HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Committee Staff Report 7.8.25
Old Business
New Business
1. A request to remove the 15-minute parking area on 16th Avenue.
Current Condition: 16th Avenue – 15-minute parking, north side, from Oregon Street
to 55 feet west of Oregon Street. This 15-minute parking area was instituted when
there was a retail bakery in the adjacent building. The bakery owner said this short-
term parking is no longer needed as the building is no longer a retail location.
I Recommend Approval
2. A request to lower the speed limit on Witzel Avenue (CTH E).
Current Condition: 35 mph Witzel Avenue from .2 of a mile west of Westbrook Drive
westerly to the city limits.) This is a citizen request (Amanda Hardel, property
manager for Havenwood Lake Apartments and Nancy Drexel). I have received a
request to lower the speed limit here a few times over the years. A citizen recently
came to the city council meeting to request the speed limit in this area be lowered to
25mph. I also received an email from the Property Manager of Havenwood Lake
Apartments. They cited crashes and near misses, pedestrian activity and consistency
with adjacent streets.
This stretch of road is county jurisdiction from Westhaven Drive west to the city
limits. I spoke to the County Highway Commissioner regarding this request. This
stretch of road is a 4-lane arterial. Based on the current speed limit of 35 mph and the
last speed study, it is likely the 85% speed is 35-40 mph. There are some crashes in this
area. As expected, the majority are at the intersection of Westhaven and Witzel.
However, speed doesn’t appear to be a major factor in these crashes especially at the
intersection. We agree there is a case to lower the speed limit to 30 mph based on
similar roads such as W. 9th Avenue which is one block over, in addition to the
Transportation Committee
Staff Report
July 8, 2025
increased residential development in the area. We believe 25 mph would be artificially
low and cause issues for enforcement but 30 mph would be consistent with similar
streets in the city. Therefore; staff recommends a recommendation be made to
Winnebago County that the speed limit on Witzel Avenue in this section of road be
lowered from 35 mph to 30 mph.
3. A request to update the designated timing on the ordinance of the Bus Loading,
no parking, stopping, standing, waiting zone in front of Read Elementary School
on Algoma Blvd.
Current Condition: Bus loading zone, no parking, stopping, standing, waiting, on
Algoma Blvd. from 260 north of Vine Avenue to 440 feet north of Vine Avenue
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on school days. School administration has requested
the time on this ordinance be moved up as buses often arrive earlier than 7:30 a.m.
They are requesting this ordinance start at 7 a.m. The end time of 4:30 p.m. still works.
I recommend approval.
4. Discussion of the date and time of the committee meetings. There are more and
more Council workshops being scheduled at 5 p.m. on Tuesday nights. This is
becoming an issue for booking Room 404 and Oshkosh Media coverage. There are
some options to consider:
• Leave the meetings as is and schedule the meetings to end at 5 p.m.
• Consider moving the meeting time to 3 p.m. on the current second Tuesday of
each month.
• Consider a different day of the week. It seems like Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
would be viable option. Oshkosh Media suggests the 1st Wed. of the month at 4
p.m. if we do move days. Another option might be Mondays at 4 p.m. There
are a lot of options so I would like to get the committee’s thoughts. Note: We
need to consider the bus schedules so starting at 4 p.m. or earlier is
recommended to allow transit riders an opportunity to attend when desired.
This also seems to work best for recruiting volunteer members.
5. Reschedule Oct. 14th meeting to Monday October 13th at 4 p.m. or ? There is a
conflict that night with a budget workshop.
Staff Statements
❖ We are currently evaluating the following items in conjunction with the city’s annual
budget process:
✓ Agency and paratransit fares
✓ Established Monthly fare caps.
❖ ATV/UTVs – the County board has recently voted to allow ATV/UTVs on county roads.
❖ Working on traffic counts at the Congress/High Intersection
❖ Saturday transit ridership surveys are currently being collected
Future Agenda Requests
• Saturday Transit Service Follow-up
Adjournment