Panel finds way to create cohesive Muskego trail system more quickly

A recreational trail looping around Little Muskego Lake could be completed as early as 2017, under changes made to the long range trail plan by the Muskego Parks and Recreation Board on Monday.

The trail, running alongside major roads such as College Avenue and Martin Road, would not be right beside the water. But it would connect about a fifth of the city's population to the city's trail system, said Alderman Daniel Soltysiak, who pushed for the change that he said would make the trail system more cohesive.

The loop would connect bicyclists and walkers to parks around the lake, including Idle Isle, Park Arthur, Lions Park and Horn Park, he said, as well as all 12 of the city's lake accesses.

The entire loop was already in the city's trail system plan. Soltysiak offered a way to move construction of loop sections forward so that a cohesive loop trail could be created. Sections would be completed each year - including this year, when the Janesville Road trail will be extended as part of the Janesville Road widening project.

And it all can be done without using taxpayer dollars, Soltysiak said. The city could use landfill fees paid to the city by Veolia Environmental Services for operating a landfill in Muskego.

The city should use landfill fees for enduring improvements that will enhance quality of life such as trails and parks, he said, because one day the landfill fees will be gone.