Council agrees to spend $133,000 on consultant

City trying to figure out
how to improve South Avenue

A study will move forward for the future of South Avenue in La Crosse. 

Thursday, the La Crosse city council has approved spending up to $133,000 on a study with a guide towards guiding the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation in plans to reshape the major city thoroughfare.

City council member Bob Seaquist believes it’s very important to have a seat at that table.

“We outta be represented at the table,” he said. “We outta have somebody with some fresh ideas. And that’s where we’re getting this consultant from.

Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation’s interest is moving a lot of cars and moving them, what they think, is efficiently. Well, how do we know what efficiency is? We don’t.”

The DOT has wanted changes to South Avenue to improve traffic flow and limit accidents.  The city hopes to transform the street into something that’s more neighborhood friendly.

“This thing, whatever they do, is going to last beyond our lifetimes, surely,” Seaquist said. “We want it to be the very best. We’re not going to settle for good enough, because we don’t know if it’s good enough.”