It’s Frogger Time!
On Tuesday, May 28th a man was going for a jog and as he ran through the crosswalk at Broadway and Cass in De Pere, traffic stopped for him to run across. His response?
“That’s never happened.”
Shortly after that, a grandmother and her granddaughter stopped at the same intersection to walk their bikes across the road. Once again traffic stopped for them. Her response?
“Wow, a first! Honestly it is!”
We believe these reactions should be the exception, not the rule. But how do we get there? How we design and build our roads plays a role, but so does educating and enforcing our local laws to keep our kids and families safe while they walk, bike or roll to school, work or for recreation.
That’s why Wello has teamed up with local municipal law enforcement for the first of three Regional Crosswalk Education and Enforcement events, better known as “Frogger,” happening throughout Greater Green Bay in 2019. Our season kicked off on May 28th with “Frogger” operations held in eleven locations across Allouez, Bellevue, Denmark, De Pere, Green Bay, Howard and Suamico. These operations are named after the popular video game where the frog must get through traffic without being hit.
You might be asking, how does this work? On “Frogger” days, volunteers wearing bright, yellow vests cross the road at a crosswalk with officers waiting nearby. Officers are checking to see if drivers obey the law which reads a vehicle must yield to a pedestrian once the pedestrian as entered a crosswalk. The volunteer “frogs” make sure to give the drivers plenty of time to stop (so much so that a cone is placed well before the crosswalk and the volunteer will not cross if the vehicle has already passed the cone). If a car fails to yield to the volunteer walking, they are pulled over and given a warning as well as education about the state law. In some cases, officers issued citations to drivers for various other reasons such as not wearing a seat belt or driving without a license.
As drivers and pedestrians alike become more distracted, this regional effort is first and foremost about providing education to the public to ensure we can all safely connect throughout our community. Check out this video to learn more about how you can make a difference in keeping our community safe.
Here is a snapshot of what the day looked like.
The next event will take place on Tuesday, July 23rd. Be sure to follow us on social media as we will share the locations of the events as a way to educate and create awareness around pedestrian safety (for both drivers and pedestrians) to create a safer and more active Greater Green Bay community for all!
Cyclists are a problem. They seem to think they have the Right of Way when riding on the sidewalk and crossing the road. They should walk their bike to be considered a pedestrian with the right of way, OR ride their bike and observe the rules for vehicles on the road. Education needed for cyclists in this area.
Also, FYI for Green Bay and Depere, in the Village of Allouez, bicycles are NOT ALLOWED on the sidewalk, except on Webster Avenue. This is a safe rule, as pedestrians do not have to jump out of the way when a group of cyclists come up behind them. Some people are older and cannot move quickly to the lawn or snow to let the cyclists pass.