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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Committee Minutes 9.9.25 (to be approved) Attendees: Al Hartman DJ Nichols Jim Collins, Transportation Director Evelyn Meuret Sean Lynch Jeff Armstrong Deb Martin Also Present: Lt. Kraemer and Chief Smith (OPD) The meeting was called to order by Al Hartman who gave a quick overview for the public comment protocol. No one was in attendance that wished to provide commentary on a non-agenda item. Roll Call & Approval of Minutes Chairperson Hartman requested roll call, and later Evelyn Meuret made a motion to approve the minutes from the August meeting, seconded by Jeff Armstrong. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Old Business – N/A New Business 1. Traffic Impact Analysis Presentation – Carl Traeger School and request for signalized intersection Jim Collins said the request came as a result of the recently passed OASD (Oshkosh Area School District) Referendum that passed. OASD plans to address traffic concerns with the ingress and egress to the Carl Traeger School. The district hired TADI Inc. to conduct a Traffic Impact Analysis and make recommendations at the September Transportation Committee meeting. Nate Considine (Bray Architects) gave an overview of the study and John Bieberitz (Tadi Inc.) was present and available for questions. Nate said the one-way in and out of this school site presents challenges and it is projected this location will be increasing in enrollment soon. The additional students will increase traffic and add to the current challenge. The benefits to changing to a signalized east driveway will help move traffic and improve the overall flow of traffic. As a result of the study, they also recommend adding a rectangular rapidly flashing beacon (RRFB) at the crosswalk on 20th to improve overall safety for pedestrians. He said the east driveway will be designed to include a 50’ turn lane into Traeger school. Additionally, the lights will be actuated so the change will not slow down traffic flow on 20th Avenue unless there is demand from the driveways. Deb Martin said she has traveled that area for over 9 years and is very happy the issue is finally being addressed. From her experience, 95% of the cars are turning left and very few turn right onto Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes September 9, 2025 2 | Page 20th Avenue when leaving that driveway. Nate confirmed that her estimate is very close as the ratio was about 80% turning left. Everyone seemed in agreement that the flashing beacon was a great idea in this area to improve overall safety. Chairman Hartman opened the floor up to public discussion and instructed anyone from the general public to approach the podium and state their name and address for the record. Public Comment: Mike & Elizabeth Hable (2950 W. 20th Avenue) Elizabeth said both she and her husband have many concerns with this possible plan. They witness speeding on 20th Avenue daily and feel this potential light signal will cause a backlog of traffic (especially for the houses located on 20th Avenue near the school). At the current time, parents continuously block their driveway and she feels this change will make that issue even worse. They also have some concerns that their property will fall victim to trash and litter. She said this option is not safe or effective and they urge the committee to consider other options such as a round- a-bout. John Bieberitz (Tadi Inc.) confirmed that the round-a-bout option was considered during the study, however; the que is the biggest issue and there will always be a huge surge of traffic before and after school. Al Hartman asked Director Collins if the vote for recommendations should be separate or rolled into one motion. Jim stated the signalized intersection is an actual ordinance that will need to be Council approved but the addition of the RRFB is not linked to an ordinance so it is fine to keep the two motions separate. There were no additional questions or points of discussion so Chairman Hartman asked if anyone would like to make a motion for a recommendation on this agenda item. DJ Nicohls made a motion to approve the recommendation to make this a signalized intersection as presented; seconded by Evelyn Meuret. Motion carried after roll-call vote. (5-0) Jeff Armstrong made a motion to approve the request to add a RRFB (Rectangular Rapidly Flashing Beacon) in this area to improve safety; seconded by DJ Nichols. Motion carried after roll-call vote (5-0) 2) Request for a recommendation of UTV/ATV vehicle usage on city streets. Jim Collins stated that since the recent approval of Winnebago County allowing usage on county roads, the City Council has been getting inquiries about the possibility of also allowing them on City streets. City Council has deferred the issue to the Transportation Committee for a recommendation. Provided in the meeting packet were a few helpful supplemental sheets including some points of discussion sheet that the Legal Department put together, information from the Department of Transportation and some crash data involving UTV/ATV vehicles. Chairman Hartman said he read the DOT Document and found it very informative. He was wondering the impact of Hwy 41, Hwy 21 and Hwy 76 and if the city would have jurisdiction to even make a recommendation or potential change on those highways that run through City limits. Chief Smith (OPD) was available for additional questions and comments and said for areas above 35 mph on those highways, the City would need to get final approval through the DNR, however, they generally approve access within reason. Jim Collins said if it is an area under 35 mph, the city can allow and revise the ordinance to 3 | Page state the specifics. DJ Nichols said during some of the pre-meetings on this topic, there were several people concerned about the round-a-bout locations. Chairman Hartman opened the item up for public comment and instructed any attendees to approach the podium and state their name and address for the record. Public Comment: Dave Schmidt (1960 Walnut Street, Oshkosh) Dave has a lot of information regarding ATV/UTV usage as he actively enjoys this mode of transportation and serves as a safety instructor. He felt it was necessary to clear up the misconception that these UTV/ATV’s will be speeding and cruising in neighborhoods being a nuisance to residents. The ordinance and access are meant merely to get them from point A to point B in designated areas. Other strict rules that can be written into the ordinance are no open alcohol and a helmet must be worn for drivers under 18 years of age. He said the vehicles are registered through the DNR and at the current time, the State of Wisconsin has 500,000 registered vehicles making it one of the largest populations in the country to enjoy this recreational activity. Since this pastime is so popular, he urges the committee to make a recommendation for approval to