RIVER FALLS — After the adoption of the Vision Zero Resolution in 2023, an application from the city was submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation for funding to prepare a Safe Streets Action Plan. The city was awarded $200,000, authorizing Toole Design to prepare the plan back in 2024.

At the May 12 meeting, Toole’s Mitch Coffman presented the results of the research and community input conducted, laying out future goals and projects to enhance safety for both vehicles and pedestrians.

“Adoption of the plan will position the city to pursue federal and state implementation funding, to advance prioritized safety projects and establish a Vision Zero goal of no traffic-related fatalities or serious injuries by year 2040,” Mayor Alison Page said.

The presentation focused on five pillars: safer people, safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads and post-crash care. Coffman said the focus is on taking a proactive approach to improving intersection and street safety rather than reacting to tragedies.
“Safety is first and foremost in our transportation decisions,” Coffman said. “We have an understanding that humans do make mistakes; however, those mistakes should not result in deaths or serious injuries.”

According to the Toole presentation, vulnerable road users (walking, rolling, biking, etc.) were involved in 2% of accidents in the city, but 37% of serious injury or fatal crashes from 2014-2023. In that span, there were 30 crashes with serious injuries, one fatality, 318 crashes involving minor injuries and 51 pedestrian and cyclist crashes. Additionally, 49% of crashes came within 100 feet of an intersection, making up 77% of the fatal and serious injury crashes, making intersections the focus of the action plan.

The top three themes identified through public input were enhanced pedestrian connections, improved intersections/pedestrian crossing safety and better safety for children near schools.

Through all the information gathered, Toole identified 21 policies and programs for the city, including integration of a safety task force, promoting safe behaviors and vehicle speeds that reflect roadway context, designing streets that are safe for all modes of transportation, conducting post crash evaluations and partnering with community organizations to benefit those impacted by crashes in the community.

“We have a toolbox of 54 or 55 countermeasures that can be implemented throughout the network,” Coffman said. “There’s also a tool in the plan that identifies countermeasures that would be best implemented more broadly. It identifies what types of streets they would be best implemented on, and then the types of crashes they’re intended to mitigate.”

Toole identified the following priority safety projects:

• North Main Street from Union Street to Paulson Road
• North Main Street and Paulson Road/Sullivan Court Intersection
• Division Street and Second Street Intersection
• Downtown streets including Main Street, Second Street and Maple Street
• Cascade Avenue and Main Street intersection
• Neighborhood sidewalk infill
• Division Street and Wasson Lane

Sterling Ponds Rezoning

The council approved the rezoning of a portion of the Sterling Ponds Corporate Park property from Conservancy to Industrial 6-1 (Abdouch opposed). The piece was originally zoned conservancy in 2014 due to having no legal access point of its own from a right of way after construction of the Radio Road interchange.

“It’s been the plan for quite some time for that to be part of either the I or J lot,” City Administrator Scot Simpson said. “It would impact the ability to develop as it was planned. Lot J can be developed without this property. Staff’s recommendation is that doesn’t make any sense because you’re isolating a piece of property that’s neither available for public park use or it’s not a stormwater parcel.”

Because Mike Flynn, owner of the adjacent Lot J, purchased the parcel, there is now a need for the two plots to be zoned the same for development.

“In this case the parcel was rezoned to such as to limit its development until such time it could be purchased, rezoned, and combined with another parcel, as is the case in this request,” Alderperson Sean Downing cited from city documents.

Downing said it is a small piece to the industrial park puzzle that meets the expectations of the community.

A Glasgow Street resident had their letter to the city council read by the council during the public hearing portion of the item.

“We moved here because Sterling Ponds gives our neighborhood a country vibe with easy access to the highways and interstate,” the message stated. “We utilize the sidewalks and walking trails daily. We enjoy this calmer side of town. Sadly, if this gets voted to change to industrial, we will be considering moving out of River Falls.”

Flynn intends to develop a multi-tenant light industrial distribution building similar to those to the north and east of the building.

“We hear the concerns. We understand development always has a rub,” Alderperson Nick Carow said. “In particular, Sterling Ponds folks, we hear you. We know why you like it. We understand. It’s a beautiful area, and I know why, because, as that email wrote, it does give you country vibe in the city.”

Alderperson Mei Mei Abdouch expressed concern that the building could house a data center in the future. City Administrator Scot Simpson said while the city has limited control of the eventual tenants in the building, it is likely too small of an area to become one.

“We have kind of this shared agreement, and one thing is to try to, from an economic development standpoint, is to find a way to build things to keep your taxes low,” Carow said. “As we look at these things, let’s keep asking questions, let’s poke, let’s prod, but also know that we have a strategy we’re executing on. It is very public. It is very wide open.”

Mann Valley Easement

The council approved an emergency access easement on Outlot 3 of the Mann Valley Corporate Park. According to city staff, the access will help with stormwater runoff opposed to building another road through the property.

“It’s a paved area we’re already going to maintain for the sanitary lift station. It essentially can operate as a pathway as part of the bigger path plan that we have,” Simpson said.