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Hortonville trustees discuss safety at Nash Street and Oak intersection; ask county to study 4-way stop
Summary
Trustees reviewed a county study and discussed converting the three-way at Nash and Oak to a four-way stop, tightening roadway lanes or adding a turn lane, and relocating a crosswalk near the school. No formal motion was taken; staff will raise the request with county engineers.
At its Oct. 2 meeting, the Village of Hortonville Village Board discussed safety concerns at the Nash Street and Oak Street intersection and asked staff to raise the issue with county engineers, including whether to convert the current three-way control to a four-way stop.
The item, placed on the board’s agenda for discussion and possible action, focused on visibility and driver confusion at the intersection, which trustees and staff said sits close to a school crosswalk. A trustee said, “I think that intersection is still screwed up,” and recommended considering a four-way stop rather than the present arrangement.
Police Chief Brian told the board the county report shows the village averages “2 to 3 accidents a year. Typically, not injury accidents,” and described the intersection as a slow-speed location where near-misses do not always appear in crash data. Administrator Nathan described two engineering options discussed with staff: tightening the wide approach on Nash by building out the triangular island the village already owns, or creating a dedicated right-turn lane. Either change, Nathan said, could make a traditional four-way stop more visible and safer for unfamiliar drivers.
Trustees discussed long-term recommendations from a 2022 intersection study, including removing an extra lane that reduces turning visibility and straightening the roadway to create a more conventional alignment. Several board members raised concerns about how moving the stop line or crosswalk would affect school pedestrian access, morning bus pick-up and drop-off, and overall vehicle speeds. Staff noted the crosswalk’s current location might need to move seaward if a stop sign were placed farther back; that change, trustees said, would require county engineering input.
No formal motion to change the intersection control was taken. The board agreed to ask staff to present the county’s options and possible engineering solutions to the county highway department for its review and to seek an engineered recommendation.
The discussion closed with trustees signaling general support for pursuing the county review and for technical work to evaluate lane-width changes or an island extension as potential short-term fixes.
