The UW-La Crosse Student Senate approved a request for the city to enhance safety and commutability on East Avenue.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Student Senate gathered to hear a resolution proposal written by three of its senators. The resolution requested for the East Avenue speed limit to be reduced from 25 to 15 mph on the premise that the current speed is not safe given the high pedestrian density of the area. A different resolution, proposed at the same time and written by the same senators, requested for the addition of stop signs on East Avenue for the same safety reasons.

The resolution ideas, both approved by the Student Senate unanimously, came from Nicole Breunig, a UW-L Student Senator and commuter who saw the need for change herself when she narrowly avoided striking a student who was texting while crossing the street. The only problem remaining is that East Avenue, which connects La Crosse Street and Pine Street and runs parallel with the UW-L football field, is considered a city street, not a campus street. This created a bit more difficulty and required the city’s cooperation.

East Avenue dissects the UW-L campus, leaving four residence halls on the outside. These halls (Laux, White, Reuter, and Sanford) house more than 1800 students, all with no choice but to cross the winding street in order to reach any academic building.

The resolution proposal is timely, due to the recent accident involving a UW-L Vice Chancellor and Registrar being struck by a truck while attempting to cross State Street on their way to work.  The Student Senate was made aware of the unfortunate accident and looked at where accidents of that nature could be prevented in the future.

“Sometimes you don’t know until it happens. [The Student Senate] are trying to take the lessons as they come and use them as learning experiences that we can grow from,” said Storm Larson, a co-author on the resolution.

Molly Davies, the other co-author, explained the importance of preparing for the inevitable, “[The Student Senate] would rather be proactive and ensure the safety of our students than ignore something that could be a problem and have to deal reactively.”

The resolution asked for changes to be enforced by the start of the 2016-17 academic year. This is planned accordingly with the completion of the new student center, set for Jan. 2017, which subsequently will increase traffic and pedestrian flow to the area. A 2016 proposal date for the resolution will ideally give students enough time to become acquainted with the new stop signs and speed limit.

Next on the to-do list, Student Senate President Kaylee Otterbacher, Local Affairs Director John Becker and co-author Breunig will meet with La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat to propose the idea and, if approved, determine whether the city or university will provide funding. The Student Senate remains optimistic in the city’s cooperation to make UW-L a safer community for everyone.