APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Starting this June, Appleton Police will have a full-time Traffic Safety Officer on staff.
The move comes after safety and nuisance concerns were identified as a top priority in the department’s 2020 community survey.
“Traffic complaints and speeding complaints, that’s the number one call,” said Police Chief Todd Thomas. “Clearly it became a need at the beginning of the pandemic. Across the country and in Appleton, we noticed a significant uptick in cruising events…Hobbyists, some responsible and some irresponsible, taking to the streets and causing a lot of issues with traffic and pedestrian safety.”
The position is the start of a pilot program initiative, which Thomas calls a ‘holistic approach’ at trying to deal with a complex issue.
“Cruising on the avenue has been a generational thing. I remember 40 years ago, doing the same thing in my car in high school. It’s kind of a right of passage,” Thomas told WTAQ News. “Cruising in itself is obviously something that is not illegal. It’s only when you have irresponsible hobbyists and reckless driving or loud exhaust, things like that, that really bother the patrons that are downtown – and now the residents living downtown.”
It also has an impact on the police department’s ability to respond to other situations across the city.
“On a Friday or Saturday night especially, it pulls all of our resources from other parts of the city – which really impacts the entire city because we’re not able to get to calls in a timely manner,” Thomas explained. “Suspects get away before we get there or victims have to wait extended periods of time to see an officer. It impacts the services we provide, so this is the start of discussions.”
The program is only set to run until the end of 2022, at which time the department will take community feedback to either pull back or expand their approach.
“It’s not just going to be us working on this issue. We’re going to make sure that we are also looking at how we engineer roads and educate the community on traffic safety. It’s going to be a multi-pronged approach, not just one officer,” Thomas said. “We’ll work with community groups and hopefully engage new community groups and partners and get feedback on not just this program, but other initiatives that might grow out of this.”
You can learn more about the department and provide feedback through their website.
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