A first a HUGE "Thank you!" to everyone who has already reached out to the City of Sun Prairie to express their support for the proposed trail system in Sheehan Park. Keep those emails coming! We can't have too many.
The opposing group is concerned that the singletrack trail will cause damage to the mowed, grassy surfaces in the park in the areas where the trail crosses the grassy areas between the wooded sections.
The opposing group is also concerned for the safety of runners in the park (the ones NOT running on the singletrack trails) due to the possibility of collisions in the same areas where the proposed trail emerges from the wooded sections of park.
We are in the progress of working with this group to address their concerns, but don't seem to be making progress in changing their opinions. We hope that with some additional information and assurances, this group will change from opposing to supporting our proposal.
I'm sorry I can't be more specific about the opposition group, it is a sensitive and fluid situation.
While we understand that the safety concerns are legitimate, we are confident that these concerns can and will be addressed with proper trail design, construction & maintenance.
The opposition to our proposal came as a huge surprise to us, because several of us who worked on the proposal are runners. We view the creation of singletrack trails as an enhancement of the running facilities at Sheehan Park, not as a threat. I actually run at Sheehan Park 2-3 times per week whenever the paths are not icy or snow-covered. I usually run while pushing my 2-year-old son in the jogger and my dog on a leash, so the safety of these intersections are of huge personal importance to me. I will make sure they are done right!
We are asking supporters of the trail to reach out to the City of Sun Prairie to help counter-balance the negative feedback the City has received from the opposition group.
If you contact the City, there is no need to get into the technical aspects of safety, trail design, etc. All we are asking for is a simple email saying who you are, where you are from and that you support the proposal to build multi-use, singletrack trails in Sheehan Park.
Thanks again for your support!