STEVENS POINT − While city officials work to find a way to improve safety on West River Drive, residents have come up with an idea of their own to slow down and reduce traffic on the street.
Herbert Wievel, 63, Stevens Point, was hit on March 5 and was left lying in the ditch for several hours near West River Drive and Portage County HH. He died two days later. Neighbors, who had long worried about the safety of West River Drive, joined together to find a way to make sure no one else was killed on the stretch of road.
On June 10, the Stevens Point Finance Committee approved the allocation of up to $60,000 from capital projects to do a traffic study on West River Drive. The City Council unanimously approved the move.
The city doesn’t have the actual cost of the study, but it can not put it out for bid, Mayor Mike Wiza said. The actual cost of the road study should be less than the $60,000 allocated for it, he said.
Prior to City Council taking up the road study issue Tuesday evening, some of the residents living in the West River Drive area spoke to the council members.
A group of about eight neighbors got together last weekend to see what they could come up with themselves to improve safety on the street, said Gil Kvatek, one of the neighbors. Months have gone by Since Wievel’s death and the residents of the West River Drive area haven’t seen any improvements, he said.
“Every day, it’s a new set of black marks on the road,” Kvatek said. “We’re afraid it’s going to happen again.”
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The neighbors came up with a list of ideas and they each marked their favorites, Kvatek said. He was uncertain about the top answer at first, he said. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The group is suggesting the city consider ending West River Drive in a cul-de-sac, closing the road where it narrows. A gate could be put there to allow emergency vehicles to get through, but it would block the road off to other motorized traffic.
Jess Sherman said she and other neighbors have gotten very close over the issue of safety on West River Drive.
“We appreciate the fact the city is willing to reallocate money to do this study,” Sherman said.
The neighbors want something done short-term, Sherman said. It was winter when Wievel was hit and killed, she said. Winter turned into spring and spring has turned into summer, but still no changes have been made, she said.
“It’s the same thing every day, and we have to be real careful on those roads,” she said.
West River Drive is not designed for the traffic it currently gets and the road is crumbling, Sherman said.
Putting a cul-de-sac on West River Drive would turn it into a “living end” and not a “dead end.” Theresa Collins said. It would be a place where pedestrians and bicyclists would be safe, and the plan change would have little or no cost and would greatly improve safety, Collins said.
Wiza said he thought the neighbors’ idea was well thought out and wants city staff to see if it is doable.
Council member Mary Kneebone said the city should have a sense of urgency about the road study and keep improving the safety of West River Drive at the top of the list of things it needs to do.
Police arrested Kenneth L. Butler, 43, of Wisconsin Rapids, March 29 for hit-and-run involving death and homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle for the death of Wievel. Butler is scheduled Friday for a plea hearing in Portage County Circuit Court. A sentencing in the case has been rescheduled for Sept. 4.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Stevens Point’s West River Drive neighbors want new cul-de-sac
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