U.S. 41 project may revive roundabout controversy in Howard, WI
Traffic at Woodale and Cardinal intolerable at times, official says
By Malavika Jagannathan mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com

HOWARD — A proposed roundabout at Woodale Avenue and Cardinal Lane that was rejected by local officials and residents in 2001 may resurface in 2011 to help traffic flow in that area.
Traffic at the intersection — currently a four-way stop — has become intolerable at times, causing backups and even a few pedestrian problems, said Howard's direct enforcement officer Jim Dagneau, who looked into the issue after hearing concerns.

About 12,100 vehicles go through the intersection each day, according to the Department of Transportation traffic reports. Traffic is heaviest after school lets out between 3 and 5 p.m. with Bay View Middle School on the northwest corner of the intersection. Trustee Burt McIntyre, who drives a school bus, said he has often witnessed the backups especially with school buses exiting and entering the school. "We knew this was going to be a problem in the future, but it's coming up sooner than we thought," Steven Dantoin, an engineer with the Brown County Highway Department, told the Village Board on Feb. 25.

Now, with the state's project to resurface and expand U.S. 41 slated to begin in 2011, Dantoin said Brown County would look at resurfacing Cardinal Lane from Glendale Avenue to Woodale at the same time and installing a roundabout at the Cardinal-Woodale intersection.
A roundabout would narrow the street, Dantoin said. It also would require some right-of-way purchases from neighboring properties. Nothing has been officially proposed or approved by the Village Board.

A roundabout was proposed in 2001 at that intersection but rejected after residents protested. A signal at the intersection would have cost too much, so the village retained the four-way stop.
At the time, signals would have cost $133,000 more to install than a roundabout at the same location — and the county would have subsidized the roundabout. If a roundabout is built in 2011, its cost would be split between the county and the village.

Since 2001, roundabouts have become a common sight in the county, including a two-lane roundabout that opened last year in De Pere, and they are the preferred intersection-controlling device of both the county and the state in reconstruction projects.