Playbird Road traffic is examined
Over 300 apartment units are planned along the road in the Town of Sheboygan
TOWN OF SHEBOYGAN — During a recent traffic count, town officials learned how many vehicles are using Playbird Road and how fast they are going.
An average of 2,250 vehicles per day are using the rural road between Dairyland Road and Lakeshore Road. That’s according to Steve Wimmer, the town’s Code Enforcement Officer. This volume is consistent with expectations for a rural connector road and remains well within the engineered capacity limits outlined by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). According to WisDOT standards, a rural two-lane roadway with 10-foot lanes is capable of accommodating 800–1,000 vehicles per hour per direction under normal conditions.
The measurement of the road is 24 feet wide and with four foot shoulders, which includes the white fog line. A proposed apartment complex with 360 units with over 1,000 parking spaces would be located southeast of Larry's Distributing. Neighbors in the Green Meadows Subdivision have voiced concerns about speeding and reckless driving along Playbird Road as well as Lakeshore Road. “There are a few major concerns I have which are the increased traffic, the ability of the Town of Mosel to maintain and service Playbird Road and the safety of town residents to safely walk and exercise with the road being narrow,” said Jon Paul. “I hope that the Town of Sheboygan Board and the builder can find solutions to those concerns.”
READ MORE: Developer proposes building 360 apartments in Town of Sheboygan
The posted speed limit 45 MPH for that stretch of road. Wimmer, who is also a deputy with the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office, said he pulled over a driver going 63 MPH last month. “If I do a traffic detail, everyone gets a ticket if you get pulled over,” said Wimmer. During his traffic enforcement assignment, he pulled over five drivers. The average traffic violator was going 12 over the posted speed limit. “All five citations were issued to Rehlko workers,” said Wimmer.
While overall violation rates were classified as low, enforcement observations align closely with the documented speed data and do not currently suggest a widespread speeding issue that would necessitate design alterations.
Playbird Road is also a commercial truck route from Highway 42 to Lakeshore Road. Wimmer told the Town’s Public Safety Committee earlier this month that the road sees as many as five semi trucks per hour. During his traffic detail, all of the semi traffic was related to Rehlko, formerly known as Kohler Power. While the road is designated a truck route and can support the weight of commercial vehicles, neighbors who live in the area have asked the truck traffic be diverted to Garton Road.
In the future, the shoulders of the roadway could be extended and a walking path or sidewalk could be added. There is no timeframe for when any sort of improvements could be made in the area. In the meantime, the Sheriff’s Office has been increasing patrols in the area to address unsafe behavior by drivers.
The north side of Playbird Road lies within the Town of Mosel while the south side is within the Town of Sheboygan limits. The Town of Mosel maintains the stretch per an agreement with the Town of Sheboygan. It is named after the company that built the road, Spielvogel Excavating and was once called Spielvogel Road. When translated from German, Spiel-vogel translates to Play-bird in English.
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