Transportation committee recommends lowering Whitsall Avenue speed limit to 30 mph after resident safety concerns

The Oshkosh Transportation Committee voted to recommend lowering the posted speed limit on Whitsall Avenue from 35 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour after hearing testimony from residents and a staff review of development and crash patterns.

Committee staff said the section of Whitsall under discussion remains partly under county jurisdiction; the county highway commissioner will need to consider the change before any city ordinance is updated. Public Works staff told the committee that previous speed-setting work showed the 85th-percentile speed slightly above 35 mph but noted recent housing and commercial development in the corridor.

Resident Nancy Decker testified that exiting the driveway for Havenwood Lake Apartments is increasingly hazardous, saying drivers often approach the intersection at 45 mph or more and that recent small-vehicle crashes and emergency responses have increased. “If I get out of the driveway, it’s like, oh no — they’re coming too. It’s very difficult at this at the 35 mile an hour speed,” Decker said.

Staff described jurisdictional complexity: the stretch east of West Haven is city jurisdiction, while west of West Haven remains county jurisdiction because some parcels are in the town. Staff and the county highway commissioner said they can coordinate: the committee’s recommendation would be forwarded to the county commissioner and, if the county committee recommends approval, the Common Council would consider an ordinance change (two readings are required under the city process).

Committee members said a 30 mph limit would match similar four-lane arterials in the city and would better reflect the corridor’s growing residential character; Decker had requested 25 mph, but staff cautioned 25 mph could be “artificially low” and harder to enforce. The committee voted to forward a recommendation to change the speed limit to 30 mph and to ask the county to consider the same change for the segments under its jurisdiction; recorded roll call votes on the committee motion included aye votes from Armstrong, Merritt, Lynch and Hartman.

Next steps: staff will forward the committee recommendation to the county highway commissioner for his committee review. If the county committee endorses the change, the city will place an ordinance amendment on the Common Council agenda for two readings and sign changes will follow once jurisdictions agree.