Speeders have pedestrians diving for the ditch in Town of Port

Motorists driving on Lake Drive in the Town of Port Washington travel so fast that residents walking along the country road sometimes need to dodge traffic and “jump in the ditch,” a resident told the Town Board Monday.

“It is really a very busy road. We have no sidewalks, but we have a lot of people who walk, run, bike, walk their dogs and walk with their children,” Heidi Janous, 4446 Weilers Way, said.

“It’s a safety concern. It’s just an accident waiting to happen.”

One car “goes flying out there at 70, 80 mph,” she said. 

Supr. Mike Didier said that after hearing residents’ complaints he drove down the dead-end road and the 55 mph speed limit is “pretty fast.”

“It feels like you’re flying,” he said.

The last time the town sought to reduce the speed limit on a road was about six years ago, when residents sought a slower Green Bay Road, Didier said, and the first step was to have the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office set up a speed enforcement area.

That, he said, sets up the justification for a reduction in the speed limit.

“The Sheriff’s Department said that if we lower it without justification, speeding tickets won’t be enforceable,” Didier said. “You can’t just lower it without a reason.”

The town could, in the alternative, set up a sign with an advisory speed limit, he said, but it won’t have the force of law behind it.

Asked how residents would feel about a speed enforcement area being set up, Janous said, “We would welcome a sheriff’s deputy.”

The Town Board agreed to ask the Sheriff’s Department to set up a speed enforcement area and to check with Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren what the process is to lower the speed limit.

Members said they hope to get the results of the enforcement area in time for a discussion at the April meeting.

It may take some time, Supr. Gary Schlenvogt said, “But it’s a start.”