Went in the woods today to see how the stream was flowing after yesterday's heavy rain. It was flowing pretty good. I've seen the water higher, but it was definitely rushing pretty good for the size of it.
The town is working on creating a new park directly ahead of this first image just outside of the woods. It's expected to be a pretty busy and loud park. They want to host kids soccer games, bands, and have movie nights and many other events. I'm torn on this, for obvious reasons. This isn't new information and I think I've posted about it once or twice before. Part of me understands how nice this will be for the community, and far better than businesses going up there, but the farm field that used to be there served as a bit of a buffer zone between the quiet woodland and the noisy town. That park will definitely add some noise to the peaceful woodland.
Last night, I learned of the town's plan to add a paved bike path through the woods to connect both parks together. I've heard rumors of this for years, but finally saw the plan, with no set date. This is another thing that I both like and dislike. The paved path will be great for the many walkers, joggers, and bicyclists we have around here, and I hope it eventually connects to the very popular recreational trail and habitat restoration they've been working on for the last 16 years and will complete early this year. However, this is also one of the only mostly-untouched pine woodlands in the area, and it'll be a little sad to see pavement in the woods. On top of that, I know foot traffic will significantly rise with a paved trail leading from park to park. I've always liked that this wasn't a very busy place, and I'm sure animals have, too.
Lastly, the map shows that this trail will be added to the already over-saturated trail system, rather than replace an already-existing trail. I hope the town works on improving the trail system and removes some trails and creates more of a large loop, rather than a bunch of trails winding all over the place. It's great that this woodland is being preserved, but it also needs to fulfill it's purpose to wildlife. Sometimes, they forget about that.
With that being said, I'm sure I'll be one of the bicyclists using it whenever it finally happens, I just hope they go about doing it in the best way possible. On the bright side, the farm field on the other side of the park is one step closer to being turned into a prairie restoration. That'll be nice!
