密歇根新闻广播 北密歇根的自行车道伤害农民

A group in northern Michigan has been working for more than a decade to connect a bike trail between Suttons Bay and Harbor Springs.

But now, one legislator says the proposed path could harm the agriculture industry.

Representative Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, says local farmers have concerns about security and safety along the route.

If it’s ever completed, the Traverse Area Recreational Trail would connect existing trails from Suttons Bay all the way up to Petoskey and Harbor Springs.

Earlier this month, Rep. Cole took a road trip along the proposed route. Cole says farmers in the area told him they’re worried about a paved bike path running alongside their orchards².

"If someone is traveling along there and decides that the cherries look really nice and they should taste one, or the apples look really good and they should pick some of those, which honestly, that’s private property and that would be trespassing³ and stealing,” he says.

Cole says the route may be bad for trail users, too – especially when farmers are spraying chemicals on their crops.

"You’ve got products that protect from mold and mildews⁴. You’ve got weed control products. You’ve got insect control products. You’ve got a lot of different things,” says Cole.

A long road

On a recent day at the Elk⁵ Rapids Government Center, a group of trail planners is holding the latest in a long series of meetings.

The group is made up of government officials, representatives from TART⁶ Trails, Incorporated, and concerned citizens.

Antrim County Commissioner⁷ Ed Boettcher has been working on this for seven years.

"It's government," he says. "Nothing happens fast."

After years of discussion, the group still doesn't have a preliminary design of the trail. And Boettcher says that makes Cole's complaints premature⁸.

"We want to get to the preliminary design. We want to raise some money, and then if there are specific concerns, which we've heard concerns, we want to deal with concerns because this has to work for everybody," says Boettcher.

The trail planners say they have been working with local farmers.

Caroline Kennedy is assistant village manager in Elk Rapids. She says some of the issues raised by Cole – like chemical spraying and people stealing fruit – are legitimate⁹ concerns.

But they're also solvable.

"This is not a new concept, where there are trails in agricultural areas," says Kennedy. "So there is the ability to mark for that and to account for that."

These planners believe in the long-term vision of a trail connecting Traverse City and Petoskey. They say it's a benefit to public health and it attracts tourists.

Triston Cole doesn't want to scrap¹⁰ the bike trail entirely¹¹ – he wants the trail re-routed further inland.

He says following along U.S. 31 is just a bad location.

"That is an extremely busy highway," says Cole. "I can't imagine having a multitude of cyclists and people jogging along there mixed in with farm equipment, all trying to cross 31 during July, for example."

Trail planner Ed Boettcher doesn't necessarily disagree. He says it'd be a better biking experience to go through the woods.

"That's everybody's utopia, but unless we can find 150 property owners that all want to give us access to their property, or an agricultural community that wants to let us carve a path through their cherry orchard¹, we have limitations," he says.

Boettcher says his goal seven years ago was to see this trail built before he dies.

And now, he's starting to think that might actually happen.

1 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

2 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

3 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

4 mildews   

v.（使）发霉，（使）长霉( mildew的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The downy mildews of medical and poisonous plants in Xinjiang grassland were systematically classified. 对新疆草地药用植物及有毒有害植物的霜霉菌进行了系统的分类研究。 来自互联网

5 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

6 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。