Oshkosh consultants: Franklin expansion will add about 100 morning car trips; two stop-control changes recommended

Consultants hired to study the Franklin Elementary expansion and the proposed conversion of the nearby Perry Tippler building told the Oshkosh Transportation Committee that the projects will shift local traffic but do not require new signals.

"We looked at 15 intersections" during morning and afternoon peak periods, consultant Neil Stika said, and found most operated acceptably. He identified two existing trouble spots — Mason Street at West 9th and Rykow (recorded as Rykow/Raikau) at West 9th — where queues currently measure about 30–65 feet and delays around 50–55 seconds. "With the additional changes at the schools ... the delays will increase slightly," Stika said, estimating modest growth in queues.

Nate Constein, the presenting consultant, said the referendum plan for Franklin adds building renovations, a playground and a new west-side bus loop and pickup/drop-off lane that will connect into Mason Street. The district is also planning partial conversion of the Perry Tippler building to a 4K/rec center and district office space; that change is expected to reduce some afternoon traffic at the Tippler site while Franklin sees more arrivals.

The traffic study forecasts roughly 100 new morning vehicle trips into Franklin and about 85 vehicles leaving in the afternoon, with a PM peak of about 115 departing vehicles, Stika said. Constein added that "the bulk of the students are expected to come from the Roosevelt site," a boundary change that affects which intersections see the added load.

To reduce risk and standardize driver expectations, the consultants recommended two targeted control changes: converting the westbound approach at the Mason & West T-intersection to a two-way stop (to make the new parent pickup lane operate as a controlled four-way) and making Rykow & West a yield-controlled intersection for east-west movements to align corridor control. Stika said he evaluated signals and lane reconfigurations and concluded a traffic signal is not warranted at those locations today.

Timing: presenters and staff said some site work (including the new three-way drop-off lane) could be built in summer 2026, but Franklin would not reach full student capacity until fall 2027; signage and any ordinance or stop sign changes can be implemented to coincide with the school opening.

Next steps: consultants offered to answer follow-up questions and staff signaled the proposed site plan will likely be presented to the Common Council for formal approvals (staff noted a council agenda in January). No formal committee vote on the TIA recommendations was taken at this meeting.

Sources: presentation and answers to committee questions by consultants Nate Constein and Neil Stika; staff comments to the Transportation Committee.