Kole Torres
Council Board Member Kole Torres first moved to Menomonee Falls several years ago and has been in her current apartment on a busy three-lane road for about two years. Kole has two dogs, one of whom is old and walks slowly due to arthritis. That’s a problem, Kole says, as the only place for her dogs to do their business is across this busy road.
While the road in front of Kole’s apartment building has a crosswalk, it is not signalized, and drivers often fail to stop when she is trying to cross. After a particularly close call, Kole decided it was time to speak up.
“I waited until the cars were over 100 yards away, they saw me from a long distance, and yet they didn’t stop,” Kole says. “We were in the road, and the car never even slowed down. I walk ahead of my dog because he’s so slow, and I was almost hit by this speeding car. Then the car behind them honked at me! I wondered if I was in the wrong, but I did everything right.” From her experience working with the Council, Kole knew she had to do something.
Kole did some digging and decided to reach out to her local police department to let them know about the incident. To her surprise, they got back to her right away. State law says that drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, but as Kole found out, drivers will often try to speed through the intersection instead, putting the safety of the pedestrian at risk. The local police said that while they could not force every driver to obey the law, they could use their resources to make the crosswalk a little safer for pedestrians. “Not even an hour after I got off the phone with them, an officer was at the crosswalk,” Cole says. “It was such a pleasant experience. They told me that they were going to try to place a safety officer to watch the intersection and help pedestrians cross the street safely for a few hours every day.”
While the road has already been made safer thanks to the presence of the safety officer, they still cannot do much until after a driver breaks the law. Kole says her advocacy journey is not done, and she is getting ready to talk with her local and county officials about other ways to make the intersection safer.
Kole saw a tragedy waiting to happen, and instead of just hoping for the best, she decided to speak up and advocate for her own safety. Thanks to her role with the Council, she says she had the resources she needed to bring tangible change to her own neighborhood. “I knew October was Pedestrian Safety Month, so I reached out in late September to give myself a little encouragement and momentum,” Kole says. “I used that momentum and the Pedestrian Safety Toolkit from the Council to really inform how I spoke with my local officials. Anyone can do what I did. You just need to have a little patience. Don’t get too discouraged if things don’t move as quickly as you’d like. Find someone who believes in you and your voice to uplift you. Find your allies!”
With a little support and the willingness to tell your own story, anyone can be an advocate in their own community. If you want to advocate for pedestrian safety in your neighborhood but don’t know where to start, visit the Advocacy page on our website at WCBlind.org/Advocacy for some ideas.