[Reprinted from the March 6, 1998 The Capital Times. -Ed.]
By Pat Schneider
The Capital Times
Speeding, running red lights, flipping the bird- Madison motorists are flouting law so much that city officials are planning to bring back the traffic cop.
"Driving is getting worse," said Judy Olson, the isthmus-area alderwoman who urgedthe Police Department to consider resurrecting the traffic unit that was abandoned for other priorities two decades ago. "There's more congestion, more speeding and non-compliance with basic rules and civility."
Residents are fed up with speed demons racing through their neighborhoods, police said.
"Every community meeting we go to, it's the No. I thing that comes up," said Inspector Richard Cowan.
Accident statistics are not jumping, said Cowan, but residents are clearly more concerned and annoyed by the traffic coursing through their neighborhoods.
"It's a quality of life issue," said Cowan. "People want to be able to let their kids play on the sidewalk."
Currently, police of officers are expected to respond to any traffic problems they come upon while riding in their districts.
Cowan said a committee is being formed to work out details of reestablishing a traffic unit with a target of including at least $300,000 in the 1999 budget for six new officers. Federal grants will be sought to cover part of the cost of the additional officers.
Ideally, the unit would gradually build to 14 to 16 officers, its size in the early '70s when officers began to be reassigned for other duties from burglaries to campus demonstrations to neighborhood intervention.
With only six officers at the start, the unit would make only a minimal impact Cowan admitted.
"A traffic unit isn't going to answer all the problems, but I think it is an important statement for us to make," he said. "But as it develops further and heightens awareness the effect should be more dramatic and long-lasting."
The department has issued a steady 14,000 to 15,000 citations annually over the past several years, he said.
But enforcement alone is not enough, Cowan and others said. Education and changes in attitude are key to making the streets safer.
And attitude changes are needed on the part of both police and motorists, it appears.
"We have officers who don't think traffic enforcement is important, I don't know why," said Mayor Sue Bauman. "And I want people who live here or visit the city to obey traffic laws."
Cowan characterized the situation differently, saying officers are torn between attending to other calls and making traffic stops that may take them out of circulation for a while.
Citizens speak: Residents of the Hill Farms-Hilldale area on the near west side, mostly senior citizens, told police at a community meeting this week that they need better enforcement of traffic laws.
Two pedestrian deaths on Segoe Road in 1996 and 1997 have heightened concerns among area residents, many of whom are elderly and can't cross a street as quickly as they once did.
Margaret Monroe, who uses a powered wheelchair, said she does not dare to venture to nearby Hilldale shopping mall.
"I would not dream of crossing Segoe Road," said Monroe, who is a resident of the Attic Angels retirement home.
Motorists tend to speed on Segoe and the street is made more dangerous by a slope that restricts vision, she said. But more than that, Madison streets are dangerous because of people's attitudes.
"People grow up with the idea of 'pedestrian beware,' " Monroe said. "We train children to wait for a large enough gap in traffic to cross the street. And when we grow up, we drive expecting pedestrians to get out of the way."
Arthur Ross, the city's bike-pedestrian coordinator, said the problem requires a coordinated effort of engineering, education and enforcement.
Education has been the missing element in Madison's approach, Ross said. Traffic safety usually focuses on the individual motorist, as in the development of seat belts, air bags and shock absorbing front ends.
"Very little is put out to educate the person driving about their responsibility for everybody else,"" he said. "People seem to think they have a right to drive unimpeded while they have a snack, talk on the phone, put on makeup."
But more stringent law enforcement is only part of educating drivers, Ross said.
"Enforcement can change behavior if motorists fear getting caught, but the next step is to also change attitudes so people want to drive safely because it is the right thing to do."
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