OconomoWalk and Bike Committee racks up more local stopping points for cyclists

Posted: Nov. 21, 2012

The OconomoWalk & Bike Committee successfully applied for, and was awarded, a $3,000 grant from the Oconomowoc Area Foundation (OAF) in the fall of 2011. Greener Oconomowoc (GO) in turn made a $3,000 donation to the City of Oconomowoc to purchase 10 bike racks to be installed at many City of Oconomowoc parks and other popular destinations.

The City of Oconomowoc is installing the racks on new concrete pads beginning through spring. Previously, the city had only one bike rack available in the downtown area, adjacent to

City Hall. The first three racks have been installed at the Lake Road Bridge, Memorial Park and Fowler Park.

The goal of the grant project is to encourage the use of bikes for recreation and commuting in the City of Oconomowoc by providing safe bike parking options. These high-quality racks offer a safe and aesthetically pleasing location for residents and visitors to the city to rack their bike. The racks are an additional component of the downtown beautification project.

City of Oconomowoc Park, Recreation and Forestry Department Director, John Kelliher, has been a major supporter of the project by committing city resources for the installation and ongoing maintenance of the racks. This support was instrumental in GO securing the grant from OAF, and allowed more funds to be channeled to the purchase of more racks, instead of being spent on installation.

"The City of Oconomowoc is grateful for the kind donation. We are excited to continue our great working relationship with GO by installing the bike racks throughout our parks systems and look forward to implementing additional initiatives as identified in the Bike and Pedestrian Plan.

"We have so many great things happening in the downtown area and encourage more bicycling to our growing downtown," said Kelliher.

Get involved

The GO OconomoWalk & Bike Committee is looking for area residents who are interested in making Oconomowoc a more walker and biker-friendly community. The committee meets at 6:30 p.m. monthly on the fourth Tuesday at Whelan's Coffee and Ice Cream, 163 E. Wisconsin Ave. Projects and activities include the annual Oconomowoc Area Bike Tour held in early summer, developing maps of local bike routes, increasing bike route signage, safe rider education with schools, and more.

Greener Oconomowoc is a nonprofit volunteer organization of local residents/business owners whose mission is to provide Oconomowoc & surrounding communities with an environmentally-friendly economy & environment through the understanding andimplementation of the Natural Step principles. To learn more about Greener Oconomowoc and the Natural Steps along with thesustainable work that is being done in the community. Visit http://GreenerOconomowoc.wildapricot.org for more information.