APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Drivers are seeing a lot more “red” across Appleton.
The city hopes a new stop light system will make its roads safer.
If you’re sitting at a red light wondering why you see the “walk” light for pedestrians, but you still can’t go, you can thank a new Leading Pedestrian Interval technology.
It gives pedestrians a three-second head start, and the first right to cross before the light turns green for drivers.
“The pedestrians and kids on bikes and stuff go so fast that I think there should be that lag,” said Appleton resident Paula Reigl.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s most recent annual numbers, more than three crashes per day hurt or killed a pedestrian.
“As a motorist, I think that you should always be cautious and not be in a hurry,” Reigl said, “because I think that’s when accidents do happen.”
Appleton tested this system several years ago at two intersections.
Now, it’s installed at all stop lights within city limits.
“I see the good in it, in that it’s less likely for pedestrians to get hit, but I think it’s going to take a while for people to get used to it,” said David Oliver, owner of Mondo Wine Bar and Retail in downtown Appleton.
Some say it’ll force drivers to change their normal habits.
“For me, I always tend to look to the side to see when the light is about to change, rather than looking at the light in front of me, and see a change,” Oliver said. “So, when I see a change from yellow to red, I’m expecting the light in front of me to turn green, and then it doesn’t!”
According to the City of Appleton, studies show the new stop light system should cut pedestrian crashes by 60 percent.
