No New Sidewalk Along St. Martins Road In Franklin For Now

FRANKLIN, WI — The Common Council moved Tuesday night to wait on any decisions to improve pedestrian access along St Martins Road until its next meeting on June 1.

If approved in the future, a sidewalk could be installed alongside St. Martins Road during a WisDOT pavement replacement project in 2025 or 2026. Currently, there are no sidewalks along the stretch of road.

The council previously sought state funding from WisDOT for a few pedestrian options to be included in the project. WisDOT determined that they would fund 80 percent of construction for a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the west side of St. Martins Road from W. Prarie Grass Way to W. Loomis Road.

Franklin would pay $7000 for the project, according to the WisDOT report.

A sidewalk on the eastern side of the road would face right-of-way and wetland issues, according to the WisDOT report.

The council previously proposed a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail to be installed instead, but WisDOT determined that it would have to be fully funded by the city.

"That's not going to happen," Mayor Steve Olson said about the original trail idea. "Plainly, we can't afford it."

The council did decide to move forward with a project seeking to improve transit connections between Franklin and the rest of the county.