The official opening of the Hank Aaron State Trail western extension is scheduled to take place November 8. The new section of trail follows former railroad tracks between 37th St and 94th Place. The route can be clearly seen on the Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin map because it is marked as a railroad line.

There are a limited number of access points to the new trail. On the whole section, there are only two grade crossings. Here are the access points (going from east to west):

• A connecting trail that starts at Pierce St and 37th, goes south down a switchback, goes under the existing railroad track, crossing the Menominee River, and connects to the existing trail at Canal St.
• General Mitchell Blvd in the Wood VA Center, one of the two grade crossings.
• 56th St, a connector from the south.
• The west side of Hawley Rd.
• 68th St, a connector from the north.
• 76th St, the other grade crossing.
• 89th St, an informal connector from the south.
• 94th Place, the present western end of the trail. The continuation of the trail to the west awaits the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange.

The trail crosses several bike routes shown on the map without connecting with them, instead crossing over or under them:

• The bike trail on the east side of Miller Parkway that connects National Avenue to Canal St (trail crosses over).
• 70th St (crosses under).
• 84th St (crosses over). At this time there is no direct connection to the Wisconsin State Fair.
• 92nd St (crosses over).

Perhaps it is also worth noting the three streets, all with marked bike lanes, that cross over the Menominee Valley on viaducts, thus crossing but not intersecting the older section of trail:

• 16th St
• 27th St
• 35th St

(This post has been cross-posted at Wisconsin Bike Routes)

Several years ago a route was cleared and a rough gravel trail was laid from a point just west of highway 31 to Willow Rd in Sturtevant. But then construction mysteriously stopped. Finally the trail has been paved.

Finding bicycle-friendly routes between Racine and the western parts of Racine county is a challenge. The need to cross two railroads and interstate 94 tends to funnel traffic onto the relatively few through roads. With the improvement of this trail, bicyclists now have the option of an off-road route between Racine and Sturtevant.  They can then use mostly low-traffic roads to continue further west. (The exception is caused by the need to use the route 20 shoulder to get under the railroad tracks. Fortunately the shoulders are wide.)

The northern section of the Beer Line Trail between Gordon Park and Wright Street is open and paved. This trail follows the former train track that service the Schlitz and Pabst breweries. The new trail is at the edge of the bluff above the Milwaukee River. South of this section the trail that climbs up the bluff (or climbs down, depending on your direction) from Commerce Street to the new trail is still under construction.

Update (October 16, 2010): the entire trail is now open.

Brookfield is one of the most challenging places in which to find safe and continuous bicycle routes. Most of the through roads are narrow with heavy traffic. Bike paths along the roads often start and then stop for no apparent reason. Stretches of road will have a bike lane on one side but not the other. These challenges are reflected in the often circuitous routes shown on the Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin bike map, often using winding residential streets.

On the plus side, Brookfield continues to add to its bike trails, with an emphasis on trails through parks. As part of its Greenway Plan, a newly-built trail starts in Wirth Park (near the intersection of North Avenue and Pilgrim Road) and runs northwest to Calhoun Rd. This new trail is part of a marked route, called the Beverly Hills Trail, running between Wirth Park and Mitchell Park.

Another new trail in Brookfield follows Pilgrim Parkway between Bluemound Road and North Avenue.

The second edition of the Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin map shows a gap in the Seven Waters Trail just north of Wind Lake. This gap required bicyclists to ride on the shoulder of highway 36 for a short stretch south of Muskego Dam Rd. With the opening of a new bridge this spring, the trail is continuous between Wind Lake and Muskego Dam Rd.

At the other end of the Seven Waters Trail, in Burlington, a paved trail leads southeast along the Fox River to Bushnell Park. A newly opened unpaved trail continues east from Bushnell Park. On the current edition of the map, the route of this trail is shown as the railroad track it replaced. Currently the trail ends at Vandenboom Rd, which is unlabeled on the map, but is the first road west of highway 75.

Bruce Thompson, researcher for the Milwaukee and SE Wisconsin Bike Map, rode the new trail connecting the Kenosha County Bike Trail with Petrifying Springs Park, and sent in the above update. Petrifying Springs or “Pets” is a great jumping off point for a number of bike rides, including the 44 mile downloadable Kenosha route by Bikeverywhere. The connecting trail simplifies the road routes in the area and keeps riders away from traffic. Those changes are reflected in the image above and will show up on the next update.

Maps are dynamic. Bike routes change, new trails get built and old ones extended. Some trails get shut down, temporarily, because of nearby construction or because the trail itself needs an overhaul. Well post the updates here, then provide a permanent, one-top page for all of the posts within each of the metro areas covered. If you want to see what’s chqnged since your copy of a map was printed, click the links below. If you have update information that we should know about, please email us by using the contact form here.

Madison Map Updates

Milwaukee Map Updates

Twin Cities Map Updates

The Lake Country Trail, in the wetern suburbs of Milwaukee, has been extended. The extension runs from the intersection of County Rd P and I-94 in Oconomowoc. It follows the western edge of County Rd P north to Valley Rd, then turns west to County Rd Z. From county Rd Z, the trail extension goes NW then due north into Oconomowoc. Most of the trail is paved and rideable, but a small section near the interstate is still gravel. Phil VanValkenberg, of the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman, claims that the unfinished section will probably be completed when the nearby work on the highway is completed.

The new Riverwest Trail between Burleigh St and Keefe Ave in Milwaukee is open for bicyclists. The trail, on the old Beer Line, runs only half a dozen blocks, but it has the potential to be extended much further. Bruce Thompson, the Milwaukee bike route researcher for the Milwaukee and SE Wisconsin Bike Map has re-routed the connecting bike routes to accomodate the new trail. The new route stays on Richards St. N between Capitol Dr and Keefe Ave. E.

One of the toughest tasks when printing is discovering a mistake just as the presses begin to roll. This is one of those mistakes. Several roads north of Racine slipped through without labels. Here’s the corrected version. The new Milwaukee and SE Wisconsin Bike Map is scheduled for release on April 20. We’ll get them into the distribution system ASAP. With a little luck, you should be able to order them through your local bike shop or bookstore within a week. You can also order them directly through bikeverywhere by going to our store.