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Resident urges lower speed limit on Fancher Road, cites heavy truck traffic and safety concerns
Summary
A Mount Pleasant resident told the Board of Trustees that Fancher Road carries heavy traffic including 18-wheelers and dump trucks and asked the village to study lowering the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph; staff offered to discuss the issue with him but no formal action was taken.
Steve Johnson, a Mount Pleasant resident, urged the Village of Mount Pleasant Board of Trustees on May 12 to consider reducing the speed limit on Fancher Road from 45 mph to 35 mph because of what he described as a rise in large-truck traffic and safety concerns for pedestrians and nearby daycare and church users.
Johnson said he conducted an informal, one-hour traffic count and recorded “over 700 vehicles” passing both directions between about 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. on a recent morning, and that the next-day total was “within 20.” He also said 18-wheelers and dump trucks have become “significantly” more common, with dump trucks starting “about 7:00” and 18-wheelers around 7:30 a.m.
The resident told trustees that Fancher Road, County Road H, is primarily residential, while the roadway continues as Wisconsin Street across Route 20 with a lower posted speed and more commercial uses. “Why would it be 35 miles an hour ultimately going to 30 as we go into Sturtevant and 45 in an all residential area?” Johnson asked. He added that one church on or near Fancher Road has a daycare and that people walking with dogs “stop and turn around because they're actually scared to walk on Fancher.”
Johnson estimated that dropping the limit from 45 mph to 35 mph would add about 55 seconds to a trip from Route 20 to Highway K. He also said he was concerned about road damage from heavy trucks and the additional repair costs that would follow.
Trustee comments and formal board action did not follow during the public-comment item. The meeting chair noted the matter likely involves multiple jurisdictions once the road crosses into Sturtevant and invited Johnson to speak with the village public works director present after the meeting in the atrium. The public works director offered to follow up outside the meeting; trustees did not direct staff to pursue a formal speed-limit change during the session.
No ordinances or traffic studies were presented at the meeting, and no vote or referral was recorded. Johnson offered to answer questions from trustees during his remarks, but the record shows only his public comment and the invitation to consult staff afterward.
