MADISON, Wis. — John Hain is the co-owner of “Mother Fool’s” Coffeehouse on Williamson Street, or Willy Street as the locals call it.

He said that since he has owned the coffeehouse, three cars have driven into it.

What You Need To Know Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse has been crashed into three times

In late July, Madison mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced the 20 is plenty project

Sergeant Joseph Engler is part of the Madison Police Department traffic enforcement team. He said Willy Street continues to see an increased level of traffic and crashes every year

Mother Fool’s business owners said they would like to see the city work more to protect not only property but also city residents

“A car was going to turn left here onto Ingersoll, and another car sped up to get through a yellow or maybe a reddish light and hit them and sent them into the building,” said Hain.

Hain said the most recent crash took out the support column. It ended with a car embedded in the coffeehouse entryway.

“They come with carpenters and all of the tools to actually prop the building up, so it did not tip into the street or into the sidewalk,” said Hain.

Hain said he believes the city should install street bollards. Bollards are short, sturdy posts that are embedded into the ground.

“My understanding is that they were talking about here, here and then over here, so it would kind of serve to protect pedestrians as well as the building,” said Hain.

In late July, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced the 20 is plenty project.

The idea behind it is that a speed limit of 20 mph is appropriate for local, residential streets. It is part of the city’s Vision Zero Strategy.

“The purpose of Vision Zero is to get down to zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2035,” said Rhodes-Conway.

During that press conference, Spectrum News asked the mayor what is being done to put a stop to crashes on Willy Street.

“My staff are taking a good hard look at what the options are on Williamson Street and, obviously, the number one concern, just like with 20 is plenty, is that vehicles are going too fast,” said Rhodes-Conway.

Sergeant Joseph Engler is part of the Madison Police Department traffic enforcement team.

Spectrum News went on a ride along with Sergeant Engler to discuss some issues he sees on Willy Street.

“You have businesses butting super close to the street; you have literally one standard sidewalk square,” said Engler.

Engler said Willy Street continues to see an increased level of traffic every year, and that makes him wonder what needs to be done to make the street safer.

“Mother Fool’s was our most recent one, and it went up, but you see how close it is to the roadway,” said Engler while driving by the coffeehouse.

Stephanie Rearick is also a co-owner of Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse.

She said she would like to see the city work more to protect not only property but also city residents.

“We would love to see some traffic calming. There has been talk of putting in a traffic barrier, that would be lovely to have happen sooner rather than later,” said Rearick.