By Patrick Lynn

County leaders next week will present the final plan for the Bike & Pedestrian Plan for Portage County.

Officials from various city and county- level groups have been working on the plan since November 2012.

One of the main goals, according to project leaders, is to do something big for the community with very little impact on the county pocketbook and still manage to bring in tourism dollars.

“Through the grant funding, putting a plan like this in place, we can bring in future state grants and other funding for biking and walking projects,” said Sarah Wallace from Portage County Planning & Zoning.

The project required two steering committees- one focusing on the rural aspect of the plan, another for the urban- have been working to implement public input as well as safety requirements to bring together bicycle and walking paths into network with near- seamless transition.

Portage County received a $120k grant from the State of Wisconsin with a matching 20 percent in-kind services from the county, as well as $160k grant from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The plan presentation, which is the last open house provided, takes place from 4- 4:30 PM in conference rooms 1 & 2 on Wednesday, March 19th inside the Portage Col. annex Building, 1462 Strongs Avenue.

Members from the Urban, Rural, and Technical Ad Hoc Committees along with the Portage County Planning and Zoning Committee, as well as Toole Design Group will be on hand. The public is welcome.

More information can be found here.