have been doing some excellent work on dangerous "road improvement" and widening projects. They state the case succinctly: "Without a safe neighborhood road, there will be no neighborhood." They also have an excellent dowloadable flyer.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Notes from March 8th Meeting


Thank you for those of you who made it to one or both of these past two meetings, and for those of you who were with us in spirit. Our last two meetings were greatly productive, and we have a lot to do before the big meeting on March 14th.

March 1's meeting we discussed general meeting format, met everyone again
(briefly), and made announcements.

1. We will hold meetings at the Town Hall each Thursday (including next
week) at 6:30pm.
2. We have a new road map with the latest plans, read and understood by a
few members who can help explain the details.
3. OUR BLOG ADDRESS: www.savelakesuperiortrail.blogspot.com
OUR EMAIL: savelakesuperiortrail@hotmail.com
OUR PHONE: 715-546-3388

Our blog has updates on events, editorials, and information regarding this
project.

Last night we came back with our findings from research and actions, and we discussed our actions for this week, before the big meeting MARCH 14th (the town board has called an informational meeting with the Forest Service and the project engineer to answer questions). The meeting will be Wednesday March 14th at 5pm at the Three Lakes Town Hall. Here are the actions we MUST TAKE before that meeting:

SIGNS: (We have made car signs and lawn signs, come pick some up and hand them out! We need this to be PUBLIC) The signs have our blog address, our phone number and email.

PETITIONS: We have about 300 signatures so far. We need more! Our goal
is 1,000. You can download a copy at our blog and print some out.

TREE FLAGGING: We have been marking all the trees that are to be removed along Military Road. There are so many! So come on down and take a look. We want to flag ALL of them, because it really shows what the plan is for the contractors. Would you be available tomorrow (Saturday) between 10 and Noon? We have a crew going out. If not then, we can arrange it any
time if you're interested. We will be going out hopefully every day for an hour or so.

LETTERS TO ABSENTEE LANDLORDS: In three lakes, there are 8,000 residents. Only 2000 are year round, the rest come in the summer. We are trying to notify the other 6,000 because they are the LARGE majority of the citizens here, and they don't know ANYTHING about this plan. We sent out a bunch of letters last week, and yesterday we got a hundred
signatures in the mail.

Today, Karen Cottignham, myself, Evan, and Ken will be stuffing more envelopes. We want to send out as many as possible. They can fax in the petition to the town board at this time (we want the town board to get these signatures by March 14th meeting.) Then they can send in the hard copy to us. Of course, we'll still be sending these letters afterwards because this project won't start until May, so we have some time to reach all 6,000 of them.

GET PEOPLE TO THE MARCH 14th MEETING: Please come, and bring as many
people with you as possible! It is crucial to make a huge impact on the board.

MEDIA: We must alert the media to get as much coverage as possible. As we finish the tree flagging, we want to hold a press conference in front of any section so that people can see the huge trees that are coming down. We want channels 12 and 7 out there for the meeting on March 14th, and we need newspaper and radio announcements for these meetings.

CAMCORDER FOR MEETING: Do you or someone you know have a camcorder so that we can record the meeting on March 14th from beginning to end?

Let us know what your thoughts are, and if you have any suggestions. The last points of the meeting were bringing up as many questions and comments as we could come up with to bring to the March 14th meeting. We will type them all up, and then everyone will have a copy of them. will be typing up and sending that out in the next few days so that anyone can add to it.
This way, pretty much all of us have a chance to ask a question. When they begin the meeting and ask if there are any questions, fifty hands will go up at once.

Best,

Leah
Partnership to Save Military Road
www.savelakesuperiortrail.blogspot.com
savelakesuperiortrail@hotmail.com
715 - 546 - 3388

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Dowload and Sign the Petition!

Click the link below to download our petition (in Ms Word format). Please get as many signatures as you can and return it to us by March 10th! We will bring them to the March 14th meeting to show the Town Board what people really think about the road reconstruction!

Petition

Please send all petitions (no matter how many signatures you've gathered ) to:

Partnership to Preserve Military Road
7124 Military Rd.
Three Lakes, WI 54562

This is your chance to have your voice be heard!

Monday, March 5, 2007

Letter to the Editor: Safety and Beauty Are Compatible


Tamarack's letter here shows that there is a win-win situation to be found. Safety and beauty indeed can exist together.

Dear Editor:

There is one concern nearly everyone has who is in favor of the proposed upgrading of Military Road near Three Lakes--safety. These people are not anti-tree by any means; they just don't see how the road can be made safe without cutting down trees. That prompted me to do some research to see if there were any realistic alternatives, and here are some challenges other areas faced:

  • California--preserving big trees adjacent to roads in Redwood National Park and Monterey Peninsula.
  • New England--preserving traditional stone fences along roads.
  • Texas--maintaining wildflower prairies and rock outcrops adjacent to roads.

By using guardrails, posts, reflectors, retaining walls, creative road grading, posting and enforcing speed limits, these states have been able to maintain their heritage and scenic beauty--and show excellent safety records.

Yes, the old-fashioned chainsaw and bulldozer approach works, but what does it give us? Something that looks like it was chainsawed and bulldozed, of course. I believe we are just as capable as California and New England, and I believe our heritage and scenic beauty here in Northwoods Wisconsin are just as valuable as theirs. I bet we can do the same thing as they did if we want to. Let's scratch the old reconstruction plan, do our research, and come up with a plan for a road that is safe AND beautiful.

Tamarack Song,

Three Lakes

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Letter to the Editor: Who Benefits From Military Project?


It looks like Catherine is asking the right questions in this letter to the editor..

Dear Editor:
On Feb. 6, the Three Lakes Town Board voted to destroy Military Road — widening, straightening, ditching. They spoke of their “obligation to the taxpayers of Three Lakes,” i.e., to do major reconstruction now to avoid small repairs later (although the engineer refused to guarantee a fixed lifetime for the reconstruction).

But what about their obligation to the taxpayers of Three Lakes to respect and protect a historic road, a designated scenic byway, whose beauty draws visitors to our community? What about their obligation to preserve the very features that make our region unique? What about their obligation to spend money on projects that truly serve the public good?

This is not a heavily traveled road; no one in a hurry would choose it as an alternative route between Eagle River and Three Lakes. Nor is it dangerous; the accident rate is very low. So who benefits from this “improvement”?

This board has already given us the new Northernaire, a prime candidate for the ugliest building in Oneida County. Will they now turn Military Road into just another country road?

Sincerely,

Catherine Marshall

Three Lakes