New Bike Route Would Cross State
You could ride from here to Minnesota and then up the Mississippi River Trail.
U.S. Bike Route 30
An official bicycle route crossing the state of Wisconsin could be in the near future for local bike enthusiasts, as the final preparations are being worked out.
If a proposal for an official designation is approved, bicyclists will be able to link up with the path at the Milwaukee terminus, where it begins running through Bay View, then on to Walker’s Point, the Menomonee River Valley, West Allis and Waukesha.
From there, riders will be able to traverse the state hitting cities like Madison and La Crosse, eventually riding into Winona, MN where they could start onto U.S. Bike Route 45, otherwise known as the Mississippi River Trail.
The route will consist of already existing trails and paths, says Jill Mrotek Glenzinski, the State Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The designation, if approved by all the towns and municipalities along the route, will connect already existing infrastructure.
Some famous paths and trails that could be folded into the route include the Hank Aaron State Trail, Oak Leaf Trail, New Berlin Recreation Trail, Glacial Drumlin State Trail, 400 State Trail and Elroy-Sparta State Trail.
The Wisconsin route, to be known as U.S. Bike Route 30, will be one leg of a national corridor that bicycling advocacy groups are assembling.
“The goal is a national network of recognized bike routes that people can use for any length of bike trip – from a day to several days, a week, month or whatever,” says Ginny Sullivan, director of travel initiatives at Adventure Cycling, a Montana non-profit and bicycling advocate.
Adventure Cycling, which advocates for bicycling and leads tours across the country, has taken the lead on the project, but they’ve also partnered with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
The official designation for the trail is expected by May of this year. Organizers are still waiting on approval of the route from a couple municipalities in the Devil’s Lake area, Irons says. The Milwaukee Common Council recently passed a resolution approving the route unanimously
“There are a few challenges we have to overcome,” Sullivan says. “But a lot of the ground work is complete.”
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I am looking forward to this, please post updates, I would like to take some time and ride it.
I also look forward to riding dedicated routes. Been cycling for 7 decades and Milwaukee was always a biking mecca.
I fail to be impressed. My experiences attempting to find my way from one trail to another in Milwaukee and Waukesha county show a serious lack of signage, even following bike specific maps. The trail heads are hidden.
I much prefer improved bike infrastructure on existing streets- bike lanes are consistently placed next to parking lanes where car doors open into the marked lane. I do not wish to break my neck once again by striking a car door opening the instant I pass, so you will see me cycling to the left most or even outside these marked lanes when parked cars are present. Tinted windows and head rests make it impossible to know if cars are occupied. Furthermore, these lanes end before intersections, precisely where the hazards and conflicts with motorists increase dramatically. Many of these lanes exist for a mere block or a few blocks leading nowhere, which leads me to speculate these nonsense lanes are added up for “bragging rights” and increased state or federal highway funding.
I have been honestly waiting over a year for this route to finally get signed. I cannot wait—please post updates!
Margo I think you are “dead on”. I lived in Milwaukee for most of my life and would never think about riding some of the streets considered “bike friendly”. Way too many folks using phones and just having to get somewhere fast. Come ride Southwest Wisconsin where I now live. You may need to let the tractor pass but it is a true joy to ride on roads out here.
I like both trends of thought above. We may need bicycle routes to connect us all as the Inter Urbans once connected us. Can you see those “beer group cycles” traveling between towns carrying travelers not just revelers? Also a more consistent street biking infrastructure would be a help in our larger cities. We could wean ourselves of the addiction we have to the automobile? What a great benefit to our environmental health and personal health!
Absolutely agree with signage problem. All good for biking across state but finding lodging is a problem on several legs of these routes and certainly not a trek most of us could do in one day!
This is nice. It will be cool for those who have the time to ride all that way on a bicycle and back.
Bikes are great. I love mine. Cars are great. I love mine.
We can have both.
I would love to know about the trail for the bike riders that will be able to go across state a awesome challenge to do.
…one year later.