Hospital area traffic becoming an issue

Traffic congestion near the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano is prompting state and local highway planners to consider new controls ranging from lower speed limits to a roundabout.

Since the hospital opened in September, traffic has increased and police have detected congestion at the intersection of state Highway 22 and County Road B.

State highway officials say some traffic counts in the area have more than doubled since before ThedaCare opened the new $50 million hospital on the southern edge of Shawano.

While the state’s initial response suggests an intervention less dramatic than a roundabout or stoplights, some local officials believe the situation has grown serious enough to warrant major change.

Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber said he would like a roundabout installed to better control traffic that peaks at about 1,000 vehicles per hour at the intersection.

Bieber said he is concerned about the safety of the intersection, considering the traffic volumes, the street layout and the current speed limits.

“The roundabout is the safest option for our community,” he said.

Bieber joined other members of the Shawano County Highway Safety Commission in discussing the situation Tuesday with a representative of the state highway department.

After hearing local concerns about traffic near Shawano’s new hospital, state officials earlier this year conducted a study and found evidence of congestion. For traffic turning from westbound County Road B onto southbound Highway 22, peak hourly traffic counts have more than doubled, from 80 vehicles to 175 vehicles.

The state, however, determined that the volumes and congestion were not severe enough to warrant significant new controls, such as stoplights or a roundabout.

“It really didn’t strike me as needing some sort of major change,” said Tony Kemnitz, a state traffic safety engineer.

Kemnitz said the state would place the hospital site on a “watch list” for closer examination in the years ahead, and also would conduct another study on whether speed limits should be lowered in the area.

Speed limits currently are 35 mph on both the state highway and county road intersecting just west of ThedaCare’s new hospital. The hospital is next to Shawano Community High School, which also generates high volumes of traffic at certain times of day.

The 128,000-square-foot hospital opened last fall to much fanfare about ThedaCare’s investment in improved health care for Shawano County and surrounding areas. With the simultaneous closing of the crosstown Shawano Medical Center, the new hospital was expected to reach 600 employees eventually and attract as many as 120,000 patients a year, most for outpatient services.

Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl reached out to state highway planners in February, saying that the new hospital and high school were combining to create traffic congestion issues.

Kohl said although no vehicular accidents or other safety threats have resulted, he said local officials want to work on identifying possible solutions to the congestion. Especially when hospital employees are leaving work at the same time that students are leaving school, traffic backups occur at the intersection, he said.

The Police Department has heard complaints from some motorists about the delays, Kohl said.

“The patience is wearing thin,” he said.

ThedaCare facilities manager John Gijsen said the health care provider has assisted state highway officials with their study of the Highway 22-County B intersection. ThedaCare would have no objection to new controls aimed at moving traffic more smoothly, he added.

Hospital administrators have not heard complaints from patrons, Gijsen said, but he acknowledged that traffic delays have occurred.

“Obviously, the intersection has changed a little bit,” he said.

Among the options discussed, Kemnitz said a roundabout would be the most expensive, costing about $1 million. Installing traffic lights would cost about $200,000. Other possibilities include four-way stop signs and reduced speed limits.

The intersection has stop signs on County Road B only.

Kemnitz said he hoped to have the speed limit study completed by summer. State officials try not to overreact to minor congestion issues, he said, and instead offer carefully measured responses.

“We do take it seriously,” he said. “We try to look at a stepped approach.”