Village of Bayside rolls out new program to combat reckless driving

Village of Bayside, WI (CBS 58) – In an effort to combat reckless driving, one local village is posting messages from kids throughout neighborhoods.

Thanks to a community vote, you’ll now see 12 new different designs that’ll soon be rolled out.

Some of those signs include messages like, “I’m more important than a text, turn it off.” And “Put the phone aside and keep us alive.”

“We have a lot of regulatory signs, but we needed something different because people are driving faster and they're busier, distracted,” says Andy Pederson, village manager.

“This year the village made a really good effort to promote it, to promote the contest,” says Kari Schmidt, a longtime village resident.

The village rolled out the program eight years ago.

“We measured the rate of speed both before and after the sign, and it went down about two miles per hour,” says Pederson. “In a 20 or 30 MPH zone it can make a difference.”

New submissions were made, and a community vote narrowed things down to 12 news signs that will soon be installed.

“I’m hopeful that it is going to make a difference in slowing traffic down, because we really believe in safety in our village,” says Schmidt.

“People aren’t paying attention to basic traffic laws. Be cautious, it’s there for a reason,” says Nathan Tomczuk, who has lived in the village for eight years. “Two little girls were killed because of that a few weeks ago.”

“We think that this needs to be part of a larger conversation,” says Pederson. “This isn’t just isolated to Bayside, it’s everywhere. Hopefully we can have a small difference.”

Weather permitting, Pederson says they plan on installing the signs within the next week.