LETTER: Dangerous play encouraged by Interurban Trail tree removal

To Ozaukee Press:
    Recently my family and I were walking on the Interurban Trail in Port Washington between Hales Trail and the marina and heard a boy calling for help from the ravine near the volleyball court. He was down there with some peers and had fallen and was injured.
    My husband and I proceeded to assist the boy. All of the children’s parents were more than a quarter of a mile away, but my husband was able to bring the child to his parents safely.
    I am very upset, both due to the parents’ neglect and due to the city’s over-cutting the trees and brush on the trail. In my eyes, both are equally at fault in this situation. The parents should have been watching their children and the city has to stop cutting trees along the trail.
    The trail is a huge hazard near any of the open areas where trees have been cut down over the past few years. The city keeps cutting down trees, opening up vistas with steep embankments that encourage children and adults to go down into dangerous conditions.
    The cutting needs to stop. Let the trees grow. Nature is the reason people walk on the trail.  
    And, of course, be kind and always help someone in need.
Britany Buechel
Port Washington