Trails in the News - Press Clipping Files

12/17/2007

Setting the Record Straight

Response by Board Member Neal McCue to the Editors of the Petoskey News-Review following their editorial of 11/05/2007.

The Editor
Petoskey News-Review
319 State St.
Petoskey, MI 49770-0528

Dear Mr. Stanley,

This letter concerns the “Our View” column in your Oct.23 edition entitled “Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way.” I enjoy the frequent articles in your paper about the Wheelway and hope all of your readers appreciate them as I do.

The Wheelway linking Harbor Springs with Charlevoix via Petoskey has been in development since the mid-1970ies with a little more yet to go before its total completion. I have been involved with it only since 1993 through my membership in the Little Traverse Wheelway Committee initially, and later, the Top of Michigan Trails Council. As you and many others have stated, it is a tremendous and valuable additional amenity to our area and its many visitors.

My purpose in writing is simply to clarify an important point in the opening sentence of the “Our View” article. The statement “The Little Traverse Wheelway has cost taxpayers millions of dollars to build.” is misleading and, in fact, is incorrect. Not a penny of our property tax dollars has been used to construct the Wheelway. Federal Transportation Department grants, which come from a very small fraction of gasoline taxes, pay for about 80% of construction costs. The balance is from local match funds granted by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which is funded from natural gas and oil well royalties specifically earmarked for parks and recreational purposes, and, from donations from interested local citizens, service clubs, foundations and the business community.

The point of the “Our View” article regarding the ongoing need for trail maintenance is well taken. Trail maintenance is poorly organized and lacks a designated funding source. A “trail maintenance czar” of some sort and level appropriately funded is urgently needed. Without some formal system for doing this, the more than 250 miles of trails just in our eight county area in Northern Lower Michigan that we all have worked so hard to create will eventually deteriorate into unsafe unusable paths to nowhere.

Those of us who advocate and help facilitate trail development in Northern Lower Michigan recognize and appreciate the tremendous voluntary support provided by all levels of State government, our local communities, organizations and individual citizens that have helped to make recreational trails a reality. They must be maintained!

Thank you sincerely,

Neal L. McCue 526-0160

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