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By a unanimous vote, at tonight's meeting the Monona Public Safety Commission recommended the installation of three speed tables on Winnequah Road between Maywood Road and Bridge Road. The commission also recommended the installation of crosswalks and additional speed limit signs. (Member Jim Bisbee was not present due to other obligations.)
Alder Mike Veserat also made a motion a to install stop signs on Winnequah Road at three intersection (Maywood, Frostwoods, and Bridge). The motion died for lack of a second.
Mayor Robb Kahl and alder Jim Busse also attended.
The recommendation will go to Public Works, probably for its March meeting. I expect the city council to take up the matter sometime in the Spring. It is fair to say there will be plenty more discussion on the issue.
Assuming the proposal goes forward there will be numerous design considerations to resolve.
The commission also recommended the removal of the bumpouts, including straightening the curb line and flattening the walkways. The cost of the removal is unknown and it seemed to me it was generally understood by the commission that there is not funding in the budget for the removal. Flattening some the walkways and straightening the curbs might not be too expensive at some of the intersections, but there are storm sewer inlets at some of the intersections and that would increase the cost of any change at those locations.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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What is a speed table are you changing the name to confuse me?
ReplyDeleteWhat about cameras? They are used in Ill. and IA and are commonly monitored by private companies.
ReplyDeleteMay I also suggest this speed bump?
http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/12/11/speed-bumps-that-flatten-for-slow-speeds/
Sorry-to post multiple times. I am home sick with the flu. In any case, they are called dynamic speed bumps.
ReplyDeleteArticle here:http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1178
"What is a speed table are you changing the name to confuse me?"
ReplyDeleteYes....
Just kidding. The name is not new, but the terminology is not always used consistently and so it can be a bit confusing. Speed tables are longer - usually about 22' - than speed humps or speed bumps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_table
"What about cameras? They are used in Ill. and IA and are commonly monitored by private companies."
ReplyDeleteVideo enforcement is not allowed in Wisconsin.
"May I also suggest this speed bump?
http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/12/11/speed-bumps-that-flatten-for-slow-speeds/"
Despite the implication they give on theior web site, I cannot imagine these things would hold up. The first snow plow would wipe them out.
Transcalm.com
ReplyDeleteThose things do look sturdy to me.
Check out the pdf.
"Video enforcement is not allowed in Wisconsin"
ReplyDeleteTHANK GOD! All you have to do is see some of the mess that they cause around places like Phoenix and I can't imagine why anyone would want them here.
For the speed tables, it will be interesting to see what the actual layout of them is going to be. Are they going to extend into the bike path (the removable ones proposed by the Mayor in the fall weren't going to, but not sure if these new speed tables are permanent in-ground ones)? If not, do we have a way to ensure that cars aren't going to drive around the speed table by entering into the bike lane/parking area?
I'm not sure how I feel about spending a ton of money to remove the bump-outs... I feel like a lot of time, money and attention has been given to one small stretch of road while there are areas in the rest of Monona that should be improved as well. "Upper Winnequah" for instance is a collection of potholes and patchwork, and could easily use resurfacing... I would put that as a priority over removing parts of a recent road addition.
Hi Doug,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this to your blog so that neighbors who couldn't attend can have access to the update.
I apologize for being late to the meeting last night, and missing the appearances section.
While I think that the approval of speed tables for this stretch of road is a wonderful step in the right direction, I would just like to re-iterate that along with excessive speeds, the current design of the road has presented additional problems for pedestrians, especially children.
I would encourage all appropriate committees, including the City Council, to recognize that there does not exist a controlled intersection where children can safely cross the street unless you travel all the way north to the Schluter Road intersection.
While stop signs might not be the appropriate tool for controlling speed, they would certainly provide a mechanism for safe crossing from one side of the street to the other.
Thanks for your consideration.
Cari Fuss
Hey Doug-
ReplyDeleteCalifornia has moved away from speed bumps because it increases hydrocarbons and CO2 due to all the slowing and stopping.
