Call To Action: Rusco Reconstruction

Here’s an action item that may be of more interest to residents of the Town of West Bend than it is to residents of the City of West Bend. And for my out-of-state readers, I apologize for the ambiguity of the distinction. What you would recognize as a township—unincorporated land where the houses have septic systems instead of municipal water & sewer service—Wisconsin calls a town. On this map, the Town of West Bend is defined by a narrow red border, and the southern terminus of the Eisenbahn State Trail is marked with a red star:

About 5,000 people live in the Town of West Bend. For most of them, there’s no ideal way to get into the city on a bicycle. When your choices are State Highway 33, Paradise Drive, or Rusco Drive, the obvious choice should be Rusco. But the road has been in rough shape for years, and the absence of a paved shoulder makes it an uncomfortable place to share with motor vehicles.

There’s hope. The City of West Bend and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are developing a plan to reconstruct Rusco in 2023, and they want your input. On the map above, the 1.11-mile project area is shown as a bold black line that connects South Main Street to River Road. The city plans to replace the existing asphalt, not merely to top it off. That’s good. Even better is the city’s plan to add a 2-foot paved shoulder to each side of the road. Traffic lanes will remain 11 feet wide in each direction; the addition of the paved shoulders will not come at the expense of space for motor vehicles. And make no mistake: motorists will benefit from those paved shoulders too. Today, broken pavement at the margins of the road encourages drivers to position their vehicles close to the centerline, increasing the risk of a head-on collision.

So, is that enough? Will 2-foot paved shoulders create an acceptable margin of safety for cyclists on a no-passing road with a 45 mph speed limit? You decide. Send your comments, recommendation, observations, etc., to West Bend city engineer Max Maréchal (cityeng@ci.west-bend.wi.us) and/or to DOT project manager Michael Baird (michael.baird@dot.wi.gov) by next Tuesday, July 5. This section of Rusco Drive has not been improved since 1972. Don’t miss what could be the only chance you will ever have to shape its future.