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Campus members are urging Whitewater Common Council to reevaluate the efficiency of the trombone-arm pedestrian yield signs on Main Street after a Fort Atkinson woman was hit by a car while crossing.
"We do not need another student to get hit or injured … every student should have the right to access the university," Whitewater Student Government President Tim Scully said. "Safety should be the number one concern of our city. I have no idea why it is taking so long … placing police officers strategically is another solution."
Laura Rogers, 28, was crossing Main Street at a pedestrian walkway at 9:48 p.m. Oct. 14 when she was struck by a car turning west from Cottage Street, police said.
Rogers was transported to Fort Atkinson Hospital for contusions to her knee and face.
"I believe the driver just didn't see me," Rogers said. "I was lucky that nothing worse happened."
Driver of the vehicle Felicia Bressette of Bayfield, Wis., was cited for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian. Bressette told police she did not see Rogers in the crosswalk.
"I think it was probably a combination of the weather and it being nighttime," Rogers said. "I feel badly for the girl driving because … what a horrible thing to go through."
This accident is the second pedestrian/traffic incident on Main Street in about a year and half.
UW-Whitewater graduate Mike Chaloupka was struck by a car Aug. 26, 2008 while crossing at Whiton and Main streets, a block from Cottage Street.
Chaloupka, who was in a wheelchair, suffered 12 broken bones and collapsed lungs. He died about a week later as a result of the injuries.
Whitewater Common Council voted in late 2008, as a result of Chaloupka's death, to install traffic lights at the Main and Whiton streets intersection in spring 2010. The trombone-arm pedestrian yield signs were installed at the two Main Street intersections in May 2008.
City of Whitewater Police Chief James Coan said he thinks the yield signs are generally helping control the traffic.
"I think any stretch of roadway where we have this much traffic and pedestrians, we're bound to have accidents," he said. "I believe very strongly that the traffic signal, when it's installed at Whiton and Main, is going to help slow traffic. I think it will make people more careful even at those other crosswalks."
Junior Katka Showers-Curtis said she was crossing the street with Rogers at the time of the accident. They had pushed the pedestrian light button before crossing.
"It was terrifying," she said. "I had no idea what was happening. I looked at the car and thought it was going to stop and then I realized it didn't. I never expected that to happen."
Coan said while traffic legally must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, pedestrians still must exercise caution while crossing streets.
"Even though they press the yellow flashing light, even though they have the right of way in crossing, they shouldn't be complacent," he said. "They should still be careful in terms of watching for cars, because not all cars are yielding or may not see the person crossing."
Rogers said she thinks the signage could be clearer to avoid confusion for drivers and pedestrians.
"I pushed the button to cross and I wasn't really sure what that meant," she said. "I haven't seen signals like that before so I thought that was a little odd. Some drivers don't know how to interpret them. They think it just means proceed slowly through the crosswalk, so I do think they are confusing."
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