Development puts walkers, vehicles on a collision course

The number of pedestrians walking along Northwoods Road and the increased number of vehicles traveling on the roadway north of Highway 33 is an accident waiting to happen, Town of Port Washington Supr. Greg Welton said.

Northwoods Road, a narrow north-south road without sidewalks that lies on the border between the Village of Saukville and Town of Port, has probably seen a 300% to 400% increase in pedestrian traffic in recent years, Welton, who lives in the nearby Applewood Drive, told the Town Board earlier this month.

The road has also seen a significant increase in vehicle traffic, he said, especially construction vehicles from the nearby Northern Gateway project.

Much of the traffic turns onto Northwoods at Applewood Drive, Welton said.

“It’s becoming very active,” he said. “It’s busy now, but once it gets really busy there (the Gateway development) it’s going to be crazy.”

People are using the road to walk to the Feith Family Ozaukee YMCA, to walk their pets and to just stroll, he said.

But without sidewalks or a pedestrian path, people have nowhere to walk but the road, Welton said, and vehicles there travel as fast as 55 mph.

“We definitely have an issue,” Welton said. “It’s a narrow road, there’s no sidewalks and you have all this traffic. People are concerned.

“The number of people walking and on that road has gone up a lot — in the last year, it’s gone up five times,” he added. “It would really be nice for the village to do something on the west side of Northwoods so people can get to the Y.”

Part of the problem, he said, is that virtually all the traffic from the development right now is traveling on Northwoods Road.

“It’s really more a Saukville issue than Town of Port Washington issue,” Town Chairman Mike Didier said, since the development is in the village and the west side of Northwoods Road is controlled by the village while the east side is under town jurisdiction. 

The Port Town Board agreed to send a letter to Village Administrator Dawn Wagner about the situation, asking if there are plans for sidewalk or a pedestrian path in the area.

Wagner on Tuesday referred questions to Ian McCain, design construction manager for Ansay Development, which is developing the Gateway Community Collective.

McCain said that before work on the Gateway development began, Ansay hired a firm to conduct a traffic study that showed the project would only have a small impact on traffic and recommended adding deceleration lanes turning into the subdivision.

“I appreciate people raising concerns,” he said. “We will absolutely react if there are problems.”

But, he noted, that the Gateway project is designed with a series of walkways.

“Ultimately our project is fully self-contained, to be a fully walkable community for not just our residents but visitors,” McCain said. 

Right now, many of those walkways aren’t built, he said, but as the project progresses, they will be.

“Things are going to change over time,” he said. “As the project continues to evolve, more and more connections will be made. They’re just not there today.”

Village President Andy Hebein echoed McCain.

“Right now it’s not 100% connected,” Hebein said. “It will be.”

Safety is always a concern, he said, but because of the interconnected paths that are planned for the development there isn’t a need to install sidewalks in the interim.

“We don’t have any plans to do anything,” Hebein said. “I just don’t see why we would need to. All the amenities will be within that development.” 

Those who choose to walk on Northwoods Road need to be aware of traffic, Hebein said.

“You see people riding bikes on all kinds of country roads,” he said. “You see people jogging on Highway I and people are driving by at 50 mph.

“Whether you’re on Northwoods or any other road, just be cautious. It’s not designed for that.”