Common Council Approves Safety Grant Application

On Monday the Common Council of the City of West Bend passed a resolution that will provide funding for a new study of the safety issues facing bicyclists, pedestrians, and electric scooter riders. The resolution was a critical component of the city’s application for a grant that will fund 80 percent of the $250,000 study, which will be conducted by an outside consultant. According to the resolution, the study “will use data-driven methodology to prioritize safety infrastructure improvements for multimodal transportation throughout the community. It will identify high-risk locations and offer recommendations for safer pathways, crossings, and intersections for multimodal transportation.”

The resolution had strong support from new police chief Tim Dehring and city engineer Max Maréchal, who, in a June 3 letter to the Common Council, wrote, “Together, our respective departments request your consideration for helping to fund a citywide Safety Study for Pedestrians, Bicycles and Electric Scooters to examine crossings of state highways, main arterial roads, our historic downtown, and other high-traffic volume roads. There are areas in the city that lack connectivity but could be interconnected through future improvement projects as identified in this study. In addition, this study will facilitate economic development by increasing bicycle, pedestrian, and electric scooter traffic throughout the City of West Bend—particularly in the historic downtown district. This evaluation of our existing roads and routes will help our team prioritize projects and offer safer pathways, crossings and intersections for multimodal transportation.”