Sunday, February 15, 2015

Council to study traffic light patterns

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 3, 2015



Council to study traffic light patterns

Committee to review road projects

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News

The West Bend Common Council decided at Monday’s meeting at City Hall to use more than $63,000 to research the traffic light pattern on Paradise Drive from an account that was already allocated to fix traffic signals.
The council also unanimously voted to appoint a three-person committee to review city road work projects and accept bids for the pending 18th Avenue expansion project, which Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said he still hopes will start in 2017.
The aldermen voted to use $63,100 budgeted to replace existing radios at traffic signals connected to the master signal at Washington and Seventh and install more radios where needed. Also figured into that cost was the purchase of one camera, labor, and a consultant to perform traffic counts, analysis and timing.
Instead, the money will be used to fund a research project to review the timing of the traffic signals on Paradise Drive, plus purchase a traffic laptop for the Street Division, purchase a spare processor for traffic camera and complement budgeted funds for pre-emption system at Washington Avenue and River Road.
“Some of the dollars will go to research and re-time those to make them more user friendly,” Sadownikow said after the meeting.
The three-person committee charged with reviewing the city’s street-repair wish list consists of aldermen Rick Kasten (District 5), Ed Duquaine (District 3) and Steve Hutchins (District 2).
“We do have some priorities in place with regard to which road gets fixed next, but really confirm that priority list is still accurate,” Sadownikow said while introducing the plan, adding maintaining passable roads is still a high priority.
The most recent list is from about three years ago.
Sadownikow said about $20 million-$30 million worth of work needs to be done in the city, with only about $1 million per year available.
The city’s total budget is $20 million.
“If we’re going to do it one year at a crack, it’s going to take us 20-30 years to get them all done and by that time we’re going to have a whole other list that starts,” Sadownikow said.
Some funds to help with the 18th Avenue project is coming from the state. However, the funds are limited and that’s where the council’s search for a cost-friendly bid comes into play.
The council hopes to have at least five bids by Feb. 11.

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