Planning begins for Riverfront Trail from downtown to Council Grounds

A steering committee for a 2.5 mile riverfront trail along the Wisconsin River met for the first time Nov. 16 to begin planning what will eventually be a link between downtown Merrill and Council Grounds State Park.

The committee anticipates that the trail will be located on the north side of the river and stretch from Center Avenue westward through industrial land, onto an abandoned railroad corridor crossing the Prairie River and then through a yet to be determined route continue on to the park. It is possible that a combination of having the path running through industrial areas and on-street bike routes will make up the rest of the trail.

Several community members involved with the River District Development Foundation successfully applied for a one-year technical assistance grant from the National Park Service's River and Trails Program. The grant will provide assistance for the group in developing a trail concept plan and to identify the next steps in implementation.

The program's Wisconsin manager, Angie Tornes, stated that she selected the Merrill application because it demonstrated "outstanding community support that, along with the invaluable assets of the beautiful Wisconsin and Prairie rivers and existing infrastructure, provided the raw resources from which to create a beautiful and historically rich riverfront trail."

Many people are looking forward to the planning project, hoping to finally see progress toward a goal that has been discussed for over a decade.

"We must move forward together," said Foundation President Gene Bebel. "The concept of a riverfront trail has been long in coming and couldn't be emphasized more."

The committee described the multiple benefits of the future trail including providing a safe, mostly off-road connection between Council Grounds and downtown Merrill as an alternative to Highway 64; the potential economic spin-offs resulting from increased access of tourists to downtown; increased quality of life for Merrill residents by obtaining direct access to the riverfront; increased physical activity; attractiveness of an alternative route for commuting to work or play; the provision of a shared, common open space for social interaction; a pleasant recreating experience for all ages and physical abilities; an environmentally natural area for understanding the various riverside ecosystems; and the opportunity to develop a "sense of place" from learning about area's history.

Next the committee hopes to map the existing condition along the river and planning for two public involvement workshops early next year. The results of the public comment and planner's findings will be merged into a report that includes a concept map and the proposed next steps in addressing the problem.

The committee hopes that the trail will be the start of a network of trails running from the city to different destinations.

People who are interested in supporting trail development are invited to join the new "Friends of the River District" group for an annual fee of $10. For more information on the group, contact Sharon Anderson at 715-536-9166 or via email at anderson1969@frontier.com or Chris Malm at 715-539-8166 or malmca@msn.com.