Temporary protected bike lanes were installed on Water St. on April 22 and 23. (Metro Wire photo)

Portage County testing temporary road safety designs in push toward ‘Vision Zero’ goal

By Brandi Makuski

PORTAGE COUNTY – Portage County will launch temporary road safety improvements this spring and summer as part of a federally funded initiative to eliminate serious injuries and traffic deaths by 2045.

Backed by a $200,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning grant, the county will install temporary curb extensions, protected bike lanes, and optical speed bars at selected urban and rural sites from April through October. The installations are part of a demonstration effort to test low-cost changes before committing to long-term infrastructure decisions.

“These are temporary and meant to help us figure out what works,” said Kristen Johnson, planner for the Portage County Planning and Zoning Department. “We’re encouraging all residents to try the improvements and give us feedback through meetings, surveys, and stakeholder sessions.”

The county received notification of the SS4A grant in December 2023 and began planning efforts in early 2024. Johnson said the program has two tracks: developing a comprehensive Safety Action Plan and updating the county’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The latter was adopted by the county in 2014.

“Our overarching goal is simple,” she said. “We want to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, and that means looking at how all users—drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, people using wheelchairs—interact with our streets.”

Locations for demonstration activities include:

Temporary curb extensions:

  • Fourth Avenue at Isadore Street (east leg), Stevens Point

  • Hoover Avenue at Ramble Lane/Highland Drive (north leg), Plover

Temporary protected bike lanes:

  • Water Street between Kwik Trip Driveway and River View Avenue, Stevens Point

  • Michigan Avenue between Dixon Street and Patch Street, Stevens Point

Temporary wide edge lines and optical speed bars:

  • West River Drive (east of Wisconsin River Golf Club)

  • County Trunk Highway G (north of CTH M between Rudolph and Junction City)

  • County Trunk Highway KK (east of Lake Drive on the west side of Amherst Junction)

Johnson described curb extensions as “bump-outs” that shorten crosswalk distances and narrow the roadway at intersections to calm traffic.

“They’re made of rubberized mats and give the appearance of a larger sidewalk area,” she said. “It reduces how far a pedestrian has to cross and makes the driver’s lane feel narrower, which can help lower speeds.”

Protected bike lanes will feature “flexi posts”—also called bollards—spaced out along the route to provide a visual and physical buffer between cyclists and vehicles.

“We’re just trialing them,” Johnson said. “We want to find out if they help and if they’re worth including in a future plan. Right now, we don’t have money for permanent installations—but this gives us something tangible to study.”

Public involvement is crucial, Johnson said, because even though the work doesn’t involve actual construction, the results could shape future investments.

“We’ve done public meetings and surveys, and there’s been good engagement,” she said. “But some folks dismiss this because they think it’s just about bikes. It’s not—it’s about everyone who uses the road. We need people to stay open-minded and get involved now before it’s too late in the process.”

More information, including maps and graphics, is available at co.portage.wi.gov/735/Safe-Streets-Roads-For-All-Grant.