Make your voice heard! DOT seeks feedback on renovations to Hwy 21 danger zone
In the summer before my senior year, the life of a student in the Oshkosh community was irrevocably changed in one single moment, in the middle of a road built for cars instead of humans. It was merely an accident--a tragic, arbitrary thing. A reminder of the waves that one momentary lapse in judgement can make.
I didn’t know any of this as I sat in standstill traffic just meters away from the site of the crash, grumbling about careless drivers and being late to work. In my head I recounted all the ways I hate this road, all the things I’d change if I could. Having spent the first half of my life just a short walk away from downtown, the concrete minutiae of the suburbs has a way of getting under my skin--if an arch-nemesis could be an inanimate object, Highway 21 would be mine. Situated between I-41 and the towns west of it--who must either access the 41 bridge or drive around the lake--Highway 21 serves the dual purpose of connecting one community and cutting off another. It’s a conundrum: there’s no perfect solution, but something has to be done, right?
Recently, I was made aware of the Department of Transportation’s plans to repair and upgrade the intersections along the 21 corridor. While the prospect of this construction is exciting, I have a sinking feeling looking at their plans that it won’t change anything. No fate is so entrenched, however, that it cannot be changed; public comment is being considered until the end of the year. As a passionate, future student of Urban Planning, I decided to dig further.
On a map, the neighborhoods between Highway 21 and Lake Butte Des Morts don’t seem all that isolated from the rest of Oshkosh. Just across the road there’s restaurants, grocery stores, and even a hospital. It’s a bold claim to make that these neighborhoods are somehow secluded, remote, or inaccessible. ‘Bold’ only because most Americans are stricken with a serious case of Autocentricity. Despite living in a world where humans are the dominant species, our infrastructure is built for cars. The automobile is the chariot of choice for most middle class Americans. Having become a symbol of status and wealth following the second world war, the automobile was elevated into the pantheon of the American Dream and sold as an answer to all the problems of modern life. However, as the number of drivers increased along with the demand for drivable roads, the Interstate Highway System manifested its destiny all over American communities. As a result, it has become acceptable that we must get in the car to travel distances well less than a mile. While traveling by foot is technically an option, most are deterred by serious risk of injury or worse.
It’s easy to claim an area such as the trek across Hwy 21 is technically ‘walkable,’ especially to dads with an affinity for jokes involving the possession of two functional legs, but it’s important to take these fears seriously when considering an update to our infrastructure. Just how dangerous is it?
To answer this question, I contacted the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Division of State Patrol regarding specifically the intersection of Highway 21 and North Westhaven, the site of the crash which gravely injured a fellow student of West just a few months ago. This location is a high-traffic intersection providing access to multiple banks, Festival Foods, and the Aurora medical facilities.
In the last 10 years, there have been an average of 5.3 accidents per year. About 50 percent of these accidents resulted in injury. This is just the data from one single intersection along a road through a highly populated, residential area. It’s obvious that this road is a threat to safety for students and their families, but what can be done when the road is such a vital access point to both the highway and the rest of Oshkosh? I thought the answer was obvious: reduced speed. As it turns out, there are many factors that go into the speed and driving conditions of a road; none of which are so simple as changing a speed limit sign.
I met with Bill Bertrand and Mason Simmons, project manager and safety engineer respectively, to learn more. According to Simmons, roads have a certain “feel” to them. Drivers more often choose their speed based on the “feel” of the road, which is influenced by factors such as the width, shape, curb and lighting style, which is why simply changing the speed limit will do nothing to solve a speeding problem. Dutch scholar Godthelp Theeuwes calls this concept the “self-explaining road.” The idea is that all roadways convey through visual cues certain information which the driver uses to inform their perception, and the driver will behave according to that perception.
The problem we encounter on WI-21 is that despite running through a residential area, the visual imagery creates the perception of a high-speed roadway. Thus, to change the speed limit, there would have to be a complete redesign of the entire road. I wondered where in the planning process a suggestion like that would have to be made.
There is a six year process that is followed once it is determined that a site will be changed or upgraded, during which time the DOT acquires land, notifies utility companies, designs and executes the project. While designing, planners will consult with engineers, safety analysts and other specialists to come up with a number of different solutions. For N. Westhaven & WI-21, these solutions would have been designed to reduce crashes, improve the quality of the roadway and increase pedestrian safety, and each variation would come at a different cost.
Currently, the upgrades that have been proposed are posted in PDF format on the DOT website. The Oshkosh segment of WI-21 will be getting a roundabout at Leonard Point Road, and slanted left turn lanes with crosswalk additions at Oakwood and North Westhaven. These plans, as is standard, were chosen by conducting a cost-benefit analysis which determines which solution will be implemented at the project site based on the current budget.
There’s a certain chill that runs down my spine when I hear the words “cost-benefit analysis” and “pedestrian safety” in the same sentence. It’s almost like putting together “cost-benefit analysis” and “human life.” Alas, this is the reality of our world, and we must learn to work within the confines of such a system. The answer I’ve come up with is based on a hypothesis of my very own- which may well be an accepted scientific theory, but I have yet to come across a paper that would indicate as such- inspired by observations I’ve made around Oshkosh. I put forward the idea that line-of-sight is perhaps another factor of a “self-explaining road.” Places where a driver’s line of sight is limited tend to have a lower speed average, whereas places where the line of sight extends past the width of the road tend to average at faster speeds. Along WI-21, the line of sight extends almost twice the width of the road due to vacant space, culverts, setback requirements and parking lots. If the line of sight were to be interrupted, either by buildings, landscaping or a combination of both, perhaps it would influence the speed enough that it could be reduced.
That’s just a hypothetical. Until there is data to support such a theory, suggesting this change be made would be fruitless. However, a tree that does bear fruit is public awareness. The window for public comment on this project extends through 2025. The Department of Transportation needs to know that pedestrian safety and walkability is a concern in the Oshkosh area, and since mind reading technology has yet to be invented, the only way for them to know that is by telling them. Information regarding the project as well as an email and physical address to send comment forms is found on the DOT’s website at wisconsindot.gov. Walkability is essential in building strong, sustainable communities. Tell the Department of Transportation that Oshkosh residents care about pedestrian safety.
by Grey Zahner
Published on February 24 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue V