"dkush21
Sep 13, 2012 at 6:18 a.m.
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callitasiseeit:
Here is the website about the 12 year old girl that almost got abducted. You think it would be front page news.
http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-ne...
only if you PAY the Gazette. ANd if you do now you wont know until tomorrow at 6 am!

Lemke10
Sep 11, 2012 at 7:46 p.m.
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If congestion really was that big of a problem, they wouldn’t have turned Milwaukee from 4 lanes into 2 lanes with a middle turning lane. This all took place after the 2007 accident and seems to be working just fine in my opinion.

I read on the left side of the article under the "other business" about the construction before 7am and the noise it creates. Really? I live near a railroad track in the city limits. If anyone has the right to complain about noise, it's the people on my street and the surrounding area. Imagine not being able to open your windows at night because you will get blasted with a 100 decibel plus horn. There are cities that have a "no horn" policy for trains within city limits; Janesville should try to pass that policy first!

I can hear this as well. I am north of downtown. Sometimes I want to yell and say WOW we can hear you and SEE you in the intersection already!!!! They lay on it an hold it. and repeat.

emmo-, but the roundabout should be placed then at Wright Rd. at Milwaukee St.
maybe if people could figure out what lanes go what way.
Old lady on Milw St going towards Wright rd. Was stopped on the wrong side of Milw just sitting there waiting for the light to turn green. ALmost smacked her as I turned into MY first available lane from Wright Rd onto Milw.
She was CLUELESS. Curious if she proceeded onto the wrong side of Milw on the other side or wRight Rd when the light turned green. The bus that was in turning lane on Milw going onto Wright road honked at her- no responce- no clue.

callitasiseeit:
Here is the website about the 12 year old girl that almost got abducted. You think it would be front page news.
http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-ne...

Considering most people don't really stop at stop signs, roundabouts are perfect for American drivers. It also make a great test for idiots who shouldn't be driving.

I remember the first round about I came across. It was in Clearwater, Florida & I almost totaled the car I was so confused. Yes, they are pretty. Just not sure how practical they really are. Just saying.

I sat and listened to the council, one after the other call it WITHERING HILLS. Hopefully the plan has "withered" away as well.

Dicktracy: Who's this "we're" that you are refering to when you made the comment to feduptaxpayer? He has the same rights as every other American does. You're sounding like a communist thug by saying he should move out of the country for voicing his opinion!

Feduptaxpayer - We're all "fed up" with you! Move out of town, or better yet, out of state, or even better than that, out of this country!

I've also driven that section of Milwaukee for a long time. It's never congested, even with one lane in each direction. The problem has always been the wide open road and speeding.

Sigm40 wrote: "I go the same speed through there that I have been for 20 years. Nothing has changed except more bumper to bumper type situations."

Everything isn't always about you. But, with only one lane to drive in, you also keep everyone behind you traveling the same speed. The accident was caused when one car was traveling normally on Milwaukee, and the woman killed didn't see the other driver speeding in the other lane.

The city planning department explained this in a Gazette article. The average person will drive faster when more lanes are available, because they feel safer. Bike lanes were added to the southwest end of Milwaukee, and north Wright Road, to make the roads narrower and slow traffic. It works.

Any reason why the Madison news outlets are reporting a possible abduction attempt of a 12 year old in Janesville yesterday morning and nothing is on the Gazette website?

Finally, I hope this is the end of these inane roundabouts.

A June 2008 study of the intersection conducted after a 2007 fatal accident there recommended a roundabout be constructed.
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My question: if a roundabout could be an end-all answer why is there not a study of every intersection with a fatality. I don't understand the special focus on this intersection when the particular accident that caused the fatality was a crazy speeding driver. If the roundabout would have been there in 2007 at time the crazy driver went racing down Milwaukee street, is there anybody reading believe this person would have slowed to a safe and acceptable speed as he passed by Wuthering Hill Dr? Probably not is my opinion. He would have raced through and hit the innocent lady anyway. A roundabout is not going to fix stupid drivers. All a roundabout is going to do is smooth out travel for those following the rules of the road.

Forced by the State DOT. They have been looking to expand 14 for years. I hate to say it, but that part of town is gonna drastically change. It's not going to matter what people want. Something will need to be done and people are just going to get more angry. I bet when it all goes down, people are gonna be angry and ask why something wasn't done earlier.

