LAKE GENEVA — If you want to walk or use a wheelchair from downtown Lake Geneva to stores such as Wal-Mart or Aldi, you have to use the shoulder of Highway 50 for much of the trip. That will soon change.
WisDOT's two-year renovation of Highway 50 through Lake Geneva will start with work on the section east of downtown, which includes a new 10-foot-wide sidewalk connection.
Andrea Christian is ready for the new path. She often rolls alongside car traffic because it is the only way she can do her grocery shopping.
"There's no other route," Christian said. "We just saw a semi go by, and it was really scary."
She is frustrated because existing sidewalks on Highway 50 often end without a way for her to safely get off of them with her wheelchair.
"How hard would it have been to just extend some of those squares to the road," Christian said.
WisDOT detailed the plans for Highway 50 improvements, including the new sidewalk, during a public information session in Lake Geneva Thursday night. Interested residents filled the room to the point where there was a line stretching from the door.
WATCH: Wheelchair-bound Lake Geneva woman ready to get off the road with future Highway 50 sidewalk
"We do value the feedback," said Jason Dahlgren of WisDOT. "Whether it's positive feedback or negative feedback, it all gets put together and makes for a better project in the long run."
You can see the full plans for the Highway 50 renovation by clicking this link. WisDOT will start by rebuilding Main Street between Wells Street and Grand Geneva Parkway next year before tackling Main Street through downtown Lake Geneva in 2028.
Christian hopes they continue to consider people who travel through Lake Geneva without a car, including keeping them safe on Highway 50 during construction.
"People use this stretch," Christian said. "You might not see them, but they do have to use this stretch during the highway project."
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