Keep industrial traffic out of our residential area

EDITOR: As a longtime resident of Stevens Point, I am concerned with the extension of Heffron Street to service the industrial park through the backyards of a residential neighborhood.

Adding a main road to service the industrial park on the edge of a residential neighborhood will create:

• Traffic from semis, heavy equipment and cars, through backyards of several residents and an adjacent city park.

• Increased pollutants that will decrease air quality in the resident’s backyards.

• An increase in noise from the shift of vehicle traffic from the industrial park to a residential neighborhood

• Loss of privacy with a road going through backyards

• Loss of jobs. As discussed at the board of public works meeting on Monday, one business owner in the industrial park with plans to expand will not do so because the road will go through the area of his expansion, resulting in the loss of 15 to 20 jobs.

Neighbors were surprised by this project and did not know it was being considered because very little public information was available. Affected property owners were sent a letter in mid-June and the full council will vote to approve Monday. Three-and-a-half weeks is not a lot of time to fight for your property and explore other options that may be acceptable to both the residential and industrial property owners. Residents expressed the desire to not see the road extended into their neighborhood.

Have we looked at other options?

• Making Coye Drive 4 lanes while upgrading the Coye drive intersection.

• Modifying the overpass to accommodate connecting Joerns Drive with Hoover.

• Installing a nontruck route in the industrial park that will not affect the residential neighborhood.

The overpass project was looked at for many years with countless discussions, but this extension was only recently brought to the public’s attention with very little discussion. The Stevens Point City Council needs to consider the residents south of the industrial park. They are taxpayers and deserve the time and due process to hear all the options considered. Heavy industrial traffic does not belong in a residential neighborhood.

Charles Glodowski,

Stevens Point