In his report to the Lake County Planning and Zoning Commission, Lake County Highway Engineer Jason DiPlazza wrote:
“Forty-nine (49) rental units and a restaurant/bar will create significant increases to traffic entering and exiting onto Kawishiwi Trail. The developer should provide an ITE Trip Generation-based projection of [how] much additional traffic is anticipated.”
Such a projection was presented at the Aug. 19 meeting of the Commission by an “expert” hired by the developers who concluded that the expanded resort would increase traffic on the Kawishiwi Trail by only eight percent. THIS IS CLEARLY INACCURATE AND FAILS TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF MANY FACTORS.  
The expert projected a very small increase from current levels in daily traffic as a result of the expansion.  This analysis was done quite recently, and as a long-time neighbor of the resort who passes the resort daily, I know that during recent months, activity at the resort has been very low.  This is clearly evident to anyone passing by the resort because, for example, only a few of the 21 RV/tent sites visible from the road were occupied when the analysis was done.  And the traffic observed by the developers’ expert was at a time when the resort was well below its current summer capacity of about 210 guests, possibly only 100 guests onsite.  
I don’t know what information was given to the developers’ expert about the recent occupancy at the resort or the size of the planned expansion. However, the developers have finally acknowledged that the 49 new cabins will be three bed/three bath cabins having sleeping capacity for eight, meaning that, at full capacity, including the other units on the resort, more than 400 persons could reside at the facility year-round.  If the developers’ expert had this information, it is inconceivable that he/she would have concluded that only a minor increase in traffic would occur. Add to this the traffic to and from the new on-site restaurant. 
What this all means is that the traffic from the expanded resort at full capacity could be four times larger than during the study period, and this would suggest a 133 percent increase in Kawishiwi Trail traffic compared to the study period.
The developers’ expert likely also didn’t know that quarter-share owners will have one week a month, meaning that almost the entire resort will turnover every week, most likely on Sundays. So, we can anticipate as many as 100 cars exiting and 100 cars entering the resort, many with boat trailers, on summer Sundays.  Imagine what that will mean during the peak summer season when residency by seasonal homeowners living across the bridge from Silver Rapids is also at a peak.
Traffic on Kawishiwi Trail will also increase throughout the year. Whereas traffic to and from the resort in the past has been minor outside the peak summer months because only 17 units at the resort are suitable for cold weather, the expanded facility will have 61 units suitable for year-round living.  So, it is reasonable to expect a lot more traffic throughout the year on Kawishiwi Trail.
Contrary to the conclusion of the developers’ expert, the expanded resort would cause a significant increase in traffic on the Kawishiwi Trail, and this should mandate a more thorough and accurate analysis.  It is also one more reason to challenge the scale of this massive project.
Charles Marsden
Fall Lake Township