“We know that this race was very popular for many years,” Graaskamp said. “Cancelling the race this year was a very difficult decision.”
Construction scheduled for this summer on Menomonie Street has forced the cancellation of the 25th annual running of the Water Street Mile.
“We looked at all the alternatives, and none made sense if we wanted to start the race on Water Street,” said Pieter Graaskamp, president of the L.E. Phillips Senior Center Board of Directors. The Water Street Mile was sponsored by the senior center as an annual fundraiser and community event.
The city of Eau Claire has scheduled major work on the western end of Menomonie Street near Menomonie Street Dental, Graaskamp said, and there were no good alternatives to move the race out of the construction area.
“We know that this race was very popular for many years,” Graaskamp said. “Cancelling the race this year was a very difficult decision.”
The street construction projects follow the development of the UW-Eau Claire Sonnentag Center on the south side of Menomonie Street along the Chippewa River. The city has approved the installation of a roundabout at 10th and Water Street and a pedestrian underpass where the recreation trail crosses Menomonie Street.
“We maybe could have dealt with one of these projects,” Graaskamp said, “but the combination of the two projects became insurmountable.”
Graaskamp said the Board of Directors will discuss the future of the race in the next few months. The senior center will use other fundraising efforts to fill the revenue gap caused by the race’s cancellation, he added.
