City down to $100,000 to fund South Ave. study

Originally, council approved $133,000 in funds

It’s the $100,000 question for South Avenue in La Crosse.

That’s the final determination on how much the city will spend on a transportation plan for road between Ward Ave. and Green Bay St. by Gundersen Health System.

It’s money well spent, says south side city council rep. Fran Formanek.

“It’s important to get all the information as much as possible,” he said. “And, at this point in time, we’re only seeing one side of it and that is coming from the DOT’s side of it.

“It’s really important to be able to have a good idea of different options and right now we’re not seeing a great deal of options.”

Formanek says, so far, the DOT seems bent on treating South Ave. like a limited access highway, where the city wants the four lane to be more like a city street. The DOT has pushed for either widening South Avenue – which is a state highway – or limiting access through roundabouts and eliminating turn lanes.  

Originally, the city council approved $133,000 to fund a consultant study.

The city and DOT have come closer together since the spring when the council first considered a study and Formanek said there’s been a lot of progress since the DOT’s first plans.

“One of the first plans that they had come up with was taking about 34 parcels of properties off of the tax roll,” he said. 

This study will focus on bicycle and pedestrian access, among other things.