Council votes, Losey Blvd. will be lowered from 30 to 25 mph

A 9-2 vote and the change will go into effect in days.

A lower speed limit appears here to stay for Losey Blvd. in La Crosse.

Thursday night, the city council voted to drop the speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour on the busy street.

At one point in debate over the issue, council member Gary Padesky, who represents a district around Losey, was asked about a setting an end date for the lower limit.

Padesky says he’s not willing to do that to the next guy who represents his district.

“They’re going to have to go through what I went through – being called a stupid loser in email, phone calls,” Padesky said. “One radio person said I was too fat to get across Losey. I was worried about that. He may be right.”

La Crosse city council member Phil Ostrem, was one of just two to vote against the change.

“I have to be honest with you, I don’t see any strong benefit,” Ostrem said.

Council member Barb Janssen, whose district touches Losey, says more changes are needed for the street that can be dangerous for, among others, pedestrians trying to cross.

“I see this reducing the speed limit, as a short-term solution,” Janssen said. “We want a long-term solution and, of course, that’s going to be traffic calming. But, ultimately, it’s changing people’s behavior.”

Council member David Marshall had similar thoughts, that more needs to be done to make Losey safer for his neighborhood that’s bisected by the city street.

“This is something, obviously, we’re going to have to address,” Marshall said. “It’s just an accident waiting to happen. A tragedy waiting to happen.”

The council voted 9-2 to make the change, which should go into effect within days.