Elkhorn hears options for intersection
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ELKHORN — Elkhorn residents want Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials to fix what they see as a long-standing safety problem at the intersection of Highway 12 and County A.
And they want it fixed now.
That's what dozens of them said Tuesday as more than 100 residents attended a meeting with state DOT officials.
Residents said the intersection is unsafe because cars come by too fast and cause too much noise, and because visibility is limited due to a sharp curve near the intersection.
In turn, DOT officials presented residents with three options:
-- Adding traffic signals to the existing intersection at an estimated cost of $100,000-$200,000.
-- Adding traffic signals and moving Highway 12 east to decrease the sharp angle and improve visibility. Cost is estimated at $1.75 million.
-- Adding a roundabout and moving Highway 12 east to decrease the sharp angle and improve visibility down the road. A preliminary cost estimate of $1.5 million was offered.
DOT officials heavily pushed for the roundabout as the safest of three options despite the $1.5 million price tag.
Some residents were unsatisfied.
"It looks like a decision has already been made," attendee Tim Loftus said.
Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, said he wasn't surprised at the degree of animosity toward the roundabout proposal because people tend to be hesitant to accept the unknown. He said differences have to be put aside to solve the problem.
"You can't go into this with the supposition that a decision has already been made," said Kedzie, who attended the meeting.
The most vocal residents seemed to agree with one thing: Something must be done, and soon.
"I'm all for a roundabout; I'm used to roundabouts," said Wolfgang Neuwirth, who drives through the intersection on his way to work. "But it's been a problem for a long time."
Some residents proposed alternative, interim and cheaper solutions to the problem, such as lowering speed limits. This, they said, could solve both the safety issue and the loud noise of trucks at night.
Bill Olivia, DOT project development supervisor, said while transportation officials have final say, all feedback will be taken into consideration.
"The alternatives to fix it, there are many," Olivia said. "Tonight we are talking about three and we're talking about the most likely ones to happen.
"We haven't decided on that yet, or what that should be."
Oct 2, 2009 at 5:10 a.m.
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Hey Janesvillean-Homework assignment for you. Drive through the new roundabout they just put in at I-43 and Mooreland Rd and see what you think about them then. People around here don't even know who is supposed to yield to who when entering an interstate, how is a roundabout going to be safer? tip for you-when you enter a highway on a entrance ramp you yield to traffic already on the highway. An a roundabout or circle you yield to whoever's on your left.
Oct 1, 2009 at 3:40 p.m.
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It is a bad intersection, and I think the signal idea is best. Lowering the speed limit will not help as most drivers do not do the speed limit. As for roundabouts well I lived in England, it was ok in a small town or less driven highway, I do not think it would work well at that intersection.
Oct 1, 2009 at 3:35 p.m.
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I agree with the residents that this intersection is dangerous. It is very hard to cross 12 when there is a lot of traffic that is going fast and coming from around the bend. Going east on A it is easier because your at the top of the hill. When you go west on A you're at the bottom and can't see past the trees. Have they thought about cutting back the trees? I haven't looked that closely at what's behind them.
Oct 1, 2009 at 3:27 p.m.
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Traffic circles a la the northeast are not the same thing as roundabouts. Roundabouts are proven safer than both traffic circles and normal intersections. They only have 8 points of conflict compared to 32 in a standard cross intersection. In most circumstances they also improve traffic flow because nobody has to wait for a light when there isn't traffic. This is a traffic circle that has been replaced with a roundabout:
http://www.alaskaroundabouts.com/mythfac...
Oct 1, 2009 at 7:50 a.m.
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It's crazy to me that this area is putting in these "roundabouts" I grew up in New Jersey and these "circles" are being removed because of safety issues and heavy traffic jams. You will see many more accidents at this intersection if the state puts in a circle. Best option. Stoplights here and finish building Hwy 12 as a 4 lane all the way to Madison.
Oct 1, 2009 at 7:19 a.m.
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Joe, is your opinion based on familiarity with that particular intersection, your affection for roundabouts or both?
That intersection was redesigned and reconstructed several years ago. That project started with a bad intersection and, by way of an obviously misguided attempt at design, made it even more dysfunctional than it was. There are several obvious and relatively minor improvements needed, any of which would greatly improve both the safety and efficiency of that intersection.
Sep 30, 2009 at 10:12 p.m.
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Roundabout -- great idea.
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