Commission approves traffic signal at West Washington crossing, moves to pursue permanent two‑lane layout pending OCR approval

The Madison Transportation Commission voted unanimously to adopt staff recommendations to install a full traffic signal at the West Washington Avenue crossing of the Southwest Commuter Path and to pursue a permanent two‑lane curb geometry, while maintaining the existing temporary lane reduction during further study and regulatory review.

Tom Moore, assistant traffic engineer, told the commission that an OCR order associated with the railroad crossing requires a traffic control device that can interconnect with the railroad warning system; that language effectively rules out reinstalling a RRFB (rapid‑flashing beacon) without signalization. Moore said the full traffic signal “is the option that we really the only option we have” under the existing order. The city can file for an amended OCR order to pursue a permanent two‑lane crossing, but Moore said prior experience indicates that petitioning OCR for a geometric…