Milwaukee area not aesthetic enough to bury power lines

I guess the logic goes something like this: it's already developed and therefore aesthetically compromised, so more development in the form of overhead power lines won't matter to people who live in the Milwaukee area. Or, to be more precise, in Wauwatosa, near Underwood Parkway and the Milwaukee County Grounds.

According to an article in yesterday's Journal Sentinel, "'Selecting another route would shift millions of dollars of extra costs for underground lines to ratepayers in the ATC footprint far removed from the Milwaukee area, who would not benefit from a more aesthetically pleasing project area,' the commission's decision says."

 The short-sighted decision by the Public Service Commission disturbed many in the region who have worked very hard to support alternative routes.

The City of Wauwatosa is one of the stakeholders considering what further options, including the possibility of legal action, may be used to challenge this decision. (May the odds be ever in their favor!)

If you go to the article in the Journal Sentinel you will see a map that isn't completely accurate. I learned today at a meeting for County Grounds stakeholders that the section shown crossing the County Grounds will actually turn at Hwy 45 and run south to Watertown Plank Rd. where it will follow the dashed line to the substation. The correct map is below.

     

The trees lose again!

Many people in Wauwatosa, as well as others who frequent the County Grounds, are still in shock at the loss of trees there. Prepare yourselves! If you drive along this stretch of Highway 100 south of Watertown Plank Road you will see that here too the highway is winning and the trees losing.

In this case, it is due to the widening of Hwy 100 that is being done to accommodate a projected increase in traffic during the Zoo Interchange reconstruction. Of course, it won't be narrowed again once that project is completed.

Wauwatosa is among the many cities that pride themselves on being a Tree City. How many stumps does it take to lose that designation, I wonder? I hope it doesn't come to that.

I want to thank Cheryl Marlega, one of the staunchest supporters of the Friends of the Monarch Trail for sharing the following link to a video about the tree cutting on the County Grounds. It is called, "In Memory of the Trees." If you were among the many who were moved by my post on that subject, you will want to check out this link: "In Memory of the Trees."

All is not completely gloom and doom, however. We Energies has just unveiled its plan for the new substation to be built on the County Grounds. It will be sited to the west of the existing plant in what is currently an open field, as indicated in orange on the map. This is a better location than the other alternative, north of the plant, which is still woodland and butler garter snake habitat - among other wildlife species! So, here is a case where the trees have been saved for the time being. A Tree City ought to be able to protect them in perpetuity, don't you agree?