Who will speak for nature? Who will speak for Underwood Parkway?
“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for
absolute freedom and wildness….” – Henry David Thoreau
Once upon a time
Underwood Creek was as free and wild as any other stream in Wisconsin. Then
houses were built near it and the Menomonee River, into which it flows.
Eventually, flooding occurred. What followed, for long portions of Underwood
Creek, was called channelization. Riparian woodlands were chopped down, the
meandering stream was bulldozed straight, and its channel was lined with
concrete. This “solution” was not only temporary; ultimately it led to increased flooding.
Current plans
for Underwood Creek include the removal
of concrete and the restoration of a more naturally meandering stream. This
already has been done for the short stretch that runs next to Hwy 100 as well
as for stretches of other waterways in the county.
Despite the degradations
to which it has been subjected, Underwood Creek is valued enough to be part of
the award-winning Milwaukee County Parkway system. A popular segment of the Oak
Leaf Trail runs through it. Furthermore, a short stretch of the original, un-channeled
creek lies in a densely wooded, swampy area. This is a place that is just about
as free and wild as nature gets around here, a place where even Thoreau might
have found what he termed the healing “tonic of wildness.”
Sadly, unless
there is concerted public effort to preserve it, this small bit of urban
wilderness may soon be destroyed.
As reported
recently in Wauwatosa Patch, WeEnergies is planning to build a new substation
on the Milwaukee County Grounds. Electrical power will be brought to the
substation via two new transmission lines to be constructed by the AmericanTransmission Co. (ATC). Four routes are being considered, from which two will
be selected by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
 |
| Map of four proposed alternatives |
One of the
proposed alternatives would run 60- to 100-foot-tall high-voltage overhead
power lines through Underwood Parkway. If this route is chosen, an 80-foot
right-of-way would be cleared, effectively destroying one of the few natural
areas left in Wauwatosa. What is potentially more distressing to the many
people who use it, utility poles and overhead cables also would run along the
off-road portion of the Oak Leaf bike trail between 115th St. and
Watertown Plank Rd.
This doesn’t
have to happen. There are three viable alternatives. Unfortunately for the
parkway and the people who enjoy it, other alternatives run along residential streets.
The prospect of having your yard and street dug up for a buried power line,
even temporarily, is a powerful incentive to become a vocal opponent of that alternative.
This is to be expected and it is how a solution that benefits the few may win
out over a solution that benefits the many.
The parkway and
Oak Leaf Trail need vocal opponents of the Underwood Creek alternative. Only if
many people are willing to speak a word for nature will we save it.
Please attend the open house on Sept.
12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wauwatosa Civic Center, 7725
W. North Ave. ATC experts will be able to answer
questions about the project and explain how to provide input to the PSC. (You can email comments to info@atcllc.com if you cannot attend the meeting.)
The PSC will rule on the final two
routes based on input received from all interested parties, including ordinary citizens
as well as residents of affected neighborhoods and major stakeholders such as
the Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex and UWM.
No one wants overhead power lines
obstructing their own views. Cables will be buried in sensitive locations, like
the Medical Complex, UWM’s Innovation Park, and residential neighborhoods. But
this is expensive. From a purely economic standpoint, the parkway seems an attractive
alternative because the overhead power lines would save money. From a political
standpoint, the parkway lacks residents who complain. From an ecological and
recreational standpoint, however, overhead power lines and an 80-foot wide swath
of clear-cut are anything but attractive.
It is ironic
that just three months ago Wauwatosa announced a new branding campaign for
which the theme of the city will be Innovation Parkway. If the city is going to
promote the value of its parkways – as it should – sacrificing one of them in
this fashion would be antithetical to the effort. Officials in Wauwatosa who
support the Innovation Parkway theme, as well as all Milwaukee County users of
the Oak Leaf Trail should be pounding home the point – power lines do not
belong anywhere near our parkways.
For the benefit
of all, let us speak a word for nature…!
Here is an Underwood Parkway photo essay with explanatory captions. Click to enlarge each photo.
This view west from 115th St. is the channelized Underwood Creek most people see.
This is a view of the original creek that still exists in a little-known natural area immediately north of the previous view.
This set of tracks bisects the parkway and separates the two channels pictured above.
Underwood Parkway drive and Oak Leaf Trail immediately south, adjacent to the channelized creek pictured at top.
This existing power line, at 119th St., is where the proposed new transmission line would begin. An 80-foot-wide right-of-way would be cut through the woodland to the right.
This wetland would be in the power line right-of-way. Wetlands, which slow and absorb stormwater run off, are important for flood management and groundwater recharge.
The off-road segment of the Oak Leaf Trail east of 115th St. If the
Underwood Creek Parkway alternative is chosen, this scene would include
overhead power lines 60-100 feet tall.
Alternative routes that run through residential neighborhoods, like this Walnut St. route, would use buried cables.
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