WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Neighbors near 76 Street and Beloit Road in West Allis have seen their fair share of reckless and dangerous driving. Now, the city is responding to some of their concerns.
"There isn't a day that goes by that somebody isn't going by here 50 mph over the speed limit or more," said Ted Tuesher, who has lived in West Allis for nearly 40 years. "I've seen cars crash into telephone poles, into trees, into houses."
His observations are not entirely unique. A TMJ4 News viewer sent an email to the Project: Drive Safer team which read in part, "The City of West Allis has been contacted and asked to put up more speed limit signs and in areas where they are more visible."
So, TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins asked West Allis Mayor Dan Devine to meet him at the corner of 76 Street and Beloit Road to discuss.
"We get a lot of concerns on this stretch," said Devine. "There is no one size fits, there's no panacea to fix this. It's just a combination of enforcement, I think there's a lot more that we could be doing in street design, there's additional signage. Things like that."
The mayor tells TMJ4 that the city has installed additional speed limit signs in that area because of the email. He adds that the police department issued over 1,000 tickets in the month of June.
Still, at the end of the day, money is one of his biggest challenges when addressing reckless driving in the city.
"The flashing speed limit signs, or the flashing stop signs, or the radar readers that you see in some areas - I think they're effective but they're not free," said Devine.
He said Wisconsin's new shared revenue deal will help find some additional money to address these concerns and he points to things like the city's enforcement of the state statute pertaining to negligent operation of a vehicle, and the city's new tow policy, as serious crackdowns on bad driving.
"West Allis hears the complaints and the concerns and we totally agree - and we are really trying to do what we can," he said.
Both the mayor and neighbors like Ted agree drivers taking personal responsibility behind the wheel would be the biggest win for safety.
"Slow down. It's a residential neighborhood. Just slow down," said Tuesher.
Mayor Devine adds that if you live in West Allis, the best place to start if you have a concern about a street in your community is by contacting your alder or the mayor directly.
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