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Oshkosh transportation staff report rises in pedestrian and bicycle crashes; committee discusses RFPs and pedestrian bridge
Summary
Transportation staff presented 2025 crash data showing pedestrian and bicycle crashes up more than 60% versus the five-year average and increases in minor injuries; staff recommended targeted RFPs at roundabouts and consideration of a pedestrian bridge while noting some ramp crashes fall under state jurisdiction.
Jim Collins, a transportation staff member for Oshkosh City, told the Transportation Committee that 2025 crash data show pedestrian and bicycle crashes have increased sharply and that the city should pursue targeted mitigation.
Collins said the city’s five-year-average comparison shows pedestrian crashes are "up over 60%" and bicycle crashes are "up over 60%" in 2025, and he identified roundabouts as frequent crash locations largely because they carry high traffic volumes. Collins also noted an increase in minor injuries and said some on- and off-ramp crashes are predominantly rear-end collisions under Wisconsin Department of Transportation jurisdiction, which limits what the city can directly change.
"If you look at our five year average versus '25, our pedestrian injuries are up...and bicycle crashes are up over 60%," Collins said while showing GIS-enabled crash maps and describing how the city is using publicly available Wistat data to analyze trends. He cited several corridors and intersections of interest, including the Kohler/Whitsall/Washburn area, the ramps to U.S. 41 where rear-end crashes predominate, and the Wisconsin/Algoma corridor where a number of northbound vehicles ran red lights during midday.
Committee members used the presentation to probe causes and potential remedies. Members commented that ramp crashes often reflect speed differentials as vehicles merge onto high-speed traffic and that signal timing and pedestrian-actuated signals can disrupt corridor coordination. One member noted signal-timing adjustments made last year reduced crashes at certain intersections, and Collins said he has engaged a traffic engineering firm to evaluate additional timing changes and other mitigations.
Collins recommended issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) to study and address problem roundabouts and to advance planning for a pedestrian bridge to improve nonmotorist safety at key crossings. He also demonstrated how the Wisconsin crash portal can be filtered by municipality and crash type and committed to emailing the committee the dashboard link for further review.
The presentation concluded with staff noting two items on the city council agenda — a proposed three-year revenue agreement with the school district to allow students to ride free and an expansion of the GoConnect pilot — which, if approved by the council, will be implemented by staff.
