Rails-to-Trails project manager Willie Karidis speaking about the importance of the 30th Street Corridor, a key connector in the Route of the Badger trail network.
Hundreds of transportation planners, cycling advocates, environmentalists and elected officials from cities throughout the U.S. gathered at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center Wednesday for Rails-to-Trails’ inaugural TrailNation Summit.
The morning began with a welcome address from Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin, former U.S. Representative Tom Petri and Mayor Tom Barrett, who touted Milwaukee’s increase in bike lanes over the last decade and its upcoming protected bike lane project. He went on to talk about the importance of bike trails.
Following sessions included The TrailNation Playbook, a panel discussion with planners working on eight innovative bike trails across the country, and Disruption, Mobility and the Built Environment, a panel moderated by CityLab staff writer Laura Bliss about how rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, autonomous vehicles and other technological advances will affect the future of walking and biking.
The day ended with a bus tour of the 30th Street Corridor, a bike trail project that Rails-to-Trails hopes will be a key connector in Southeast Wisconsin’s Route of the Badger trail network. The corridor was highlighted in the organization’s 2017 report Reconnecting Milwaukee: A BikeAble Study of Opportunity, Equity and Connectivity.
“Today, only about 8% of Milwaukee residents live within a half-mile of a trail,” the report says. “In the neighborhoods experiencing inequality, that percentage falls to just 3%. But adding two new pieces of key trail infrastructure—the 30th Street Corridor and Kinnickinnic River Trail—along with extensions of existing trails, will increase access to 14% for residents citywide and 11% for residents in the targeted area.”
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The bus tour ended at the Washington Park Urban Ecology Center, where community advocates including Rails-to-Trails project manager Willie Karidis, Northwest Side Community Development Corporation Executive Director Howard Snyder, Near West Side Partners Executive Director Keith Stanley and State Rep. Evan Goyke expressed support for the project.
Goyke explained that he looks at the bike trail project as a way to help desegregate Milwaukee by connecting people who may never see each other otherwise, and to bring investment to a neighborhood where it is needed. “This project is in part an effort to rebuild this neighborhood,” he said.
