Evers Budget Gives Trail Projects Some Teeth

Oak Leaf Trail – Zip Line. Photo taken October 20th, 2020 by Jeramey Jannene.

Pedestrian trail projects could soon have the same legal authority as road projects.

In his 2025-2027 biennial budget proposal, Gov. Tony Evers included a provision restoring the ability of local governments to use eminent domain when building a bicycle or pedestrian trail.

In Wisconsin, when a government condemns and takes a private property for a public works project the owner maintains certain rights and is compensated for the property.

The authority to do this for bike and pedestrian projects was stripped by state law through the 2017 state budget under then Gov. Scott Walker. Between 2017 and 2019, more than 20 trail projects across the state were delayed as a result of losing the authority, according to a white paper by the Wisconsin Bike Fed.

“We applaud Governor Evers including eminent domain in his budget draft and recommending that local units of government have the authority to purchase land for the construction of nonmotorized paths,” Kirsten Finn, executive director of Wisconsin Bike Fed told Urban Milwaukee. “Extending the same common sense policy to acquiring easements for sidewalks and bike paths that is used for building or expanding roads for cars, would enable Wisconsin to finish critical links in our State’s cycling network and help increase safety for those who walk.”

Milwaukee County Parks manages the largest network of trails in Milwaukee and is responsible for the majority of new trail projects in the area. Eminent domain hasn’t been an issue for trail projects in the past, Parks told Urban Milwaukee. But the system does have 154 parks and 10,000 acres of land within its system.

However, some of the department’s long-range trail plans — like the Northwest Side Trail Connections Plan — does includes ideas for trails that would cross property not owned by Parks. The department does not have any plans for those property acquisitions at this time.

Bicycle and pedestrian trails contribute to economic activity, support healthy lifestyles, provide safer commutes and increase property values, according to the Bike Fed. Milwaukee County Parks has also reported growing enthusiasm and trail usage along its Oak Leaf Trail network in recent years. The department has given itself a goal of 10 new miles of trail by 2026.

It’s not the first time the governor has tried to restore this authority, though. The governor included it in his 2019 budget, but it did not survive the budget process. The proposal faces political opposition, primarily from conservative organizations and Republican legislators, who view the proposal as strengthening the government’s ability to take property away from property owners.