I agree with the poster who wondered what the city would do to take care of the other streets when you push drivers to them. Is the the mayor going to move to Bridge when everyone is racing down it?
ReplyDeleteI will concede to a speeding problem on Winneq, but I think speed bumps will do nothing more then push people to bridge.
The last 3 or 4 days-I drove 22 to 23 at the eve and morn rush hours. I had a line of cars about 5 long behind me. Furhter, the car directly behind was tailgating and it was a strange experience because I was PO a fair amount of Monona and that car/family lived on Winneq.
""Upper Winnequah" for instance is a collection of potholes and patchwork, and could easily use resurfacing... I would put that as a priority over removing parts of a recent road addition." Fair point. I do not drive that way too often, but noticed how it was deteriorating on a recent trip last weekend.
ReplyDelete"Transcalm.com" That is a UK company. Bit far to go. They only work down to 4 below zero F. I just don't think these kind of rubber products will stand up to our plows.
ReplyDeleteI should add the other option for the rubber products is to remove them in the late fall. The problem is that we hardy Wisconsites also speed in the winter.
ReplyDeleteWhat does removing the chokers have to do with speeding?
ReplyDeleteSecond-I about got ran over by someone who lives on lower Wineq. because I was not speeding.
"What does removing the chokers have to do with speeding?"
ReplyDeleteRemoving the chokers is more about pedestrian and biker safety than speeding. Bikes will be more likely to stay in the bike lane if they are flat and do not have the angled entry points.
I think we need to figure out exactly what problem we are trying to fix. For me, the main problem with speeding is the risk it poses to pedestrians, especially children, who are forced to walk in a the street and share it with cars, trucks, and bicycles.
Building a sidewalk is the obvious way to fix the pedestrian safety problem. I mean, DUH! If we got the peds out of the street, then speeding becomes *less* of a problem. Building a sidewalk would address most of the pedestrian safety issues. (We also need marked crosswalks and -maybe a stop sign - to allow peds to cross the street, especially during peak hours.)
Do we consider speeding a problem on Nichols or Dean, where we have sidewalks along local collector streets? I don't think so.
I think we need to gather our political courage and make a serious effort to build a sidewalk along Winnequah.
The south end of Winnequah has been a "Cluster ..." since day one of the reconstruction. Remember the famous "speed dips" or the "pot hole" sewer covers? The city fixed those problems by replacing those sections of asphalt.
ReplyDeleteThe talk about removing the "chokers" is a good idea. The talk about speed bumps/humps is a bad idea.
All of this cutting and reconstructing of the asphalt is going to leave a sheet of asphalt that will need to be totally redone in 10 years.
Every time the asphalt is cut a slot is created the first time the asphalt expands or contracts do to the temperate extremes of our climate. These slots allow winter water to leak under the asphalt and freeze. When a warm winter day comes around and the black asphalt heats up enough to melt the water under the asphalt there is a void created. The next time a heavy vehicle rolls over the area of asphalt, the aphalt brakes up and pot holes appear.
So I vote to get rid of the "chokers" and put in stop signs. Yes getting rid of the "chokers" will create a few more slot in the asphalt. But installing three stop signs will get rid of the slots created by speed bumps/humps.
This is from a High Engineering prospective and someone who has worked in highway engineering for well over thirty years.
"From a High Engineering prospective and someone who has worked in highway engineering for well over thirty years."
ReplyDeleteHigh Engineering? Is that ironic capitalization or are you buzzed?
But seriously, why not sign your name (I would not make wisecracks if you did)?
Changing 'lower winnebago squaw road' to 'lower slobovia' might put some levitous spin a al Al Capp to this typical Monona affair. The rich and famous have children like the rest of us, but Squaw Bay puts an unwanted pressure on those chilren...
ReplyDeleteHow about Draining Squaw Bay as a solution?