A troublesome spot for pedestrians in Sister Bay will finally get attention thanks to a Wisconsin Department of Transportation grant. On Monday, the Village of Sister Bay announced that it received a $906,000 grant to build a 4,500-foot trail along State Highway 57 from the intersection of Gateway Drive near STH 42 south to Northwoods Drive. Over the last 20 years, there have been 12 accidents along that stretch, including a 2022 incident that resulted in serious injuries for a pedestrian. Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer says the trail has been in Sister Bay’s plans for the last two decades, but they could never get the pieces to make it happen. With traffic growing along with the area in terms of homes and businesses, Schmelzer is thrilled that they got a grant to make it happen.
The civil engineering firm Stantec designed the trail, and Door County Medical Center contributed to the design fees. Schmelzer is hopeful they can complete the new trail by next May. She added that this is the first of hopefully many efforts to extend the trail system in Sister Bay to connect the village with other communities around the county.
