As the summer tourism season evolves and the 4th of July weekend brings people downtown for many outdoor festivities, it’s a good time to be especially aware of pedestrian safety.
Seehafer News spoke this week with two Manitowoc police officials at the corner of South 8th and Quay Streets. Deputy Chief Jason Freiboth tells us, “We see a lot more citizens coming down here as well as tourists coming off the car ferry or passing through here and just enjoying the new amenities downtown. So, we want to make sure that our drivers are paying attention and watching out for those pedestrians.”
Crime Prevention Sergeant Paul Crock emphasized that pedestrians do have the right-of-way when they’re in a marked crosswalk.
“We do ask that pedestrians and motorists alike be vigilant when approaching intersections. Everybody plays a part in safety so we just need everyone paying attention, being cautious, things like that.”
Freiboth told us a problem he often saw as a patrol officer in the department centered on 4-lane streets.
“What we commonly see is that one car will stop and yield to a pedestrian while cars coming in the opposite direction or in the next lane might not see the pedestrian, so they’re driving through the intersection not knowing the other driver stopped. So, I would just caution other drivers to scan the area and look for pedestrians crossing (the street).”
According to Crock, pedestrian awareness “has come to the forefront” in recent years.
“So, I don’t know that the problem is necessarily getting worse but I believe there’s more attention placed on it now. We do have pretty adequate signage here at 8th and Quay so we’d ask pedestrians to utilize that when crossing the street so they can do so safely.
The forfeiture for violating the rules of the road for yielding to pedestrians is $98.80, plus four demerit points on your driver’s license.
