Lakeshore Nature Preserve service entrance and road

Currently, the proposed design specifies:

Service road

• The service road would be gravel and 14 feet wide. (The existing road is 9 feet wide.)
• It would be 860 feet from the entrance to its terminal at the campus maintenance yard.
• It would follow the current path of the garden road along the north edge (perimeter) of Bill’s Woods, before turning into the campus maintenance yard. The road would not run through the woods.
• No lights are planned to be installed as part of this project.
• Speed limit signs are planned to be installed on the road.

The proposed service entrance/road has been designed to have as minimal impact as possible (following the same path as the existing garden road, not cutting through Bill’s Woods, not creating new roads where there are none, not adding to fragmentation).

Foot path

• The gravel footpath would be 7 feet wide until it reaches the concrete weed pad, where it would remain 10 feet wide.
• To be improved: Erosion on the path heading north from the entrance and poor surface conditions on the path at the south edge of the gardens would be improved.  

Separation by fence

• There would be a 3-foot space between the road and footpath with gravel and a fence.
• The proposed fence would be chain link, installed 4 inches off the ground, so small wildlife could pass under it. Most birds would be able to fly over it, and deer would be able to jump over the fence.

However, as further needs, engineering constraints, and additional factors are identified, design features may change. This is common to capital projects.

With construction of the new Frautschi Center, Lakeshore Nature Preserve will have a new “front door.” Due to the placement of the new building, the current service entrance and drive at the stone wall, marked in red in the map to the right, will be converted to a pedestrian-only path (except for emergency vehicles).

Maintaining a service road near the front entrance is not feasible or the best solution for a variety of reasons, including safety, congestion and presentation. Eliminating vehicle traffic at this location removes a vehicle access point and service road for the Preserve — including the only road to the campus maintenance yard.

A road that provides access to the Preserve for both large service vehicles (large trucks, trailers, cherry pickers, etc.) and small vehicles (utility vehicles, small vans, etc.) is needed. Five possible options were considered:

1. Orange line – Create a new service road from the small parking lot on Frautschi Point around Biocore Prairie, south to connect with existing roads. This option widened a large portion of existing small vehicle roads to roads that could handle larger vehicles. It affects more of the Preserve, clears more trees, and creates more road than the selected option. It is also the least direct option to the campus maintenance yard.
2. Green lines – Create access for service vehicles at the Eagle Heights Community Gardens entrance, off Lake Mendota Road. This option included three alternate versions:
   1. Widen the existing garden road and have large service vehicles share it pedestrians, cyclists and gardeners. Although this option gave access to the maintenance yard, it also mixed increased service vehicle traffic with other users.
   2. Selected option: Following the same path as the existing garden road, create a separate gravel road and gravel footpath (with a fence between) that traverses the perimeter of the woods to provide direct access to the maintenance yard and improve safety by separating (increased) service vehicle traffic from other users. It also provides an opportunity to improve the footpath, removes fewer trees than other options, and removes traffic from the Preserve’s front entrance.
   3. Create a service road through the woods, following a previous utility line path. Although this provides a straight path to the campus maintenance yard, it creates a new road directly through the woods, which would remove many trees and create fragmentation.
3. Yellow line – Create a new service road from University Bay Drive (west of the new Frautschi Center) that connects with the existing roads. Because a current road does not exist here, this would clear many trees at the front of the Preserve — more than the selected option. It would also create fragmentation. Vehicle traffic would be increased near the front entrance of the Preserve and the Frautschi Center, as well as along the pedestrian trail north of the stone wall.
4. Fuchsia line – Create a new service road east of the new Frautschi Center from University Bay Drive that connects with existing roads. Similar to option 3, this option removes more trees than the selected option (and at the front door of the Preserve), adds traffic to the front entrance of the Preserve and Center, and creates fragmentation.

UW-Madison will move forward with an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), anticipated to take up to 12 months. The EIS will evaluate the environmental impact of the proposed project and assist the team in the final design.

Overall road noise at the Preserve would not increase, as ongoing operations are not expected to increase due to this project.

With the proposed design, service vehicles would travel less distance through the Preserve, as the new road would be 860 feet long, while the existing service road (that starts by the front entrance) is 1,200 feet long.

However, because some operations (including vehicle-based operations) would be relocated from the front entrance of the Preserve to the new service road and entrance, the area adjacent to the new road and entrance could have additional noise.

Impact on users
We acknowledge that vehicle traffic and especially the “back-up” safety beepers on our work vehicles can be disruptive to those visiting the Preserve. We are committed to reducing the number of vehicles accessing the yard and their frequency. Preserve and Grounds staff are also investigating ways to increase the efficiency of how the yard is used, including plans to shrink the size of the yard, starting this fall.

Impact on nature
We know that vehicle noise can affect birds and mammals in a variety of ways and can vary by species, life history, phenology, etc. Similarly, the scale of the effect depends greatly on the type of noise, frequency interval, location, time (daytime vs night), and many more factors. 

Overall
While the impact of noise pollution from vehicles accessing the campus maintenance yard has not been studied, we are committed to reducing the frequency of vehicles entering and leaving the yard. When they need to use the new service road, vehicles will move slowly, not idle in the yard (to also minimize greenhouse gas emissions), and use the space efficiently to minimize the “back-up” safety beeping. This should actually reduce operational noise overall in the Preserve. 

Vehicular access to the existing garden road is blocked by a locked gate. Authorized users who have the combination to open the gate are:

• Biocore Prairie manager
• Bird banding station researcher
• Bucky’s Restrooms (to service portable toilets)
• Eagle Heights Community Gardens (EHCG) gardeners and registrar
• Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve’s bluebird and purple martin house managers
• FP&M Lakeshore Nature Preserve staff
• FP&M Environment, Health & Safety fire contact
• FP&M Campus Planning & Landscape Architecture contact
• FP&M Physical Plant
  • Grounds supervisors – Staff use the existing garden road to access their nursery area very rarely, as they are not actively growing anything there. 
  • Currently, no traffic going to the campus maintenance yard uses the garden road to access the yard because it does not go to the yard.
• UW Housing
  • Supervisors (including UW Housing Grounds supervisors)
  • Dining staff
  • People’s Farm and greenhouse community managers
• UW Police Department
• Village of Shorewood Hills leaf delivery driver

The Frautschi Center’s construction allows Preserve staff to consolidate many of their operations into one location directly at the Preserve. A new service entrance and road would maintain access to existing activities in the Preserve, including firewood provision and trail maintenance.

A service road also provides access to the Preserve for tree maintenance, which requires large arborist trucks that will no longer be able to use the front gate where pedestrians are concentrated. 

The existing bike path to the south of the Eagle Heights Community Gardens would remain in the Preserve but have a safer, more separate exit to Lake Mendota Drive.

Eagle Heights Community Gardens, Biocore Prairie, Housing Dining & Culinary Services Farm, and People’s Farm users would still be able to access the gardens and prairie.

During construction
There would be noise, dust and equipment on site during active construction. Once a contractor is selected, FP&M would work with them to try to minimize effects as much as possible.

After construction
A gravel road would traverse the same path as the existing garden road. There would also be a gravel path, separated from the road by a fence, which would be 4 inches off the ground, to allow most wildlife to pass.

The footpath gardeners use would be rebuilt as part of this project and would be in better condition than the current garden road. It would no longer have vehicles on it, because it would be separated from the new service road. Current designs call for the path to be narrower, 7 to 8 feet instead of 9 feet wide — which would help limit tree removal.

This project would not change EHCG’s footprint or plot layout. Access to the Gardens would still be controlled, via gate (and new fence). Gardeners would still be able to access their amenities, including the EHCG shed, port-a-potties, as well as the compost, leaves and other organic matter in the southeast corner of the gardens.

The vehicles for these uses would have a gate to enter the garden’s path system at the entrance and be able to function as they do today. Additionally, this summer, FP&M Waste and Recycling is experimenting with smaller trash bins, which would mean a much smaller truck could service those bins.

No, this would remain the same. Gardeners currently navigate this area during leaf and weed service, using a grass pedestrian route on the north side of the piles, instead of the gravel road. This solution would remain after construction of the road.

Vehicles would access EHCG, the Dining Farm and People’s Farm through a gate that allows only those with the lock code to access the garden road heading north from the entrance. This is the same as current practice.

The proposed road would remove 0.53 acres of marginal wooded area and associated herbaceous understory plants. The removal of trees would reduce the carbon sequestration capacity in this area of the Preserve. It would also create an edge that is 14-16 feet further to the south into Bill’s Woods. Stormwater flows would likely be increased, potentially causing more erosion in Bill’s Woods. 

When other locations and designs for the road were investigated, this option was the least disruptive to the Preserve’s ecology.

