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Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News August 25, 2005 - Stoplight trial run set to end Friday By Karen Madden, Daily Tribune Staff Drivers traveling through downtown Wisconsin Rapids on Friday should pay close attention to the traffic signals. Friday marks the end of a seven-week experiment to create four-way stops at Grand Avenue intersections by using flashing red lights instead of green, yellow and red traffic signals. At some point during the day, the signals will be changed back. Dave Laspa, the city engineer, is analyzing data collected before and during the experiment - vehicle counts and speeds - to determine whether the flashing red lights improved traffic flow. He plans to report his results next week to the Common Council's Public Works Committee, which will recommend whether to keep the signals or use the four-way stops permanently. The return to traffic signals can't come fast enough for Gregg Schulz of Wisconsin Rapids. The 32-year-old Schulz is an emergency worker who often must drive through the downtown. "Going through the downtown area with lights and sirens on and having to stop at every intersection adds minutes to response time," Schulz said. "Most of those intersections are blind intersections." The stopping and starting at each intersection also is a nuisance for other drivers, he said. "I will be extremely happy when they get switched back," he said. Schulz's view isn't shared by everyone. Jack Faville of Wisconsin Rapids likes the flashing red lights and the four-way stop because it lets him get through the downtown area faster. "I don't feel I have to sit at red lights as long," he said. "I just come up to the stop light, the flashing lights, and if nobody is there, I just go." Faville does believe, however, that the intersections should be clearly marked with signs indicating a four-way stop ahead to avoid confusion. "If they're not going to do that, then go back to the other lights," he said. Both Faville and Schulz think the city needs to re-synchronize the traffic signals. The poor timing often requires vehicles to stop at every intersection, Schulz said. The Community Progress Initiative's Downtown Revitalization Cluster lobbied for the traffic change to get drivers to slow down and look at what is in the area and to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. Marion Ruelle, a member of the committee, said it took people time to get accustomed to the change, but many drivers who started out against it changed their minds. "I noticed this last week that things were going very smoothly through the area," she said. It will be up to city officials to determine if the lights will be changed permanently. Ruelle believes the biggest benefits were experienced east of the Wisconsin River. Lana Kilponen, 38, of Wisconsin Rapids isn't sure how she feels about the lights being changed permanently, but she does believe it helped in the area of Rogers Cinema. The flashing red lights make it much easier to turn at that intersection, she said. However, Kilponen isn't sure the flashing lights are safe. She said she's seen motorists race to be the first through the intersections. Wisconsin Rapids Police Chief Kurt Heuer said he isn't aware of any crashes at the affected intersections during the experiment. Heuer said feedback on the change started out negative but became positive as time progressed. Heuer personally believes the experiment was beneficial. Fewer semis and other vehicles used Grand Avenue as a thoroughfare, he said. At the same time, Heuer said, downtown businesses had at least as many visitors as usual. "I went though there a number of times a day," Heuer said. "Even in my unmarked squad, I saw safer driving behavior and safer pedestrian travel." Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Jerry Bach also saw peoples' attitudes change during the seven weeks the lights were blinking. During a couple of brown bag lunches with River Block employees, Bach heard about 60 percent of them speak in favor of the flashing lights and about 40 percent speak against it. The lights also have an economic impact, Bach said. It cost about $500 to make the change to the flashing lights. It costs the city about $4,000 to $5,000 a year to operate them normally. "I'm glad we did it," Bach said of the experiment. "It got traffic off the downtown streets." The future of the lights depends on the future of downtown redevelopment plans, the mayor said. If the lights eventually are changed, he said, the city also will include signs marking a downtown bypass along Jackson Street.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome