The Conover town board is looking at options for allowing both ATVs and a bike trail downtown. At Wednesday night’s special meeting, town board members decided to sit down with the state Department of Transportation.
Federal funding lined up for the current trail plan would allow only non-motorized use in the summer, and snowmobiles in the winter.
Vilas County officials want the town to allow multiple uses, including ATV access, on part of the railroad grade near downtown Conover.
Town Supervisor Karl Jennrich says local business owners support a compromise.
“They were pretty crystal clear that they wanted the whole enchilada, so to speak. They I believe do support an east-west bike pedestrian trail going towards Phelps, but they also wanted the corridor North-South open – in case there would be at some time some multiple use coming through Conover.”
The town wants to figure out whether the federal funding might allow an exception for about three fourths of a mile of the bike trail to be multi use...or to create two separate trails next to each other.
Jennrich says looking at different routes would be difficult because of the geography of downtown Conover.
“The old railroad grade that goes there is narrow, and it’s so tight. If you look at Conover on a map, you got the Pioneer Creek coming through us, the Muskrat Creek, all to get to the Wisconsin River. SO you’re dealing with a river crossing, a wetland crossing – and it’s tight.”
Town board members will meet with Department of Transportation officials to discuss options.
Conover must decide whether to move forward with the federal DOT funding by December, or face delays with the project.