The problem with roundabouts here is people are afraid and paranoid. Instead of driving into one if there is a gap for you, if there is another vehicle anywhere in it people stop and are afraid to enter. Its like the dumb people that stop on on ramps... they need to floor it and get into traffic. You cant expect people that have been acustom to stopping and waiting for traffic to become aggressive and drive into one. And the rule that the car on the right has the right of way at an intersection has people confused and stopping on the roundabout to let people on....because they are on their right. I get the concept but 9 out of 10 times im at a roundabout.... people are clueless and stopping, causing congestion. No one can just go with the flow.... they dont understand.

The book is not closed when Sam Liebert stated that in 5-10 years we will be forced to build a roundabout at this intersection and at a higher cost.
Forced by whom?
Fortunately (hopefully) Sam Liebert will be long gone from the council in 5 years.
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Nothing really 'dies' with this council no more than a school referendum 'dies' when defeated.

Thank you for not going forward on this ridiculous project.

What the engineers have done is created acceleration zones. The speed goes from 30(does anybody drive the limit?) to 35 then 55 at Hwy 14. People anticipate this and start speeding up before. The speeds have been there since before the subdivisions and the bike trail were built. Unfortunately the speed limits weren't changed afterwards.

The same is true on Racine St. 25 by Randall Ave to 30 for a block to 35 going down the hill to Palmer Dr to 45 then 55 at Wuthering Hills. A apartment complex, bike trail, hospital with major cross traffic and industrial area have been built and the speed hasn't changed. Should be 35 all the way Hwy14.

Zoom - I go the same speed through there that I have been for 20 years. Nothing has changed except more bumper to bumper type situations... which I think is more dangerous.
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So the accident in 2007 is one in how long? How many places in Janesville have had accidents? Why didnt we restructure those areas? Its not the area its the people.... Go to Chicago or Madison once... We do NOT have a problem... we create our problems so we have something to fix and make it appear we are doing something constructive.

"With growth will come congestion"
Really! If there are no good paying jobs, how are you going to have congestion?

Congestion isn't the problem at Wuthering Hills and Milwaukee. The problem is speed. Reducing lanes reduces speeding.

I like roundabouts, but this was the correct decision.

You can't put a roundabout there - the neighborhood is already built up and you'd be taking people's yard space away, etc. In addition, Milwaukee St is so wide that in order to be effective the diameter of the roundabout would have to be very large indeed. The problem with most roundabouts in Wisconsin is that the diameter of them is insanely small. The best thing to do at the Milwaukee/Wuthering intersection would be to put Milwaukee St back to 4 lanes like it was and put stop lights at the intersection. There'd be nothing to rebuild at all - just put up some stop lights and you're done.... The problem really came with when that neighborhood was built letting homes be built on that section of Milwaukee St which probably would have been better used had it been zoned commercial.

If congestion really was that big of a problem, they wouldn’t have turned Milwaukee from 4 lanes into 2 lanes with a middle turning lane. This all took place after the 2007 accident and seems to be working just fine in my opinion.

I read on the left side of the article under the "other business" about the construction before 7am and the noise it creates. Really? I live near a railroad track in the city limits. If anyone has the right to complain about noise, it's the people on my street and the surrounding area. Imagine not being able to open your windows at night because you will get blasted with a 100 decibel plus horn. There are cities that have a "no horn" policy for trains within city limits; Janesville should try to pass that policy first!

....Also since they made it only 2 lanes instead of 4.. its worse. Not sure how they planned on eliminating congestion by eliminating lanes???

Thank you.. And the intersection has been there for how many decades? Dont blame it for poor drivers.

Sam Liebert, Kathy Voskuil and Russ Steeber don't deserve to have jobs. They obviously could care a less about how residents feel. They have forgotten they are supposed to be working for the people, not themselves.

THANK YOU!!!

Mr. Steeber's comment that "With growth will come congestion," he said. "This is something we will have to revisit again." is true, but the roundabout should be placed then at Wright Rd. at Milwaukee St.
That is where the real congestion is now and will be a bigger problem in the future.

Thank you Mr. Farrell for wasting the council's time.

"seemingly closing the book on the issue."
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remember the ice arena?

I do my share of throwing rocks at this council, but they deserve a "Good Job" on this one.

I'm glad common sense prevailed here. I could never figure out how they were going to fit a roundabout at that intersection. It was never a good idea. I hope the city has learned a lesson here (although I doubt it). When planning new neighborhoods, it is not a good idea to allow and entire new neighborhood to be built with only one through street. This whole problem could have been avoided if the city would have planned proper traffic patterns through that area to begin with. Of course routing all of the traffic from so many homes out one street was going to lead to problems.

"The Janesville City Council on Monday rejected a proposal to build a roundabout at the intersection of Milwaukee Street and Wuthering Hills Drive, seemingly closing the book on the issue."

Yeah, sure. On thing we know about this city council is that no book is ever permanently closed.