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Committee tables Wausau Avenue reconstruction to examine multiuse path option, speed and turn‑lane tradeoffs
Summary
After a lengthy public discussion and Bike & Ped Committee recommendation, the Infrastructure and Facilities Committee tabled a final design decision for South 50 Second (East Wausau Avenue) to allow staff and DOT consultants to draw alternatives including an off-street multiuse path, and to consider speed limit and turn‑lane placement.
The Infrastructure and Facilities Committee voted to table a decision on the South 50 Second (East Wausau Avenue/State Highway 52) reconstruction and bicycle/pedestrian accommodations so staff can present additional options and materials, including aerial overlays and possible multiuse trail alignments.
City and Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee staff presented competing recommendations. Bike & Ped recommended a 25 mph posted limit from Sixth to Eighteenth Street, an 8–10 foot multiuse trail on one or both sides of the roadway, 3–5 foot terraces with street trees, left-turn lanes only at high-priority intersections, and pedestrian refuge islands at key crossings. Staff and the DOT consultant had earlier recommended an on‑street two‑way left‑turn lane (center turn lane) with dedicated bike lanes and five‑foot sidewalks.
Several residents spoke at the meeting. Gordon Clements, a longtime East Wausau Avenue resident, urged a 25 mph limit and called for an off‑street multiuse trail so cyclists would not ride in traffic; he said many riders already use sidewalks rather than the roadway. Richard Gerbelich, another resident, said rights-of-way and driveway impacts on private property would be a major concern if typical sections shift the roadway. DOT and city staff warned that adding a multiuse trail was not an option originally presented at the public informational meeting and that federal funding for a multiuse trail would require showing “purpose and need” in the environmental document; staff also said state statute restricts the use of condemnation for multiuse trails in some cases.
After debate over whether a center two‑way left‑turn lane would increase speeds (DOT representatives and consultants cited FHWA findings that twoway left‑turn lanes do not meaningfully increase speeds), Alder Gerst moved to table the item so staff can return in August with aerial views, cost impacts and responses from the DOT and its consultant; Alder Neil seconded. The motion to table passed unanimously. The committee instructed staff to ask DOT and the DOT consultant to prepare drawings showing the Bike & Ped recommendation (multiuse trail on one side) and to provide detailed aerial overlays showing property impacts so the committee can evaluate block‑by‑block tradeoffs before forwarding a final recommendation to council.
Related actions taken at the same meeting: the committee approved street lighting on the corridor with a modification to use decorative lighting between Sixth and Tenth Street and standard overhead lighting from Tenth to Eighteenth, and directed staff to apply for Community Sensitive Design (CSD) grant funding to offset decorative-lighting costs. The sidewalk decision for the north side was tabled for August as well.
What happens next: Staff will follow up with the DOT and its consultant, draft aerial overlays and alternative typical-sections (including a multiuse trail option), and return to the Infrastructure and Facilities Committee in August. The committee noted construction is scheduled by DOT several years out and that real‑estate acquisition is expected to take multiple years.
