Shorewood Public Works Hears Requests For New Stop Signs

SHOREWOOD, WI — The Village Board of Public Works recieved two requests from residents to put in new stop signs on certain uncontrolled intersections, but the requested intersections currently meet traffic safety standards, according to Village staff.

The Village Board of Trustees will briefly hear about the requests at their meeting Monday night.

A resident requested a stop sign for the intersection of Beverly Road and Farwell Avenue. Another request was recently filed for the intersection of Woodburn and Lawnwood as well. Village staff wrote in a report to the Village Board that traffic volumes at these intersections do not meet guidelines for a stop sign installation, and that no significant sight obstructions exist for the intersections.

The request for a stop sign on Beverly and Farwell was submitted by a resident on that block.

"I routinely see cars traveling south on Farwell drive through that intersection without slowing," the resident wrote. "I'm scared for the children's safety and that of all motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians using these roadways."

Two crashes have been reported at Woodburn and Lawnwood in the past seven years, but none have been reported at Beverly and Farwell, staff wrote in their report. In the report, staff said they cannot recommend either request for a stop sign at those intersections.

Staff cites a transportation and parking analysis recently conducted for the village with their recommendation:

"No changes in traffic control are needed at those intersections," village staff wrote of the transportation study. "However, one of the primary recommendations of the document was standardization."

"It could certainly be argued that with the vast majority of the Village’s intersections controlled in some manner, a motorist could reasonably expect that if he/she does not observe a controlling sign on his/her path the other path must be controlled by either a stop or a yield sign," staff wrote"

"In the case of the Woodburn/Lawnwood request, as previously noted Lawnwood – which has a length of only two blocks and as such likely is used only by local residents – is already controlled by a yield sign."