Downers Grove Magazine | Safety
DOZENS OF IDEAS WERE INTRODUCED BY SCHWARTZ AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS, INCLUDING PAINTED INTERSECTIONS. THE PHOTOGRAPHED INTERSECTION IS LOCATED IN FLORIDA. PHOTOGRAPH BY MIDDLE RIVER ARTS PHOTOGRAPHY
District 99 steps up for pedestrian safety Community rallies around keeping students and residents safe BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN
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ccording to the Governor’s Safety Highway Association, the estimated number of pedestrians killed in 2018 nationwide in motor vehicle crashes was 6,227. The portable stop-signs that pepper crosswalks around Downers Grove can seem decorative as motorists drive on, while parents wait with strollers and small
children. Many pedestrians have been in too many near-misses to trust motorists to live up to their responsibility of pedestrian right-of-way. The tragic death of Beth Dunlap, a student obeying the law while crossing the street last winter in front of Downers Grove North (DGN), forced the issue of pedestrian safety in the community. 38
DOWNERS GROVE MAGAZINE
District 99 school board members met the day after the accident to discuss the wellbeing of the students walking local streets. “We could not have prevented what happened, but we are able to control our response to it,” District 99 superintendent Dr. Hank Thiele said during a recent interview. “We must be sure every effort
