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Council approves traffic study
Jerica Harvey
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: News
The Whitewater Common Council approved a traffic analysis along Main Street Oct. 21 for an effective solution for pedestrian safety.
"One of my overwhelming feelings is we have not gone about this whole process in a proper fashion," Councilman Lynn Binnie said. "I know it's very easy to respond, irrationally or unreasonably to pressure, but the reality is that's what we've done, and I think we have missed out on the proper procedure for dealing with this sort of situation."
The issue was debated at the last four meetings since former student Mike Chaloupka was hit by a car Aug. 26 while crossing the Whiton and Main intersection. He died Sept. 9 due to severe injuries.
The decision came after Luke Holman, traffic engineer for Strand Associates, Inc., told the council they did not recommend the High-intensity Activated Crosswalk system. The system would allow pedestrians to push a button, activating a red light meant to bring cars to a complete stop.
Only Councilmember Marilyn Kienbaum voted in opposition of the analysis.
Holman said reasons for not supporting the HAWK system included confusion for drivers and pedestrians by having a third, experimental control system within three blocks, and it could disrupt traffic unreasonably since it gives pedestrians control.
There also could be liability issues since it has not been approved by the Federal Highway Administration or the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. It is only in experimental stages in Arizona and will be revised by the Manual on Uniform Traffic control devices.
This means the city could only install the HAWK system by a grant from FHWA for experimentation, according to Strand Associates, Inc.
"There's a lot of science that goes into this," City Manager Kevin Brunner said. "In retrospect, I think we put the council in a very bad situation bringing all these alternatives to you, it was a knee jerk reaction and an emotional reaction.
"I've heard more complaints about this particular intersection and the lack of response than any other issues since I've been city manager for four years."
"One of my overwhelming feelings is we have not gone about this whole process in a proper fashion," Councilman Lynn Binnie said. "I know it's very easy to respond, irrationally or unreasonably to pressure, but the reality is that's what we've done, and I think we have missed out on the proper procedure for dealing with this sort of situation."
The issue was debated at the last four meetings since former student Mike Chaloupka was hit by a car Aug. 26 while crossing the Whiton and Main intersection. He died Sept. 9 due to severe injuries.
The decision came after Luke Holman, traffic engineer for Strand Associates, Inc., told the council they did not recommend the High-intensity Activated Crosswalk system. The system would allow pedestrians to push a button, activating a red light meant to bring cars to a complete stop.
Only Councilmember Marilyn Kienbaum voted in opposition of the analysis.
Holman said reasons for not supporting the HAWK system included confusion for drivers and pedestrians by having a third, experimental control system within three blocks, and it could disrupt traffic unreasonably since it gives pedestrians control.
There also could be liability issues since it has not been approved by the Federal Highway Administration or the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. It is only in experimental stages in Arizona and will be revised by the Manual on Uniform Traffic control devices.
This means the city could only install the HAWK system by a grant from FHWA for experimentation, according to Strand Associates, Inc.
"There's a lot of science that goes into this," City Manager Kevin Brunner said. "In retrospect, I think we put the council in a very bad situation bringing all these alternatives to you, it was a knee jerk reaction and an emotional reaction.
"I've heard more complaints about this particular intersection and the lack of response than any other issues since I've been city manager for four years."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
p lee
posted 12/01/08 @ 1:33 PM CST
Since we have more car and students using the same road, we should have a Safety Team that consists of volunteer students/staffs that take care of the crossing intersections. (Continued…)
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