Munster's plan to scale back a proposed Ridge Road project drew opposition during Monday's town council meeting.
In 2022, Munster got a $17.1 million federal RAISE grant to convert Ridge Road into a "complete street." An earlier plan would have reduced part of Ridge Road to three lanes, but on Monday, the council voted to request an amendment to keep Ridge Road at five lanes.
Resident Michael Goepfert wasn't convinced the new alternative would meet the goals of making Ridge Road safer for cyclists and pedestrians. "You promised to keep four lanes. What safeties will you consider for the walkers and bikers? How will you conserve the town's tax revenue and not waste funds invested in this proposal to date?" Goepfert asked council members.
The initial plan would have included adding a separate path for bikes and pedestrians, as well as landscaping to reduce the amount of rainwater going into the storm drain system. It was seen as a way to improve safety on a stretch of road that saw 600 crashes between 2016 and 2020, and make it easier for residents to get to the new West Lake Corridor station without having to use a car.
Some residents Monday argued that the initial plan was developed with a large amount of public input, something they felt was lacking from the new option.
But council member Jonathan Petersen felt that public input largely ignored the concerns of the town's police and fire chiefs. He said the new plan keeps five traffic lanes, but each lane would be narrowed by a foot, so a bike path could still be added on the south side.
"We believe that the Alternate 2 represents a reasonable compromise for all of these concerns," Petersen said. "That's what we're attempting to do here."
Council member Chuck Gardiner cast the lone opposing vote. He felt concerns about access for public safety vehicles were already addressed in the first plan, by keeping the center turn lane, rather than building a median.
The proposed lane reduction became a campaign issue in last year's town council race, but resident and active transportation planner Mitch Barloga thinks the public feedback should take precedence over election results.
"Elections did not decide this," Barloga said. "Elections are a random case of all sorts of issues flying at the wall at the same time and people having to decide, but it isn't the proactive way where people come out, actually, and decide on an issue and decide what's best for its community."
He argued that the public engagement process is what let to the town getting an "unprecedented" amount of federal funding for this type of road project.
At Monday's meeting, six residents spoke in favor of original plan, while only one as in favor of the new one. The town also got 56 comments electronically for the original proposal, compared to 16 for keeping Ridge Road at five lanes.
