No objection, just concerns from DOT on plans by La Crosse city hall

Committee meeting surprised to see “objections” in writing last week

There is not really an objection from the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation over La Crosse’s city hall plans to vacate a portion of a street.  

The city was surprised by what had been called an objection from the state agency over a plan to open up part of Seventh St. to make way for some apartments.

But Francis Schelfout with the DOT in La Crosse says that’s a mischaracterization of a letter of concerns he delivered to a city council committee meeting last week.

“It’s just voicing concern,” Schelfout said. “Sometimes, in other situations, we have no concerns. It just kind of depends on the situation.

“This (was a) public hearing opportunity, so we thought that was the appropriate place to do it.”

The DOT’s chief concerns are that development plans around Seventh St. could potentially conflict with transportation strategies getting a look in the Coulee Region Transportation Study, especially the controversial north-south corridor through the city’s marsh.  

“Any development that occurs along any alternative prior to actually constructing something would be a concern, because it’s going to change something,” Schelfout said. “There could be improvements needed at that intersection at some point and vacating the right away could cause issues at that time.”