APPLETON (NBC 26) — An Outagamie County Sheriff's Deputy confirmed with us that a pedestrian was hit while using a crosswalk on Highway 15 Thursday afternoon. Parents had been calling for added safety measures.
- A pedestrian was hit by a car while using the crosswalk on Highway 15
- The Town of Greeville says they have been trying to make the crosswalk safer for almost a decade
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)
Village administrator Travis Parish says Greenville has been trying to make this crosswalk on Highway 15 safer.
"This has been an item of discussion since at least 2015," Parish noted.
An Outagamie County Sheriff's Deputy was able to confirm with NBC 26 that on Thursday, someone was hit by a car in the crosswalk. He didn't comment on the age or any possible injury.
Parish and parents I spoke with at The Twist say the crosswalk is dangerous.
"As a parent, I would pay any dollar amount to protect my kids from something as dangerous as this," Parish said.
Kids like Maverick Vervoort and Easton Kettner often walk it.
"For me, they always stop. But sometimes they don't and they go pretty fast," said Maverick.
"I feel like it's fine, you just gotta be smart crossing it," added Easton.
There is a sign with a flashing yellow light signaling drivers to stop for pedestrians. There are also flags that kids are supposed to use when crossing.
But Parish said that's not nearly enough.
"We all know, to a driver, a flashing yellow does mean to slow down. It doesn't mean to stop," Parish said.
Parish said it's challenging because the state owns the road. He said they've asked the state department of transportation to install flashing red lights or a stop sign.
I reached out to the DOT Friday afternoon to ask about the intersection. After the original broadcast story aired, I received an email from Northeast Region communications manager Mark Kantola. It said, in part:
"We received a call from a resident and we are investigating. We get requests like this routinely and always follow up with the data we have available."
Parish said the next steps will be continuing working with the DOT to continue making this crosswalk safer for all who use it.
