petition to kronenwetter village from residents west of old 51 regarding blocked road access

Hopefully, only those residents of Kronenwetter who live west of the CN railroad tracks sign this petition. Anyone supporting us who lives outide of the area should sign the similar petition for those living elsewhere who support these residents.

We, the undersigned, respectfully present to the administration of the Village of Kronenwetter, that the people west of Old Highway 51 face a long-term situation that poses a significant risk to our lives, health and safety. Access to us and egress for us while the road is blocked/closed is severely limited.

This is due to a number of factors:

1) Canadian National railway hauls a large amount of product and CN blockage often occurs at 3 of the 4 roads west of the tracks at one time. Fires, tornados, road construction and other events have also closed these roads.

2) Residents living on West Nelson and Silver Circle, are on a dead end road and hence landlocked.

3) Residents & businesses from Gardener Park to Happy Hollow Road, are also affected. Should Happy Hollow, Cedar and Gardener Park ALL be blocked, this area is also landlocked.

4) In an emergency, timely response is of utmost concern. This includes emergency services, like fire, police and ambulance. But it also includes individual needs for ingress/egress: woman in labor, severe injury requiring treatment, emts called to an emergency, elder parent needing immediate assistance.

5) The Village has posed usage of the multi-use path as the solution. This solution does not address the individual needs for ingress and egress, and its usage is questionable.

6) This situation has existed for years and the municipality has been approached many times. This is reflected in the meeting notes and agendas, the Mitigation plan and the Comprehensive plan. To this date, we have been held at large, placing the blame in our hands as we knowingly bought our homes and created businesses with this existing issue.

This is a PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY concern for 380 taxpaying parcels that requires immediate attention. We ask the Village to work towards a permanent solution that benefits all of us west of Old 51. We ask for the BEST solution that provides relief to ALL of us, not just emergency personnel. We also ask that the village look into sources of funding for this project, such as grant funding, the 1.4 million paid by WPS yearly because of their influence, and the new RICE funding from WPS. We ask for this occur, prior to the 2024 budget approval, as to expedite our concerns.

We the undersigned ask for a public hearing on this matter, with notices from the village sent ten (10) days prior to ALL taxpaying entities with notification of this meeting. We ask that the notices adequately reflect the nature of the blockage concern. We then ask for a village board meeting where the BEST POSSIBLE PERMANENT solution can be proposed and weighed upon by the taxpaying entities together with the village board.

Faye Buchberger    Contact the author of the petition