Dear Editor,
After reading the Article entitled "Break in the Trail ahead for ATV Riders", in Saturday July 25th edition of the Monroe Times I felt some background might be helpful.
The Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission (PRTC) was created on July 12, 1979. The PRTC was created by Rock, Green, Lafayette & Iowa Counties in response to the proposed abandonment of the rail line between Janesville & Mineral Point.
While the PRTC has been successful in preserving and improving the rail line from Janesville to Monroe, the rails from Monroe to Mineral Point were removed in 1988.
This portion of the rail corridor was then placed in the Federal "Rails to Trails" program. The sole purpose of the PRTC is to preserve the entire rail corridor for rail use. Without the PRTC to preserve the rail corridor there would be no Cheese County Trail.
Rail traffic in the City of Monroe has increased four-fold since 2002. Because of the increase, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) presented a proposal to the PRTC at its regularly scheduled meeting on Friday, July 24, to extend the current rail line 1 1/2 miles west of Monroe. The PRTC granted their request.
During the lengthy discussion on their proposal, Ken Lucht, representing WSOR, indicated numerous times that WSOR was committed to working together with the PRTC and the Tri-County Trail Commission in determining the feasibility of joint use of the rail corridor for Trail access into the City of Monroe.
The PRTC has maintained a strong and healthy relationship with Tri-County Trail Commission for over nineteen years, and is very happy with ow the rail-to-trails relationship has worked for everyone involved.
The decision made on Friday is not a break in relationship; the PRTC hopes to continue working with the trail group so that the trial and rail can co-exist, including sharing the existing corridor, if feasible.
After reading the Article entitled "Break in the Trail ahead for ATV Riders", in Saturday July 25th edition of the Monroe Times I felt some background might be helpful.
The Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission (PRTC) was created on July 12, 1979. The PRTC was created by Rock, Green, Lafayette & Iowa Counties in response to the proposed abandonment of the rail line between Janesville & Mineral Point.
While the PRTC has been successful in preserving and improving the rail line from Janesville to Monroe, the rails from Monroe to Mineral Point were removed in 1988.
This portion of the rail corridor was then placed in the Federal "Rails to Trails" program. The sole purpose of the PRTC is to preserve the entire rail corridor for rail use. Without the PRTC to preserve the rail corridor there would be no Cheese County Trail.
Rail traffic in the City of Monroe has increased four-fold since 2002. Because of the increase, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) presented a proposal to the PRTC at its regularly scheduled meeting on Friday, July 24, to extend the current rail line 1 1/2 miles west of Monroe. The PRTC granted their request.
During the lengthy discussion on their proposal, Ken Lucht, representing WSOR, indicated numerous times that WSOR was committed to working together with the PRTC and the Tri-County Trail Commission in determining the feasibility of joint use of the rail corridor for Trail access into the City of Monroe.
The PRTC has maintained a strong and healthy relationship with Tri-County Trail Commission for over nineteen years, and is very happy with ow the rail-to-trails relationship has worked for everyone involved.
The decision made on Friday is not a break in relationship; the PRTC hopes to continue working with the trail group so that the trial and rail can co-exist, including sharing the existing corridor, if feasible.
