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The Village of Whitefish Bay is an active community near Milwaukee, WI with a population of approximately 14,000. Since 2010, the Village had been experiencing a trend of increasing crashes, including numerous right-angle collisions, run-off-the-road incidents, and many crashes involving non-motorists. In 2015, a woman was killed when a vehicle was rear-ended and pushed into a crosswalk.
Prior to the fatal crash, the Village had been evaluating safety improvement strategies. In 2015, many were set into motion. First, the Village implemented low-cost treatments to make an immediate impact on safety and change the driving culture to be more aware of the presence of—and need to yield to—pedestrians and bicyclists. Improvements included installing dynamic speed feedback signs, supplementing “yield here to pedestrian” signs with $250 fine plaques, and placing the “yield here” signs in advance of crosswalks.