Ongoing street construction discussed in Electric City

Construction may resume soon on controversial street projects in Electric City, and city council members spoke on the topic at their March 10 meeting.

A parking lot in front of city hall was built over what had been a stretch of Western Avenue, causing additional turns for those who use that route, including the local fire station.

Sidewalk work on Coulee Boulevard, Electric City’s main street along SR-155, is another controversial project due to it limiting parking for businesses there.

Mayor Diane Kohout told the council that she received notification from Mike Meskiman of Gray and Osborne, the engineering firm for that project, that the contractor would like to resume work on the street projects on March 23, beginning with street work.

The city has since changed engineering firms.

Kohout said she asked Don Tulloch, also of G&O, about possibly changing the sidewalk along SR-155.

Tulloch, present at the meeting, said he was still looking into that option.

Councilmember Brian Buche said he would like the city to look into the possibility of reopening the stretch of Western Avenue that is now a parking lot. Adding stops was bad for the fire department, he said.

Councilmember Cate Slater agreed that the new intersection design was bad, saying she hated it but that it would take a lot of money to fix. She said if the city’s “panties got in a twist over park funds,” referring to another ongoing issue in the city, that they “may have to just embrace it and move on.”

Buche said that a contractor told him it wouldn’t cost that much to open it back up.

Councilmember Cheryl Hoffman said mitigating the angles of the turns might help to make the intersection better.

Buche also said he would like to see options for reverse-angle parking by the Changes Salon along SR-155, where parking was heavily affected by the street construction.

Prior to the discussion, during the public comment part of the meeting, Daniel Greely, who lives along Western Avenue, said he likes the change there.

Greely said the changes have slowed traffic past his home with the additional turns installed along the route, something he is grateful for.

Greely also noted that children, families, and seniors walk up and down that road, and the changes have made things safer for them.