Navigation

Sustainability Issue 2022: A New Connection in Ephraim?

During a March 2 meeting of Ephraim’s Capital Projects Committee, member Chuck Pearson noted the impact the new sidewalks in downtown have made on pedestrian activity in the village since they were completed in 2019. 

He said when the project to install sidewalks from Bay Breeze Resort to Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor was proposed, he thought it was primarily to make it safer for the pedestrians who were already walking along that stretch, but instead it opened the door for people to get around the village without their cars.

“It was noticeable beyond belief,” Pearson said. “If you build it, they will come. They’re gonna use it. Give them the option, and they’re gonna use it.”

His comments came as the village discussed a potential multi-use path to connect businesses, residents and visitors on the village’s north end. The village is taking a closer look at its options for the north end of the village between Orchard Road near the Waterbury Inn and Townline Road, where Associated Bank is located. 

Ken Nelson, chair of the village’s Capital Projects Committee, presented several options for next steps on the segment of the village that’s home to 157 hotel rooms, several galleries, shopping, two restaurants and a mini-golf course, all within a half mile of each other, but no pedestrian connections. 

Nelson said the committee originally focused on extending the decorative street lighting installed through the village, but then it changed its focus to what it considered a higher priority. 

“We had a change of heart on the ad hoc committee,” he said. “Instead of street lighting, we suggest we ask Wisconsin Public Service to light the intersections and light the curb.”

That would take the burden of the cost for lighting off the village, as the state pays that cost along a state highway if the village chooses to go with its basic style of lighting. The committee instead recommended that the village focus on options for a multi-use path, similar to the one that runs from Open Hearth Lodge to the Country Walk Shops in Sister Bay. 

President Michael McCutcheon noted that the board and community both placed a high priority on continuing the lighting in that area when surveyed and expressed a desire to continue the continuity of the downtown street lighting. 

The board voted unanimously to contract with AECOM engineers to investigate several options for both a pedestrian path and street lighting. AECOM is tasked with getting quotes and project specifications for three lighting options at a cost not to exceed $22,655, and two path options not to exceed $14,770. 

The lighting options include continuing the lighting as done in the downtown core; using similar lighting as downtown, but with taller fixtures to reduce the number of lights needed; and working with WPS to add lighting. For the path, AECOM will examine options for an off-road path in the right-of-way, as well as an expanded shoulder along the highway. 

If it comes to fruition, the path will come tantalizingly close to connecting the village of Ephraim to Sister Bay’s off-road paved path that ends a half mile north.