Whether the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad wants to take back the 4.5-mile portion of the Cheese Country Trail west of Monroe to accommodate a potential new business or not is beside the point.
We hope that it is.
Railroad President William Gardener on Friday told the Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission that a new business wants to build west of Monroe and needs rail access that currently serves as a trail for recreational vehicles.
"This will bring jobs to the area," Gardener said. He wouldn't say anything more about the business, and at least one commission member was suspicious about the validity of the reasoning. Only time will tell whether the new business ever materializes. Green County and Monroe certainly could use the jobs.
The bottom line, however, is that the railroad has every contractual right to take the land back whenever it wants for whatever reason. Wisconsin & Southern has given the proper six months notice that it will take back the rail line in January 2010. That ship has sailed.
It serves no purpose for trail users or public officials to fight the railroad's decision. It didn't when Wisconsin & Southern's decision came to public light in July. It makes even less sense now, as the closing of that portion of the trail nears.
Efforts would be better spent on determining what happens next.
There is no doubt that the Cheese Country Trail is a valuable asset to Green County. From a purely recreational standpoint, it provides residents and visitors a place to enjoy their all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. There also is certainly an economic benefit to the county, in money spent by those who are here to enjoy the trails.
Unfortunately, the real economic impact of the trail is difficult to determine. As a Times story in the Saturday, Oct. 24, edition pointed out, the only data available in that regard is more than five years old.
The $11 million annual economic benefit of the trail has been used loosely in discussions about the railroad's decision in recent months. In actuality, a March 2004 report by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism estimated that $11.2 million was generated annually in an 11-county area that includes Green County by an ATV trail.
The study doesn't specify the benefit to Green County. And it's important to note that the local economy was much different in 2004 than it is today.
Hindsight would suggest it would be beneficial for the county and the City of Monroe to have more recent and more specific data to determine the trail's real economic value. Perhaps that is something that still can be done.
In the meantime, leaders from the railroad, City of Monroe, Green County, Green County Tourism, Green County Economic Development, transit commissions and the local ATV club should be working together. They should be determining what the options for a rerouted trail portion are. The railroad last month said it was studying alternatives. Once those options are determined, the cost to create them must be weighed against the economic benefits - as best as they can be determined.
We hope that it is.
Railroad President William Gardener on Friday told the Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission that a new business wants to build west of Monroe and needs rail access that currently serves as a trail for recreational vehicles.
"This will bring jobs to the area," Gardener said. He wouldn't say anything more about the business, and at least one commission member was suspicious about the validity of the reasoning. Only time will tell whether the new business ever materializes. Green County and Monroe certainly could use the jobs.
The bottom line, however, is that the railroad has every contractual right to take the land back whenever it wants for whatever reason. Wisconsin & Southern has given the proper six months notice that it will take back the rail line in January 2010. That ship has sailed.
It serves no purpose for trail users or public officials to fight the railroad's decision. It didn't when Wisconsin & Southern's decision came to public light in July. It makes even less sense now, as the closing of that portion of the trail nears.
Efforts would be better spent on determining what happens next.
There is no doubt that the Cheese Country Trail is a valuable asset to Green County. From a purely recreational standpoint, it provides residents and visitors a place to enjoy their all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. There also is certainly an economic benefit to the county, in money spent by those who are here to enjoy the trails.
Unfortunately, the real economic impact of the trail is difficult to determine. As a Times story in the Saturday, Oct. 24, edition pointed out, the only data available in that regard is more than five years old.
The $11 million annual economic benefit of the trail has been used loosely in discussions about the railroad's decision in recent months. In actuality, a March 2004 report by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism estimated that $11.2 million was generated annually in an 11-county area that includes Green County by an ATV trail.
The study doesn't specify the benefit to Green County. And it's important to note that the local economy was much different in 2004 than it is today.
Hindsight would suggest it would be beneficial for the county and the City of Monroe to have more recent and more specific data to determine the trail's real economic value. Perhaps that is something that still can be done.
In the meantime, leaders from the railroad, City of Monroe, Green County, Green County Tourism, Green County Economic Development, transit commissions and the local ATV club should be working together. They should be determining what the options for a rerouted trail portion are. The railroad last month said it was studying alternatives. Once those options are determined, the cost to create them must be weighed against the economic benefits - as best as they can be determined.
