Franklin Street traffic flow vexes city officials

Getting around on Franklin Street in Port Washington can be a challenge at times throughout the year, but on the cusp of the summer tourist season the city’s Traffic Safety Committee took a new look at how to move traffic safely in downtown.

Committee members found plenty of concerns but few answers during the recent discussion.

Ald. Deb Postl, a member of the committee, said she brought the matter up because numerous constituents had talked to her about the number of accidents and near-accidents as well as the difficulties of navigating downtown traffic.

After examining accident statistics from the police department, Postl said she found the largest number of accidents occurred at the intersection of Franklin and Washington streets, followed by Franklin and Main Street, Postl said.

Most were a result of inattentive driving, she said.

“When you’re driving on Franklin Street, there’s a ton of activity and it’s rather narrow there,” she said.

Postl said her initial thought was to see if the city would consider making Franklin a one-way street.

That was a recommendation in the city’s long-term plan in 1962, one the Common Council took up years later, Ald. John Sigwart, a member of the committee, said.

“That got shot down so fast — before the words got out of my mouth,” City Administrator Mark Grams said. “The businesses said no way. 

“That plan caused a lot of hard feelings.”

Postl said her next thought was to prohibit left turns at Washington Street.

“If it was no left turn going east and west, it would give drivers less to look at,” she said. “You’re removing some of those potential accidents.”

But Police Chief Kevin Hingiss disagreed, noting that after reviewing downtown accidents since 2011, he found only three of the 19 happened when drivers turned left from Washington onto Franklin.

Like many locals, he said, there are times when he turns right and then left and around the block to get around making a left turn.

“People adjust,” Hingiss said. “It seems to me people are being cautious.”

Enforcing a no left turn ordinance would be difficult, he added.

Sigwart said he always turns right in downtown.

“I don’t even bother trying to drive left,” he said. “Those corners are terrible. We have to try something.”

City Administrator Mark Grams said the problem is generally limited to specific times of day, such as the noon hour and late afternoon when people are getting off work.

“You’re looking at a few specific times of the day. People are careful. They creep out,” he said.

Cedarburg gets significantly more traffic on Washington Street, its main downtown street, and doesn’t feel the need to eliminate left turns, he added.

Ald. Paul Neumyer, a committee member and retired police officer, said it’s a difficult situation.

“People are just distracted in this day and age,” he said. “I don’t know how you solve inattentive driving.”

Hingiss also noted that the fact Port is a tourist destination adds to the situation.

“People check out the shops and restaurants. It’s normal. It’s what people do when they’re in a tourist town,” he said.

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said that the traffic is a benefit to downtown.

“The more cars, the more turn movements, the more pedestrians, the safer it is because people drive slower,” he said.

Part of the problem is the inability of people to see around the corners, Postl said, adding this is an issue exacerbated by people who park beyond the designated parking spaces.

“Is that a big problem?” Vanden Noven asked.

It is, said Hingiss, especially in the areas near Twisted Willow and Pasta Shoppe restaurants and near Smith Bros.

Grams suggested the city could put up more no parking signs between the corners and the first parking spot to clarify the issue — especially in winter, when snow on the ground often makes it difficult for drivers.

The committee agreed to have the city erect more no-parking signs to see if it helps the situation.

“Parking signs aren’t going to solve everything. Some people don’t care,” Hingiss warned.

He added jokingly, “How about a sign that says, ‘Yes, that means you.’”