A second downtown bridge coming to Batavia?

Residents peppered Batavia officials and city-hired consultants about a report on building a second downtown bridge over the Fox River, at an open house Tuesday night.

That report says Wilson Street through the downtown operates at a grade "D" level now, judged on a scale where "A" is great and "F" is failure. And if traffic increases as much as the consultants think it will by 2030, it would be at an "F" gridlock.

But building a second bridge, which could cost as much as $23 million, would only move enough traffic off Wilson to raise the grade to a "C." And the two options discussed a crossing at First Street or Main Street, connecting to Adams or Webster streets, is "a grade 'C' crossing for what feels like 'A' grade money," Alderman Vic Dietz said during a community development committee meeting after the open house.

Some residents suggested that better-synchronized traffic signals on Wilson, from Route 31 to Route 25, would be a cheaper way to improve traffic flow.

Yvonne Dinwiddie, a resident who regularly questions the spending of several local governments, urged city officials to consider building a bridge south of the downtown, near the Funway Enterainment Center, if it builds a bridge at all. She said a southern bridge could also expand the downtown, extend the Riverwalk, and increase access for east-side residents to Hall Quarry Beach.

"Don't discount a bridge further south ... think about the possibilities," she said.

City engineer Noel Basquin said the city is designing traffic-signal interconnection now, and it may be done in 2011 or 2012.

Resident Sylvia Keppel said she has timed how long it takes her to drive from Prairie to Route 31 during peak traffic hours and off-peak, and by using a cut-through, and the difference was about five minutes. The consultants measured it at seven minutes, and said adding another bridge could cut that wait in half.

"I don't think five minutes is worth $20 million," Keppel said, even though those five minutes "feel like forever."

"We are not here to build a bridge today," Community Development Committee Chairman Alderman Dave Brown said. "In order for our staff to make intelligent decisions, and in order for developers and downtown business people to make intelligent business decisions, we felt it was important to identify a bridge corridor."

Mayor Jeff Schielke, who serves on a Chicago Metropolitan Area Planning transportation committee, reiterated that he thinks state or federal money for the bridge like the city got for the Wilson Street rebuild is unlikely, given the state's and federal government's finances and the number of projects asking for money. Unless local taxpayers want to foot the entire bill, he said, "There will be a new mayor and many new people on the city council before this ever happens."

The committee will discuss the issue again at one of its October meetings.