The Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture’s 2017 workshop cohort of 10 MS urban planning students was featured in The Sauk Prairie Eagle detailing their recommendations to the rural Sauk County communities of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City. The results of a months-long study included recommendations for how to make the Sauk Prairie area a better place for residents and visitors.
The Great Sauk State Trail was identified as a way to draw in tourism with recommendations to the villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac to create a visitor-friendly atmosphere with more lodging and entertainment opportunities and holding trail-centered community events. Key recommendations centered on making Water Street more dense, developing year-round activities, promoting local culture, expanding retail and entertainment opportunities for people of the community and to draw visitors into the area. Other recommendations included more signs identifying camping areas, hotels, bed and breakfasts and other lodging opportunities, as was adding or identifying public restrooms and drinking fountains and making public access to the trail accessible for people of all abilities. An important goal for this project was to create connectivity between community parks. Another key recommendation from the UW-Madison team is for the villages to get people back to the riverfront and establish it as a gathering place.
Nathan Abney, one of the students who worked on the project, was interviewed for the article and stated that the students looked at improving safety for all transportation modes, creating space for amenities that would attract people, encourage healthy, active lifestyles for residents and visitors and encourage visitors to stay longer rather than just passing through the area.
Prairie du sac Village Administrator Alan Wildman said the students were great to work with and did a good job. Wildman was impressed by the students’ professional expertise and really appreciated the work they’ve done. He hopes that students will be able to come back in the future to see the work that has been done.
The full article can be found on The Sauk Prairie Eagle website. The presentation and the final report have been made available to read as well! The Department would like to congratulate the Planning Workshop on all of their hard work! We are proud of what our students in our department can accomplish.