A PETITION TO

Town of Springdale

Town of Mt. Vernon

Village of Mount Horeb

Dane County Highway Department

Wisconsin Department of Transportation

We, the undersigned, petition to lower the speed limit from 55 MPH to 45 MPH on State Highway 92 for the approximate 5 mile segment between Hwy. G North of the Township of Mt. Vernon to Hwy. 18, South of the Village of Mount Horeb, Dane County, WI. This stretch of road has become increasingly hazardous to area residents who live along the highway, recreational cyclists and motorcyclists, farm workers and other automobile commuters and travelers.

Key factors include but are not limited to:

• Poor line of sight due to s-bends and elevation changes throughout this segment with numerous blind driveways and intersections, causing an alarming history of documented crashes and many more near miss collisions. In this roughly 5 mile stretch, there are approximately 40 driveways serving multiple homes with direct access to Hwy. 92.
• A significant increase in daily traffic volume due to population increases in Mount Horeb (a 50 year growth of 222%) mixed with a high volume of class 8 heavy vehicle traffic.
• The lack of a paved shoulder along this highway segment is incompatible with the diverse mix of users, which include:
  • Recreational cyclists, including a large cohort training for the annual Dane County Ironman triathlon, which uses this segment of Hwy. 92 in their annual race.
  • Seasonal visitors attracted to many local destinations along this segment of Hwy. 92, such as hikers and equestrian riders in Donald County Park and Mt. Vernon Creek, farmer's markets at Sutter Ridge Farm and Smallfolk Farms, and the many events in Mount Horeb, Mount Vernon and the surrounding communities.
  • Cyclists following Rustic Roads and the Military Ridge trail that feed into Hwy. 92.
• Excessive speeds, substantially faster than the posted 55 MPH despite the high density of residential driveways, slow-moving farm equipment, cyclists and commuter and recreational traffic.
  • According to WisDOT/Bureau of Transportation Safety crash data analysis, a total of 87 crashes were reported along this segment of Hwy. 92 between 2010 and 2022, of which 40% were determined to be speed related.

As noted above, we, the undersigned, petition the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and whatever authority is applicable, to decrease the speed limit within the designated stretch of State Highway 92 from 55 MPH to 45 MPH.