City leaders address pedestrian safety on the isthmus

Gabriella Bachara by Gabriella Bachara

People living on the isthmus, particularly along East Washington Avenue, expressed concerns about pedestrian safety following a death Thursday.

“I think people will continue to be concerned and unfortunately an incident like what took place last week with losing the life of a young person does get people interested in doing something and doing something sooner rather than later but no doubt that this will continue,” district 2 alder Patrick Heck said.

Heck said there are safety measures that can be put in place.

“I hope that things like mass transit, bus rapid transit in particular and additional traffic-calming and safety measures for bicyclists and pedestrians can alleviate some of that,” Heck said.

Heck said along with reducing traffic, the city is interested in investing in more crosswalk paintings, curb bump-outs and traffic enforcement.

However, Heck said it comes down to driving with more courtesy.

“It really seems like drivers on average in Madison are not being careful enough,” Heck said.

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