LETTER: Walkers need protection of a path along Northwoods Road

To Ozaukee Press:

The news story in last week’s Ozaukee Press concerning the increased auto traffic on Northwoods Road due to the Northern Gateway project provided quotes from the developer and the Village of Saukville but no answer to the concerns raised by a Town of Port Washington supervisor and the Town Board. 

When the Gateway developer’s spokesman and the village president of Saukville were asked if there would be a pedestrian pathway to allow for safe foot travel on Northwoods Road, the response was that the Northern Gateway Collective would be self-contained, with walking paths within it to be eventually built. 

How, exactly, are people going to get to Northern Gateway to enjoy those internal walking paths? By driving on Northwoods Road. With the extensive growth of that development, is Northwoods going to stay a country road? No. It’ll be a highly trafficked road with no safe pedestrian or bike trail. Unlike some country roads that have painted lines and shoulders, Northwoods Road has none of those safety features.

The developers and the Village of Saukville should be ashamed of this shortsightedness. Will a few truckloads of gravel really break the bank? How much is a child’s life worth? Do we need to wait for someone to be killed strolling home to Northern Gateway or from the YMCA before the developer and village might consider an inexpensive side path connecting short distances to the sidewalk at Highway 33? 

As a parent of children who live right off Northwoods Road, this cavalier non-response to a serious ongoing and growing traffic issue is unconscionable.

Sara Dahmen

Town of Port Washington