Council and follow the lead from Winnebago County as they recently passed road access. Dave said the current contribution to the Wisconsin economy is an estimated $5 billion dollars and is projected to grow to $7.9 billion within the next three years. This access will be good for small business owners in the hospitality industries and not benefit the chain stores. He said he currently lives on the north side of Oshkosh and must trailer his machine to get to the County roads nearby. He thinks if something isn’t passed, there will be an increase of people using backroads as an option so it is better to get the ordinance in place to be proactive. Tom VanZeeland (5827 Green Valley Rd, Oshkosh). Tom is the owner of Team Winnebagoland and said he supports this request for many reasons. In his business, he has been noticing a shift from people trading in their motorcycles to purchase an UTV to involve the whole family. He thinks by allowing access to the the city it will be good for the local economy as these families will have access to restaurants, lodging and shopping. The other unique draw is giving access to Lake Winnebago in the winter during ice fishing season. He also wanted to mention that his average customer purchasing UTV/ATVs are responsible 45–60-year old’s, not careless or reckless riders. Al Hartman said after looking over the City of Berlin’s rules, that size of a town made sense but he was curious if there is a better city as a comparison to Oshkosh that currently allows UTV/ATV access however it was discovered that Oshkosh would be the first and other cities are waiting to see what is decided. Al also wanted to be transparent that he is an UTV/ATV owner, however it is located up north at his cottage. He then opened the agenda item up for further discussion. Deb Martin asked if there is a minimum age limit to drive. Dave Schmidt said age 16 in the roadway, age 12 must have parents present. There is a safety course offered through the Department of Natural Resources and many independent training facilities. Evelyn was curious if they must have insurance; Jim stated no but that could be written as a requirement into the ordinance with basic $10,000 medical and $50,000 property damage levels or something to that effect. DJ Nichols said by allowing access to drive into town, this may be a perfect solution to all the trailers 4 | Page parked in his neighborhood during the ice fishing season as it could potentially eliminate the need to trailer the machines into town for lake access. The access could also be an attraction in the future for people wishing to move to Oshkosh as this is a very desirable form of recreation. As far as licensing, he agrees that requirement could be written as part of the ordinance. Al said his initial reaction when he read the agenda item is that he wasn’t very excited and has some concerns about the noise, safety and speeding in residential areas. Chief Smith said there has been a lot of discussion on this topic and the one valid concern from a public safety perspective is that these vehicles are not like motorcycles or Slingshots as they are registered through the DNR, not Department of Transportation therefore the person cannot be issued an actual “OWI” by Oshkosh Police. The ticket would be issued under the DNR code and the OWI does not become part of their driving record. Jeff Armstrong still is unclear on how great of an impact this will be on the City’s economy. He feels these types of vehicles are meant for rural areas and still has not heard enough positive reasons to make the recommendation. Deb Martin said traffic is already very congested in the city and a group of these UTV’s will just add to that issue. She also had some concerns about pedestrian safety; however Chief Smith said according to the DNR data, pedestrian accidents have not been a trend causing concern. Sean Lynch said he can vouch for his interactions with various UTV/ATV groups on assigned trails as he is heavily active in the cycling community. He said he hasn’t had any issues and finds the group to be very safe and respectful of other trail users. They all tend to use hand signals and have very good trail etiquette so in his opinion, this group seems to be a very well-established group of people. Jeff Armstrong said a trail is very different than a street in the city. Al Hartman said there doesn’t seem to be enough public input for him to be comfortable making a recommendation to council one way or another. He suggested getting a poll from the community to gather more data on this topic and bringing it back to a future meeting. DJ thought that made sense too and all but 1 Council member has interest in this topic and probably would be in support of getting additional feedback. Jim will come up with a draft poll. He may be reaching out to others for input before working with Oshkosh Media and Polco to get it out to the public. 3) Request to add a 24-hour parking permit and rate for city owned parking lots that currently allow permit parking. Director Collins said he received a request to add a 24-hour purchase option for the downtown lots. In some cases, there is not on-street parking available in the immediate area and there has been a need for temporary parking for visiting guests or possible short-term tenants in a VRBO scenario. After discussion with the current APP vendor, there is an easy way to offer a 24-hour time limit permit on the mobile APP. The product would allow for 24-hour parking in permitted spaces. Currently the daily permit is $3.00, so it seems reasonable to offer this option for a fee of $6.00. DJ feels the more people that start using the APP the better. Jeff said it seems like a very reasonable request and sees no issues. Al agrees and said it gives more flexibility for people that need it. DJ Nichols made a motion to add this option as presented; seconded by Sean Lynch. Motion carried after a roll-call vote (5-0) 5 | Page Staff Statements ❖ Jim reminded the committee members that for the October meeting only, it will be on Monday the 13th due to a schedule conflict. He said a big topic will be E-Bikes and an update on the UTV/ATV subject. ❖ Also, Jim wanted to give an update on the Saturday hour discussion for Transit. It will not be pursued at this time as there wasn’t enough financial benefit/savings to justify the change. Part of the problem is Transit is heavily grant funded so even if they ended at 2:00 p.m., it would only save the city a projected $20,000 dollars. Future Agenda Requests Al Hartman asked if there were any future agenda requests; to which there were none at this time from committee members. Jim Collins mentioned at either the October or November meeting, fare caps for Transit will need to be an agenda item as Oshkosh seems to be very low compared to peer agencies. Adjournment Jeff Armstrong made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Evelyn Meuret. Motion carried after roll-call vote Meeting adjourned at 5:08 pm.