Pewaukee committee backs resolution urging DOT to add bike/ped accommodations to planned I-94 diverging-diamond

The Public Works Committee voted to recommend that the common council send a supporting resolution to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation asking that a planned I-94 diverging-diamond redesign include bike and pedestrian accommodations.

Speaker 2 explained that Waukesha County has urged DOT to add a bike/ped crossing at the diverging-diamond to connect Frame Park with the Fox River Trail and that the county has largely exhausted options to secure pedestrian access across a railroad bridge. "This is really just kind of requesting...that the city of Pewaukee finds this as a beneficial [project] and would like to see that diverging diamond have a bike and ped accommodation on it," Speaker 2 said.

Committee members discussed how the DOT's preliminary layouts include controlled signal crossings where pedestrians and bicyclists would cross traffic lanes and noted some design uncertainties around ramp and off-ramp crossings. Speaker 2 said DOT alternatives currently show bike lanes on one side of the interchange and pedestrian facilities on the other, with controlled crossings at signalized intersections.

Speaker 1 moved to recommend the matter to council; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. Committee members expressed general support for the accommodation as a regional connectivity improvement that would help link local trails to Frame Park and broader county trail efforts.

Next steps: staff will forward the committee's recommendation to the council for a supporting resolution to be sent to DOT.