Pedestrian Killed in Car Accident Identified
The accident, which happened Monday afternoon, has some saying Greenfield needs more sidewalks.
When a 54-year-old South Milwaukee man, identified by TMJ4 as David Budge, was struck and killed by a Cadillac Escalade on Monday afternoon, he was walking against traffic on the east side of Loomis Road.
There is no sidewalk on the side of Loomis Road that Budge was walking. There is, however, a sidewalk on the west side of the road.
Former Alderman Richard Eaton told TMJ4 he lobbied for sidewalks along the city's busiest streets 10 years ago before being recalled, and political activist Robert Heule and others expressed concerns about the lack of sidewalks in the area on Greenfield Patch.
Heule wrote:
Years ago when Loomis was being reconstructed, the Wisconsin D.O.T. decided not install sidewalks on that part of Loomis. The reason being that backward Greenfield at the time refused to install sidewalks on its main roads, namely S. 43rd St., W. Cold Spring Rd. and a few others. So the DOT said why should we do it if they (Greenfield) don't care about sidewalks along its own roads. Unfortunately, some opposition still exists despite generational changes. Edgerton, besides being a embarrassment and disgrace as people enter the city from the east or west, is a potential death trap to pedestrians and bikers. The same goes for 43rd St. between Layton and Ramsey. It's time for the city to move its road improvement projects ahead before more tragic incidents like that of this past Monday don't occur again."
Tell us: What do you think? Are more sidewalks needed?
Dolores Skowronek
7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I give Mr. Eaton lots of credit for speaking up about this issue. Sidewalks are very controversial in Greenfield. I’ve attended several community meetings where sidewalks have been a topic of discussion – most recently for a road improvement project on 35th Street. One citizen at that meeting actually protested again sidewalks in “her” neighborhood because she wanted to keep the “riff raff” out. I guess elderly folks walking to the bus stop and little kids safely riding their bikes are a big threat.
BTW, Greenfield does have an ordinance mandating that a network of sidewalks be established within the City. Not sure if it’s consistently enforced. Here's the link: http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=12557
Dolores Skowronek
7:07 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Opps, looks like the link doesn't take you to the ordinance. Scroll to chapter 9 - Streets and sidewalks. The ordinance is under 9.02 - Construction of streets, alleys, and sidewalks. http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=12557
Robin Bruhn
7:48 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
That's good to know Delores. And keep the riff raff out? Wow, just wow. Without knowing all the facts, who knows if a sidewalk would have even saved him. (i.e. was the driver on the phone, texting, distracted by children in the car, etc.)
robert heule
12:16 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012
I want know what the paranoid anti sidewalk person means by "riff-raff". Whoever he/she means might drive a car. Sounds like the same type that supports the picture I.D voting law, because the "riff-rff" might excercise their constitutional right to vote. Hey, anti-sidewalk, person do the "riff" "raff" folks that you are referring to look like the the majority of Greenfield residents?