City Discusses Measures to Make Intersection More Safe

Raise your hand if you dread 76th Street and the surrounding area during the peak of holiday shopping season.

With lines of traffic clogging up 76th and Layton Avenue, savvy drivers try to "avoid" the city's busiest intersection, many times by working their way to 74th Street, past behind and .

But often times those opportunists only make the situation worse. They travel north on 74th, hoping to turn westbound on Layton. Or worse yet, they turn east on 74th Street, then whip a U-turn as soon as possible try to make their way back west, many times with the goal of eventually entering I-894 at 84th Street (west) or 76th Street (east).

It's a cluster of epic proportions, and the City of Greenfield has taken initial steps to alleviate the headaches that particular intersection creates.

At Tuesday's Board of Public Works meeting, various measures from a no left turn sign on 74th, to no U-turn signs along Layton to directional medians were discussed.

That request, however, had to be made to Milwaukee County, because Layton Avenue is a County Trunk Highway and is the county's responsibility. County Supervisor Mark Borkowski was part of Tuesday's discussion and agreed something should be done.

"It's crazy around the holidays," Borkowski told Patch on Wednesday. "The people living in the condos there are like prisoners," because of the lines of cars that fill 74th Street.

According to Captain Dave Patrick of the Greenfield Police Department, there have been 26 total accidents at that intersection in the last three years, two of which resulted in personal injuries.

"There always seems to be a lot of congestion there," Patrick said. "It doesn't flow very well. It’s certainly an area that could use some improvements."

Patrick estimated that the intersection is among the city's top-10 most dangerous, a list that includes the city's major, high-traffic spots, and of course this particular trouble area sees a spike in accidents around the holidays.

"That whole area, during December it is a difficult area," Patrick said. "You have so many people wanting to get to the malls and to Southridge. The roadways can't always handle all the traffic."

Or in other words, look out.

“I think it’s accepted that it is a dangerous intersection that requires some improvement," Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke said. "The number of accidents and unreported near misses speaks for itself. I’m glad our Board and the County are looking at enhancing the intersection to improve safety. Whatever the solution, it’ll have to balance nearby residential and commercial traffic patterns, but safety has to be the paramount consideration. A loss of convenience for some can’t trump the potential injury, harm, or death to another.”

Borkowski requested that the city draft a letter to the county explaining the options it feels will alleviate the traffic issues, which should prompt the county to conduct a traffic study.

What do you think, Greenfield? Is this a dangerous intersection? And how does it rank to any other intersections within city limits? Leave your "worst intersection" thoughts in the comments below.