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Fairfield recognizes National Pedestrian Safety Month
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – The City of Fairfield is recognizing October as National Pedestrian Safety Month by putting up signs reminding pedestrians to be alert, giving away chamber bucks to people who walk to work, and by inviting “celebrity” crossing guards to help students get to school.
Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson said the city is hoping to promote walking through its Fairfield Walks Pedestrian Challenge. This initiative, sponsored by First MainStreet Insurance of Fairfield, invites the public to “walk, ride or scoot” at least 1 mile that is part of their daily commute. Residents can take a photo of themselves walking to work and posting it on social media with the hashtag#fairfieldiowawalks and #safestreetsfairfieldiowa. Participants will have the chance to win $25 in chamber bucks from the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
First MainStreet Insurance’s sponsorship also paid for yard signs to be put up around town with messages telling both pedestrians and motorists to keep their eyes up and their phones down. One sign includes a photo of actor Ryan Gosling with the text “Hey girl … Look both ways before crossing the street.” Another includes a photo of the character Morpheus from the movie “The Matrix” with text that reads “Look again … Before crossing the street.”
Carlson said she ordered three signs, but Top Dog Printing loved them so much they printed a second set for free.
Another highlight of Fairfield’s recognition of National Pedestrian Safety Month has been the slate of “celebrity” crossing guards near the schools.
“I have kids in elementary school, so they helped me pick out who the celebrities were,” Carlson said. “They were firefighters, police officers and anyone who works at Jefferson County Park.”
Every Friday morning in October, celebrity crossing guards help students cross the street at three locations with heavy foot traffic such as D Street and Madison Avenue next to Washington Elementary, Sixth Street and Fillmore Avenue between Pence Elementary and Fairfield Middle School, and one inside FMS’s parking lot where students have to cross the car pick-up line.
Celebrity crossing guards have included or will include Fairfield Mayor Connie Boyer, Fairfield Fire Chief Brett Ferrel, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies Phil Smith and Brian Burnett, Jefferson County Naturalist Austin Roe, and Fairfield High School students Haleigh Strickland and Ella Holderbaum.
“The idea of the celebrity crossing guards was to make kids who walk feel special and have someone to interact with,” Carlson said. “One of the side effects was that drivers were slowing down because they couldn’t figure out who the crossing guard was. People could tell something different was going on.”
Carlson said this is the first time she’s aware of that the city has made a concerted effort to bring attention to pedestrian safety during this special month of awareness.
“The mayor and council asked me to look into ideas, and I took it and ran with it,” she said.
Carlson hopes that shining a light on pedestrian safety will encourage both pedestrians and motorists to be more careful. She noted that 30 pedestrians were killed in Iowa traffic crashes in 2022, and that per roadway mile, the city of Fairfield’s pedestrian crash rate has been higher than the statewide average.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
