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Transportation committee recommends closing short Mill Street slip lane at Bowen to improve safety
Summary
City staff and consultant recommended removing a short Mill Street segment and extending driveways onto Bowen as part of the Bowen Street reconstruction; the Transportation Committee voted to recommend the design to the Common Council after staff said the change would improve sight lines, shorten pedestrian crossings and increase green space.
The Oshkosh Transportation Committee voted to recommend a design change in the Bowen Street reconstruction project that would close a short Mill Street slip lane between Bowen and Wagyu. City engineering and consultant AECOM presented crash data, traffic counts and design options and recommended removing the slip lane, building curb bump‑outs, expanding green space and shifting three parcel driveways to face Bowen.
Why it matters: presenters cited crash clusters at nearby intersections and a sight‑distance problem created by the current slip lane geometry. AECOM said camera counts found about 86 vehicles per day using the Mill Street slip lane, most of which continue through the block; staff recommended removing the nonstandard movement to simplify traffic and improve pedestrian safety.
Details of the plan include closing the Mill Street segment between Bowen and Wagyu, extending property driveways to reach Bowen, installing corner bump‑outs to shorten pedestrian crossings and increasing the public right‑of‑way green triangle that neighborhood associations may landscape. Engineering said the driveways would extend about 60 feet from existing garages to the road edge; the vacated strip would remain city right‑of‑way and would not be vacated to private ownership.
Staff reported the city mailed notices to the three affected parcel owners before Thanksgiving and invited them to tonight’s meeting but had received no responses; staff said they would send an additional packet with meeting materials and a link to the presentation before the item goes before the Common Council. Committee members pressed staff about homeowner impacts including snow removal and driveway maintenance. Staff said driveway aprons from sidewalk to road would remain private property maintenance responsibility while the city would coordinate sidewalk/street maintenance from the right‑of‑way.
Committee members framed the vote as an opportunity to address a recurring safety problem while the city rebuilds Bowen. The motion to recommend the design to the Common Council passed on a committee roll call. Staple moved the motion and Easley seconded.
Ending: Staff said project details — including final driveway dimensions, coordination with neighborhood associations on landscaping and the city’s special assessment fund covering initial driveway construction costs — will be refined before council consideration. The committee recommended the design change to the Common Council for final approval.