It is unlikely that the road would introduce new invasive species that are not already in the area, but it is possible that the construction disturbance will create new areas for invasive species to spread. Staff will manage this area similar to the rest of the Preserve.

Once complete, the proposed project would create very little new edge, but it would move edge 17 feet closer to the interior of Bill’s Woods.

As part of its mission, Lakeshore Nature Preserve will remain largely undeveloped — meaning simply it is not used for building, farming, industry, etc.  However, its undeveloped status does not mean it is viewed as potential for development or is waiting to be developed.

Because the proposed service road would be constructed immediately adjacent and along the southern edge of the current gravel garden, little new edge would be created. 

However, we recognize that an expanded service entrance/road would, in effect, move the current fragmentation effects to the south and closer to the interior of Bill’s Woods. (Road locations that went straight through Bill’s Woods were not selected to avoid bisecting the woods.)

Native woodland plant species that are already found in Bills’ Woods would be planted along this new edge in an effort to grade the plant communities with those found in Bill’s, stabilize the soils, and compete (at least initially) with non-native plant species. Monitoring and management of invasive species along this strip would be incorporated into the ongoing restoration work at Bill’s Woods.

With the proposed design, the area that would be cleared would be 0.53 acres.

The 10 largest trees that would be removed are between 6 and 16 inches diameter at breast height (DBH). These include two of each:

• Eastern hackberry
• Shagbark hickory
• American elm 
• Norway maple (non-native and invasive).

Additionally, there is one American basswood and one black cherry tree that would be removed.

Smaller trees (< 6” diameter at breast height or DBH) and tall shrubs would also be removed. Dominant species in this size class include sugar maple, boxelder, hackberry, oak (bur and white), and common buckthorn (non-native and invasive). 

The young oak near the portable toilet (porta-potty) would be transplanted in the area. The other two would be removed.

Wildlife would lose approximately 0.53 acres of marginal edge habitat. However, overall populations should not be affected, including nesting and feeding resources. 

Barriers of any kind can be deterrents to movement of wildlife. Some wildlife would need to go under, over or around the fence when moving from Bill’s Woods to the north and vice versa.

However, the fence that would separate the road from the pedestrian path would be 4 inches off the ground so small wildlife can pass under it. Most birds would be able to fly over it, and deer would be able to jump over it. 

At Preserve scale, (when considering the Preserve overall) the fence should not have an impact on wildlife movements.

Populations of migratory birds utilizing the Preserve during spring and fall stopovers should not be affected.

We are not aware of a recent barred owl nest in the strip of trees along the garden road. 

Some bird habitat would not be as close to the gardens as it once was. The fence itself would generally not affect birds.

Generally, we feel that the slightly increased distance of the forest line from the Eagle Heights Community Gardens would not affect the interaction of birds with food resources in the garden area.

As the exact route of the service road has not yet been determined it is unknown if the project will affect that specific population of Dutchman’s Breeches. Additionally, Lakeshore Nature Preserve staff manages and restores habitat for many native spring ephemerals, including Dutchman’s Breeches, that support wildlife conservation throughout the 300 acres.

Erosion control will be implemented during construction. Post-construction, there would be rip rap (irregular shaped stones) at the end of the drain to help dissipate water movement. 

Currently, there are three culverts with no rip rap at the outfalls. One would be eliminated, and two trench drains would pass the water. With this, more of the water would pass through the existing rain garden. During the EIS, we will study effects of this change to nearby areas.

Only the road would be compacted. Construction vehicles will be restricted to as narrow a path as possible for construction.

There would be more gravel surface for the road, which would result in slightly more runoff. It is designed to be sheet runoff rather than point runoff, which would cause less erosion. 

There are currently three culverts under the garden road. 

With the proposed design, one of these would be eliminated, and two would be converted to trench drains that would extend under the garden path and the service road.  The trench drains would drain into Bill’s Woods, same as the culverts do today. They would also be longer to accommodate the total width of the service road/entrance and footpath. There would be rip rap at the outfall of the trench drains to help dissipate the water flow; currently there is nothing at the end of the pipes.

This project, as designed, would not touch that culvert. However, the operations team will look at what is causing that litter.

For this project, a tree survey was conducted in the area along the south edge of the existing garden road. It identified trees larger than 6 inches diameter at breast height.

The EIA incorrectly implied donor funds were being used to create the service entrance/road. This will be corrected. We will be using university funds, as planned. 

No gifts or donations to the Preserve are being used in the implementation of the service entrance/road.