Shorewood staff set options for Capital Drive pedestrian safety upgrades; staff to seek bus-agency and engineering estimates

Shorewood public works committee members reviewed possible pedestrian-safety modifications along West Capitol Drive, hearing staff recommendations on temporary and permanent “bump out” curb extensions, bus-stop relocation, changes to landscaping that limits sight lines, and possible overhead intersection signage.

Staff presenter Leanne summarized options for three candidate locations and said a range of installation approaches is possible: temporary installations using tubular bollards, “pin-in-place” precast or modular islands, and fully constructed curb extensions. "The temporary installation…that cost would be 100% village cost," Leanne said. She gave an estimated engineering-plan cost of about $10,000–$15,000 per intersection for the plan sheets required by the state and said the more permanent, constructed-in-place option would be significantly more expensive.

The committee discussed practical constraints at several intersections. Several members and a resident raised the heavy U-turn movement at Morris and Capitol as a complicating factor; staff said the northwest corner there is not recommended for a bump out because of frequent U-turns and the geometry. Staff also flagged a bus stop at the northeast corner of one candidate intersection: moving the stop east to make room for a bump out would likely eliminate curbside parking in that block and requires coordination with the transit agency.

Resident Sandy Pendleton urged committee members to reexamine the Morris–Capitol intersection rather than rule it out, saying parents and students are most concerned there. "I would like to see us think about how we could change that intersection so that pedestrians are safer than they are now," Pendleton said, suggesting a bump out and a left-turn-lane reduction as possibilities.

Public-safety staff and one committee member raised maintenance concerns for temporary installations, referencing other municipal demonstrations where tubular bollards required frequent replacement. Leanne said city DPW conversations indicated weekly maintenance and replacement can be an issue with some temporary hardware.

Committee direction. Members agreed on two near-term next steps: staff will contact Milwaukee County Transit (MCTS) about the feasibility of moving affected bus stops and will ask Strand (the village's engineering consultant) for a proposal and cost estimate to prepare required engineering plan sheets for Wisconsin approval. One trustee said the engineering cost estimate will likely mean a budget recommendation for 2026. The committee discussed starting with temporary installations as a demonstration and later budgeting for permanent work if effective; others said a pin-in-place (precast) option could reduce ongoing maintenance compared with low-cost tubular bollards.

Leanne also summarized landscaping issues in the median and along the corridor, saying some plant materials used in the original streetscape were too tall for the location, have died out, or block sightlines. Staff proposed an in-house landscape review to identify plantings that should be removed or replaced with lower-growing species and noted implementing changes would be phased and budgeted over time.

On other measures, staff outlined the possibility of overhead intersection signage similar to examples in other municipalities; committee members asked staff to research grant possibilities and to return with options and cost information.

Staff will return with proposed engineering costs and MCTS feedback at the committee's next meeting for additional direction.

Ending

No formal vote was taken on a construction project. The committee gave staff direction to seek transit-agency input and to obtain an engineering proposal and cost estimate for the bump-out options under consideration.