Four traffic circles being proposed for South Ave. in La Crosse

Speed limit could also be limited to 30 mph.

Building new roundabouts seems to be the leading option for solving traffic problems on South Ave.

At least, roundabouts are favored by the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation and a design company looking into the problem.

Three or four traffic circles are being suggested by the Toole Design Group, which also wants to limit the speed on the avenue at no more than 30 miles an hour.  

A city committee studying South Ave. hasn’t taken a stand. 

“You come out here and you stand over by the Kwik Trip and you tell me that those cars are going 30 mph,” committee chair Fran Formanek said. “And, most times it’s 35 or even 40 depending on how fast they want to get to work.”

Formanek worries about detours that develop when the road is shut down. He recalls what happened recently when part of South Ave. was closed for repairs.

“I was up at (7 a.m.) and it was like a highway, because they were turning onto 13th Place, where I live, coming and going onto Horton and then using my alley as a thoroughfare,” he recalled.

Formanek says his panel is weighing alternatives to the roundabouts, which could require large acquisitions of existing private land on the road.

“A number of these eight properties are big values,” Formanek said.

The committee has another public meeting in July.