STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Transportation projects in Stevens Point that total more than $1 million will now need approval from voters before becoming a reality if canvassing of Stevens Point’s transportation referendum bill holds up.
Tuesday’s binding referendum question in the city passed on a razor-thin margin of just 31 votes- 2,757 to 2,726. Wiza says while the totals aren’t official he and other city leaders are working on what this means for voters if the totals hold after canvassing and a potential recount.
Wiza says there are currently two such projects in the proposed 2023 budget. He’s instructing the city clerk to hold places for both on the November general election ballot, so should they pass the council they could go to voters immediately.
If the voters would approve the projects the city would still have the winter months to bid the projects out.
The vote stemmed from a divide in the city over new design plans for Business 51, which some had said would negatively impact their businesses and traffic flow in the area. Mayor Mike Wiza is now calling for a new design plan that will keep the road at four lanes in commercial districts from the northern border of the city to 4th Avenue and Patch Street to the southern border. The midsection from 4th to Patch would go to three lanes, two lanes in each direction of travel with a shared left-turn lane.
Wiza says he plans to ask the full City Council to take up the plan during Monday’s meeting. If approved project designers AECOM would then be instructed to put the original design on the back burner and consider the new layout.
Wiza says this doesn’t mean the original plan would be completely scrapped, but he wants another option on the table.
Wiza says “keeping four lanes will still allow for safety improvements, like reducing the number of potential conflict points and straightening intersections. The most critical section for pedestrian safety improvements is that residential middle and by reducing the lanes there, you will slow down traffic and allow space for a wider separation between street and sidewalk traffic. Additionally, we would remove the roundabout at Fourth and Division.”
“Let’s put our differences on hold, get everyone back to the table and do this project right,” he added.
You can read the Mayor’s full statement in the PDF attached to this story.
Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect more comment and clarification from Mayor Mike Wiza
