There are some crosswalk concerns in De Pere that have neighbors, and at least one city alderman, searching for solutions.
The intersection connecting Suburban Drive and Apollo Way to Grant Street is also home to a critical crosswalk for hundreds of students. But high speeds, and some dangerous driving, have some worried for their safety.
Neighbors say this busy stretch of Grant St. is full of speeding drivers, and when school is in session, students using this crosswalk. These daily crossings also cause back ups.
But city efforts to keep students safe, and curb impatient driving, haven't solved the problem entirely.
For many, Grant St. is part of the daily commute.
"I see how busy it's been getting on this street over the years," says neighbor and mother Tallulah Caulfield, out for a stroll with a friend and her newborn baby. "I think, if we didn't have the stroller, people wouldn't be as kind," she adds, before attempting to make the crossing.
The crosswalk--with no traffic lights, and heavy traffic flow--makes her worry.
"What can I do," asks Caulfield, "except have the responsibility of teaching my child to be extra cautious?"
Those worries have been growing for years, since reports of a student being hit by a car during a back up. There were no injuries reported, say officials, but it's something that has crossing guards worried.
'The crossing guard would stop traffic in the center lane, and somebody would try to pass on the right-hand side," explains alderman Dean Raasch, who also lives just a few houses down from the intersection, "and that's how the student was hit."
Raasch says solutions, like extending the curb on both sides of the crosswalk, have helped.
"It's made it a shorter crossing pattern for people having to walk through the intersection," says Raasch. "And the second thing it's done is, when the crossing guard is there and traffic stops, there's not enough room for you to get by on the right-hand side."
But witnesses claim some drivers are ignoring it, and even hopping the curb at times.
"There's actually damage to the curb," adds Raasch, "so it does look like some people are taking that aggressive approach."
Raasch says options, like a roundabout, have been considered.
"The unfortunate thing is, we'd have to take down some houses," adds Raasch, "and I don't think any one of us wants to say, 'sorry, we've got to tear your house down.'"
Raasch says police have increased patrols in the area in the meantime.
Raasch is also pushing for pedestrian-activated traffic lights, like on the Lawrence University campus.
But for now, he says it's just not in the budget.
