Trustees of the Village of Hortonville agreed to ask Outagamie County to study changing the Nash Street and Oak Street intersection to a four-way stop after several trustees said the current configuration causes confusion for drivers and near-misses.

The request follows a 2022 county study and local observations that the three-way layout, an extra turn lane and the location of a crosswalk make the intersection unclear to visitors and some residents. “I just asked we put this on. I think that intersection is still screwed up,” a trustee said during the meeting, describing a recent trip when they stopped unexpectedly because they were unsure who had the right of way.

Why it matters: The intersection sits near Hortonville Elementary School, and trustees said pedestrian safety and morning bus traffic increase the stakes for a clearer traffic control layout. Data cited by the board — described by the village’s public safety contacts — showed an average of two to three low-speed accidents per year at the location, although trustees noted that near-misses reported by officers and residents do not appear in crash statistics.

Trustees discussed three options: convert to a four-way stop, remove an extra lane to improve sightlines, or pursue a longer-term reconfiguration to make the intersection more conventional. Public works staff and trustees described physical adjustments that could be made within village-owned right-of-way — for example, extending a small traffic island at the triangle-shaped approach — while noting the county would likely require engineering plans.

“We’d probably have to build, and I talked to Nathan about this a little bit today. I think there’s two options there,” the village’s public works director said, describing lane widths and where an extended island could tighten approach lanes.

Trustees approved asking county staff to revisit the study and consider a four-way stop as a near-term fix. The motion directed village staff to pursue the request with the county; trustees did not adopt detailed specifications or fund an engineering study at the meeting.

Next steps: Village staff will contact Outagamie County to request engineering recommendations and to ask how moving the crosswalk or extending existing islands would affect sightlines and pedestrian safety. The board did not set a timeline for receiving the county’s response.

Speakers quoted and cited here spoke during the agenda item labeled “Discussion and possible action on Nash Street and Oak Intersection.”