MEQUON, Wis. — Eighteen months after their installation, traffic lights at a busy Ozaukee County intersection are still not fully operational, causing traffic delays for businesses and residents.
The intersection of W. Mequon Road and N. Weston Road was a quiet industrial corridor just a few years ago. Now, it is one of the busiest intersections in town, thanks to new developments like the Mequon Public Market and Foxtown.
Watch: Why these business owners say traffic lights are hurting their business:
Laron Taylor, owner of Mad Rush Pizza inside the Mequon Public Market, says the intersection has been a hassle to navigate, especially during peak traffic times.
"A work in progress for a number of years," Taylor said. "Hopefully, we can get it fixed soon, get a good flow of traffic, and have easy access to the market."
Mad Rush is one of several businesses in the market that stand to gain or lose business based on how easy it is to enter and exit.
Seeing the increase in traffic, the City of Mequon decided to install traffic signals more than a year ago. The goal was to alleviate traffic concerns and make the area safer for pedestrians using the nearby Ozaukee Interurban Trail, according to Mequon Mayor Andrew Nerbun.
Although the traffic lights were installed in 2023, plans to activate them have stalled. According to the city, the lights must be synced with the nearby railroad crossing before they can become fully operational.
Last week, the city received approval from the commissioner of railroads to turn on the lights in a limited capacity, provided they only flash yellow and red.
"I think it was better when it was off," Taylor said. "Now, you have people stopping on a flashing yellow."
Stephen Ziel, a bartender at Good City Brewing in the market, which will soon become a barbecue restaurant, can see the traffic lights from behind the bar.
"[I've seen] a lot of cars getting pulled over," Ziel said. "I think it's more of a speed thing."
According to the Mequon Police Department, there have been five crashes at the intersection since the lights were installed.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is usually responsible for coordinating that work with the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, Nerbun said. However, according to the city, negotiations have been delayed due to contract talks between WisDOT and WSOR.
TMJ4 News reached out to WisDOT Communications Manager Dan Sellers for comment.
"WisDOT continues to work with the City of Mequon on options for implementing the interconnection between the traffic lights and nearby railroad crossing warning signals," Sellers said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon.
The city now plans to contract directly with WSOR to sync the lights. The plan is to have the lights fully operational by year's end.
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