Roundabouts a Possibility in Moorland and Woods Road Study

If you've had someplace to go around 5 p.m. on any given weekday, and you needed to travel through the intersection of Moorland Road and Woods Road, you've probably had to wait in line to do so. The city has taken note as well, and will fund a study to see what can be done to alleviate the delays.

The study will cost between $12,000 and $15,000, and could recommend no changes, adding stoplights, adding turn lanes or replacing the four-way stop with a roundabout.

• Related: Take our Patch Poll, Do Roundabouts Support Traffic Safety?

The backups were especially notable over the summer, when Janesville Road reconstruction and Tess Corners Drive construction increased the number of cars using the alternate route. During the 3-6 p.m. drive time, the Muskego Police Department even sent an officer to act as a stoplight in order to move traffic along more quickly.

Traffic had also started to cut through the Candlewood subdivision, which raised concerns over safety there.

Recognizing that the Belle Chasse development just south of the intersection on what becomes Durham Drive will continually increase traffic, Public Works Director Dave Simpson asked the Public Works committee Monday night whether they felt that a state traffic study was warranted.

"They would look into studies of previous traffic counts and crashes at the site, establish a 20-year traffic projection and develop a signal analysis as well," Simpson explained.

Roundabout? Really?

The "r" word — roundabout — isn't popular, and would cost an estimated $400,000 for the city, which owns the roadway at that intersection. However Simpson said the study would at least provide data to support whatever the recommendation is. 

"If we can provide a full-blown analysis, at least that would allow you to tell people in your district that we have done the work to look into what's going to work best, whether or not that's going to be a roundabout," Simpson told the aldermen on the committee. 

However don't panic yet. The recommendations may not be required immediately to implement. The project would also fall squarely on the shoulders of the city to fund, so it may need to get in line with other projects planned for the next five years, according to the department.