Pedestrian safety drives Hwy. 60 study

Police Chief Jeff Caponera received approval Monday from the Grafton Village Board to partner with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic study of the four-lane portion of Highway 60 connecting Grafton to the freeway.

The approximate 1.5-mile stretch of Highway 60 from I-43 to Wisconsin Avenue has a confusing tangle of speed limits and school zones, Caponera said, which means drivers often speed without realizing it — creating a dangerous situation for student pedestrians.

Highway 60 has a 35 mph speed limit from the freeway to Cheyenne Avenue, a 30 mph speed limit from Cheyenne to Grafton Avenue and a 25 mph speed limit from Grafton to First Avenue.

Within that stretch, Grafton High School and St. Joseph Parish School both have a school zone, each with different rules.

The St. Joseph zone restricts traffic to 15 mph when its school zone sign is flashing, while Grafton High restricts it to 15 mph only when children are present.

“That’s where a lot of the confusion comes from,” Caponera said.

When he drives to work from Cedarburg in the morning in his personal car, Caponera said, he often sees other drivers fly past him during school hours, often because they simply don’t notice the flashing sign.

The road’s three speed limits and two school zones make enforcement of speeding laws difficult, even though the Grafton Police Station is on Highway 60.

“There’s so much confusion even for my staff to try to enforce any type of school zone violation,” Caponera said.

In 2022, a police department speed study reported an average of 9,214 vehicles traveled on the road each day, at an average speed of 41 mph, Caponera said, “so we know drivers are doing between 35 to 45 mph.”

Caponera said his primary focus is pedestrian safety, especially to and from the schools.

He noted that there are no pedestrian crossings near Grafton High School so pedestrians walk nearly a quarter mile either to Cheyenne Avenue or 17th Avenue, causing many high school students to jaywalk.

“Technically, if they got hit, it would be their fault,” Caponera said. “But we don’t want anyone hit at all.”

Caponera said improvements or adjustments recommended in the study will be evaluated by the Village Board. The board has jurisdiction over speed limits on all village roads.

“Obviously it’s going to come down to money,” he said. “Some of the recommendations may be minimal but there may be cost for signs.”

Caponera requested that residents contact the police department with their opinions and thoughts on improving safety on Highway 60.

The study will be fully funded by the DOT.