Resident says rerouted snowmobile trail brings heavy traffic to corner lot, asks council for planning commission

A South Range resident told the Village Council on Jan. 8 that a recently rerouted snowmobile trail now runs adjacent to her corner lot and is creating sustained traffic and noise. Resident K. Aho said she learned of the routing change only from new signs and social-media posts and that property owners received no prior direct notice.

K. Aho said she installed Ring cameras and conducted a 10-day, 24-hour-per-day informal traffic study. She reported an average daily traffic volume of 332 vehicles, a single-day high of 500 vehicles (on the day school resumed), and a low of 184 vehicles on Dec. 29. The counts included an average of 29 snowmobiles per day and a one-day peak of 96 snowmobiles over a Thursday–Sunday period, she said. "The trail routing had been changed and my property was now directly affected by snowmobile traffic," she told the council.

Aho asked the council to consider forming a planning commission to manage tourism, residential and business growth along Main Street, recommending residents, council members and developers participate so economic development does not come at too great a cost to nearby residents. The proposal would separate land-use planning and tourism management from ad hoc decisions about trail routing, she said.

No formal council action was taken during the meeting on the planning commission proposal. Council members heard the complaint and the data; the transcript records no immediate commitment to adopt a planning commission at this session. The matter could be added to a future agenda for formal consideration and next steps.

Clarifying details: the traffic counts and snowmobile counts were reported by Resident K. Aho and reflect an informal, homeowner-run camera study; the council did not commission or validate those counts during the meeting.