Update from Bob Dickson, President DCSSA
Opportunities for Big Impact
There will be several opportunities for those who enjoy Silent Sports in Door County to have a big impact this upcoming season. First up is the chance to help define what's in our County wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The county has contracted with the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation to develop this new county wide plan. There will be several public input sessions throughout the county during the next several months. It will be important for all residents and visitors alike to provide input to this important document. Pay attention to the media, to this DCSSA webpage, and to our Facebook page for dates and times. Another opportunity for residents and visitors to impact the Silent Sports activities will occur beginning this fall when the WI DNR opens up the five Door County State Park Master Plans. These plans will determine the direction of recreation in our Door County State Parks for the next 10 to 20 years. It's very important for all who recreate in our State parks to provide input to these Master Plans. Again pay attention to local media, to our DCSSA webpage here and to our Facebook page for opportunities to provide public input.
Feel free to contact the State Parks and the Wisconsin Bike Federation or the County Highway Commissionaire for more information on each of these important projects.
Highlights of the 3rd Annual Door County Bike Summit
At the May 20 & 21 Door County Bike Summit, presented by the Door County Silent Sports Alliance, speakers debunked myths that cyclists are cheap 20-somethings and shared insight into the true economic impact cycling can have on a community.
Hansi Johnson, the Midwest Regional Director of the IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association), led off the presentations at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek. His statistics showed that mountain bikers are far from "the Mountain Dew" crew – 40 million Americans participate in the sport, 71 percent are college graduates, and 33 percent have household incomes of $75,000 plus.
Johnson's sentiments were echoed by Scott Chapin, President of the Sawyer County Development Corporation, who has witnessed the effect cycling has had in his northern Wisconsin community. Chapin has given his presentation “Economic Impact of Bicycling and Silent Sports” over 20 times. Within it, he has synthesized a number of studies on cycling. In Wisconsin, where 49 percent of all residents bicycle, the economic impact of bicycle recreation/tourism is $925 million – more than that of hunting.
In addition to updates from Door County Board Supervisor Ben Meyer and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on the status of Door County’s comprehensive county-wide bike plan and $100,000 grant, Heather Fortune of Saris Cycling shared studies from another area similar to Door County, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Over 10 years, that community spent $6.7 million on bicycling infrastructure, which now brings the area $60 million annually.
Throughout the evening, all of the presenters expressed that Door County was primed to be a cycling destination throughout the Midwest. Kevin Hardman, Executive Director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, summed up the event by saying, “You all here in Door County can really lead the state if you continue doing it right. You’re doing all the things you need to be doing."
After the presentations at the Door Community Auditorium, audience members and speakers headed to Alexander's Restaurant in Fish Creek for a social hour. The socializing continued the following day, as over 30 bikers showed up for the morning road ride. Covering distances of over 30 and close to 50 miles, the two groups reinforced the idea that Door County is an ideal biking destination. A few hardy bikers even partook in an afternoon mountain biking session in Peninsula State Park, checking out the trail work accomplished the previous day with Brigit Brown, DNR Trails Coordinator, and crew.
To wrap up the festivities, the raffle winners were drawn. Prizes were donated by Saris Cycling Group, Bay Shore Outdoor Store, Trikes & Bikes and The Bicycle Recyclers.
A special thank you to the Door Community Auditorium for providing such a great venue for this year's bike summit, and also thank you to Erin Brown and Dick Wilcox of Peninsula State Park for making the trail work day possible.
The Door County Silent Sports Alliance would like to extend a huge thank you to the sponsors who made the 3rd Annual Bike Summit possible. This year's sponsors included Flanigan Distributing, Door County Triathlon, Julie's Park Cafe & Motel, Ride for Nature, Econo Foods, The Shallows Resort, and Nor Door Sport & Cyclery. 
Bike Project Success Stories!
Door County Silent Sports Alliance has been instrumental in advocating for several bike projects in Door County. The first project DCSSA under took was the implementation of a true bike lane with the upgrade of one of Sturgeon Bays most traveled streets, Egg Harbor Road. After several meetings attended by Paul Anschutz and numerous letters written by original board members the City was convinced to dedicate a true bike lane.
Another project that took over 5 years to see come to fruition was the extension of the Bay View Bridge path. Years of meetings trying to decide of a frontage road on the east or west side of highway 42-57 were attended with the outcome of the trail being finally put in by the county, after the city gave the grant to the county to officially extend what we know is the Ahnapee Trail. The path will be extended from Utah Street to Michigan Street via a 12 foot blacktop tread. In order to be enjoyed by cyclists, in-line skaters, runners, walkers, and strollers, many hours were needed to educate the leaders of our community on the importance of blacktop verses gravel.
Sturgeon Bay was awarded the Oregon Street Bridge in 2009, which includes dedicated bike lanes which after educating city leaders bikers were awarded delineators on the east side to keep cyclists safe at First Avenue.
The Michigan Street Bridge has been re-done with an 8 foot pedestrian/bike lane to make that crossing safer. Sturgeon Bay, along with Egg Harbor and the town of Gibraltar have passed Comprehensive Bike Plans which will make each community a safer place for cyclists, along with having a true plan for the future. Michigan Street is on the radar of DCSSA as it is the most traveled Street in the city with the schools, and YMCA directly located on it. Sturgeon Bay's Comprehensive Plan includes a bike lane which proponents are lobbying with the City Council to adapt.
Door County Bike Plan
Door County has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to develop a Bicycle and Pedistian Plan for the entire county. As with many grants this is a matching grant with 20% of the funds required from the grant recipient. The Door County Highway Department has allocated $10,000 in it's approved 2011 budget for half of the required matching funds. Door County Silent Sports Alliance along with others in the community are raising the remaining $10,000 matching funds to eliminate further taxpayer funding requirements for this project. DCSSA and it's partners in this fundraising effort feel the development of a Door County wide plan will have a positive impact of the safety of cyclist and pedestrians, in fact, all users of our roadways.
To date the following organizations have joined DCSSA in contributing towards the plan: Bay Shore Property Owners Association, Door Property Owners, Door County Triathlon Board, Sustain Door, Door County Land Trust and the Door County Visitors Bureau. Please join this great group of Door County Citizens in making a county wide plan a reality. $2500 is still needed to close the gap in our $10,000 goal. Your contribution can be passed directly through DCSSA by a check made out to our organization or a check can be made out to the Door County Treasurer. In either case, if the check is mailed to our organization it will be presented to the County Board, along with all the others, at the meeting the County Board accepts the Planning Grant. If the grant is not accepted by the Board your check will be returned.
Door County Ski Trails
received a promotional boost during the winters of 2010 and 2011 due to the efforts of Janelle Peotter, Karl Schroeder, Casey St. Henry, Dale Krolick, Rich Dirks, Tom Parsons and Jim Maki. Janelle spent many hours consolidating reports on trail grooming and snow totals from local ski areas and posted them on a weekly basis. Skiers from Door County and beyond could check ski conditions before heading out to their favorite ski trails. We have just published a Door County ski trail map to further the PR blitz for the state parks and local ski trails. Open the the PDF file on our ski report page and print your copy of the trail guide! When it is ski season and we have snow in the county, be sure to check out our Ski Trail Report that is updated at least weekly.
