APPLETON, Wis. — On a sunny Thursday morning, Jacob Royster was making his way by foot to the Appleton YMCA in downtown Appleton.
His trip took him across and along College Avenue. It’s a street that got a makeover this summer designed to “clam” the vehicular traffic moving through the area.
The number of lanes for the two-way traffic was reduced from four to three.
“I think I feel a lot safer as a pedestrian with the three-lane change,” Royster said. “I think it’s a lot more convenient to get around.”
Royster also drives this section of College Avenue.
“Once in a while, when it was four lanes, you worried a lot about who was to the right or the left of you. Now, you don’t have to worry too much about that,” he said. “Turning, especially, is a lot safer.”
The 18-month pilot project reconfigured College Avenue through painted lines from four to three lanes with the goal of reducing speeds and improving safety. Bike lanes have been added and parking hasn’t changed.
An early set of numbers is giving city staff a look at what’s happened in the past few months.
“Most notably is the crashes being reduced by 48%. That was a wonderful development. We did anticipate that crashes would go down. It’s right in line with federal results for road diets. We’re probably at the high end for total crash reduction,” said Appleton’s Director of Public Works Danielle Block.
Block said more numbers are being collected — including traffic, bike and pedestrian counts — and will be reviewed throughout the course of the project.
It’ll be up to the city council in about a year to decide if the changes will stay. She said traffic speeds have also been calmed.
“It has a different feel to it. It’s calmer,” she said. “It invites you almost to stay a while downtown.”
The project is still in its first few months. What happens over the next year will determine if the changes stay or go.
As an Appleton native, Royster said he hopes the changes draw more people to the city’s downtown.
“I think with traffic being a lot easier to navigate downtown, I think a lot more people are going to be able to get around and see some of the local businesses,” he said. “If anything, it incentivizes them to check out local businesses more.”
