“Remember Pedestrians Initiative” Launched

Yield to Pedestrians. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Alongside efforts of the City of Milwaukee and other local organizations, the citizens group MilWALKee Walks is launching the Remember Pedestrians initiative to remind the community of the importance of safe driving.

Remember Pedestrians is stressing the dangers of speeding, distracted driving and failure to yield for pedestrians at crosswalks. To remember the 12 people who were killed this year walking across the streets of Milwaukee, 12 memorial signs will be erected at the locations of each of their deaths.

Small memorials will be set up at each spot with the support of community members and, in some cases, the loved ones of those who fell victim.

MilWALKee Walks notes that, although there are fewer deaths at this time than last year in the City of Milwaukee (17 deaths to date in 2017), the number of crashes, injuries, and deaths combined in the city is simply too high to be ignored.

The first memorial was put up on the morning of Tuesday, September 18th to remember the first pedestrian death of 2018, which occurred at the intersection of N. 91st St. and Appleton Ave. The memorials will continue to be put up consecutively, one per day, until all 12 are raised by Saturday, September 29th. The first three have already been installed.

Below is a schedule of the time, location, and original date of the pedestrian fatality for each memorial that is being installed:

• 9/18 | 8 – 10 a.m. | N. 91st St. and Appleton Ave. | Date of crash: 1/28/18
• 9/19 | 3 – 5 p.m. | S. 15th Pl. and W. Windlake Ave. | Date of crash: 2/14/2018
• 9/20 | 9 – 11 a.m. | N. 68th St. and Capitol Dr. | Date of crash: 2/15/2018
• 9/21 | 3 – 4 p.m. | N. 35th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. | Date of crash: 2/25/2018
• 9/22 | 12 – 2 p.m. | E. Kilbourn Ave. and N. Water St. | Date of crash: 4/11/2018
• 9/23 | 1 – 3 p.m. | N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. and E. Mason St. | Date of crash: 4/18/2018
• 9/24 | 1 – 3 p.m. | N. 37th St. and W. Villard Ave. | Date of crash: 4/30/2018
• 9/25 | 12 – 2 p.m. | S. 36th St. and W. Rogers St. | Date of crash: 5/27/2018
• 9/26 | 12 – 2 p.m. | N. Holton St. and E. Burleigh St. | Date of crash: 6/11/2018
• 9/27 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | N. 29th St. and W. State St. | Date of crash: 6/18/2018
• 9/28 | 2 – 4 p.m. | S. 13th St. and Cleveland Ave. | Date of crash: 9/4/2018
• 9/29 | 3 – 5 p.m. | N. 19th St. and W. Atkinson Ave. | Date of crash: 9/10/2018

With a nation-wide trend of a 27 percent increase in pedestrian deaths over the past decade (GHSA), MilWALKee Walks believes more community efforts are needed in the city to prevent these deaths from happening at the local level.

To push forward with the Remember Pedestrians initiative, MilWALKee Walks asks citizens to remember three important rules for driving safely around the city:

1. Look for and yield to pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks. Pedestrians always have the right of way to cross with the light at signalized crosswalks, marked or unmarked, and at any crosswalk without lights that is marked or unmarked. By law, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians who walk through any crosswalk.
2. Always drive at the correct speed limit.
3. Drive free of distractions. Focus only on the road and wait to call or text until you’re done driving.