Waverly resident urges IDOT review of Bremer Avenue three‑lane after federal guidance

Matthew Schneider, a Waverly resident, told the City of Waverly City Council during the public‑comment portion of the meeting that the council should ask the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) to review the city’s three‑lane configuration on Bremer Avenue for compliance with new federal guidance.

Schneider said the U.S. Department of Transportation issued guidance on April 25 that views some traffic‑calming measures such as road diets unfavorably and that federal funding may be withheld for projects said to increase crashes, slow emergency response, or harm small businesses. “As of April 25, the feds now view traffic calming measures like road diets unfavorably,” Schneider said.

Why this matters: Schneider framed the matter as both a local safety and economic concern — he said a year‑end review of the Bremer Avenue configuration showed increased crashes, slower response times “without lights and sirens,” and declines in business conditions that were worsened by nearby bridge construction. He told the council IDOT had allowed the city to reverse the configuration and urged the city to ask IDOT to “conduct an immediate review of our current 3 lane implementation against federal regulations and let them give us the green light if this is compliant.”

Schneider described a volunteer effort called Keep Waverly Moving that organized residents, first responders, engineers and policy experts to look into the issue. He also said some compliance items remained outstanding locally, including sign‑off from fire code officials, and that those should be addressed first. “We need sound engineering principles. Thank you,” he concluded.

The council did not take formal action on the request during the meeting; Schneider said he would stay after the meeting for questions.

Clarifying details from the comment: Schneider said the federal guidance date is April 25; he cited local review findings of increased crashes, slower emergency response and business declines related to the Bremer Avenue configuration; he said IDOT has given the city an option to change the configuration back. These items were presented as claims by Schneider during public comment and were not followed by a council motion or staff directive at the meeting.

Community relevance: The remarks concerned Bremer Avenue, local businesses on that corridor and emergency response times in Waverly. No formal city policy or ordinance change was made at the meeting on this subject.