The Stevens Point Common Council will hold a special meeting prior to May 17 to collect citizen input about possible changes to Stanley Street.

Mayor Mike Wiza said the meeting would be held, but a date hasn’t been scheduled to address issues with a report on a study about the route.

The study recommended that parking be removed from Stanley between Michigan Avenue and Fremont Street, with a left-turn center lane. The study also called for the city to evaluate a possible installation of a hybrid pedestrian beacon near Minnesota Avenue to assist pedestrians and bicyclists crossing as pedestrians get across Stanley without vehicle conflict.

The city will also evaluate the installation of a crosswalk at Clayton because data is unavailable for that prospect, although problems were reported, Scott Beduhn, director of public works said in the study.

The city will also maintain the existing pavement markings from Clayton to North Court, he said, while also evaluating the installation of a hybrid pedestrian beacon near Minnesota Avenue to assist pedestrians and bicyclists crossing as pedestrians get across Stanley without vehicle conflict.

Beduhn reported that making the roadway into three lanes with a bicycle lane on each side might be counter-productive because statistics indicated speed wasn’t a significant factor on the street. The speed limit for most of Stanley is 35 mph, and he said speed monitoring showed an eastbound speed of 33 mph at Indiana Avenue and a westbound speed of 32 mph.

He said road diets, such as a three-lane roadway, might have a negligible impact because traffic could become more congested with drivers caught behind slow-moving vehicles.

Alderperson David Shorr, District 2, said the analysis only looked at Stanley Street and how it works for cars, rather than considering if it is bicycle or pedestrian friendly. The street was built for cars traffic, not for other users of the street, and he feels the report wanted to do as little as possible.

Both bikes and pedestrians are important for economic development, he said, and he wants to make sure city streets safe for bikes and pedestrians. Shorr said he wants to see the city become a bicycle and pedestrian friendly community.