Editorial: More improvements on the other end of Cascade

• Foster property walkway on Lake George

Ten feet of new blacktop provides a wide, smooth pathway for walkers along the Foster property of Lake George. The city’s goal is to extend that paved path to behind Dairy Queen and Family Fresh Market.

Talk about it

While much attention this summer is on the redesigned, upgraded look of East Cascade Avenue, that attention will shift in the coming months and years.

At the end of West Cascade Avenue and the start of Winter Street just before the bridge by the power plant, big changes are unfolding on the Foster property.

Gone are a bunch of old rental trailer homes. The nearby late 19th century house of Bruce Foster will be razed before winter.

A vintage pavilion has been restored and used for summer youth art programming. Attractive, multi-story apartment buildings for college students are built and being used.

A blacktopped public path opened this spring and follows the shoreline contours of Lake George. If a fundraising campaign succeeds, the next few years will see the construction and opening of a 19,000 square foot, LEED-certified community center.

Called The Gathering Place, the center will have rentable space for an array of civic and nonprofit groups serving seniors, the arts, drama, and others, plus be available for those who want to lease it for anniversaries, weddings, parties and other special occasions.

The paved pathway extends and ties in with the city’s long-range goal of forming a trail that encircles the Lake George portion of the Kinnickinnic River. On the opposite side, the White Pathway is another lengthy part of this eventual connection.

Led by Judie Babcock and the Foster Community Foundation, this riverfront acreage at the very end of West Cascade Avenue is in the process of being transformed into a practical, appealing usage that citizens of River Falls can appreciate and enjoy.

What a fitting transformation for an area that was once the site where Joel Foster and his indentured servant, Dick, first wintered in the Kinnickinnic River valley almost 165 years ago. They hunkered down in a cave made with a lean-to before Joel went on to establish his land claim that led to the formation of what grew into present-day River Falls.

The Journal’s online poll question this week asked: If you won the lottery, what is the minimum amount of money it would take for you to quit your job? Early results: $10 million, 47.8%; $1 million, 31.9%; $500,000, 14.5%; $100,000, 4.3%; and $250,000, 1.4%.

Add your vote by going to www.riverfallsjournal.com