New Ulm: It’s time to see people biking and walking, act safe, and be smart. The Heart of New Ulm (HONU) and the Safe Routes to School Action Team have launched a public safety campaign called “See.Safe.Smart.”

The campaign will share different safety messages reminding everyone in New Ulm to be aware of and alert to people who are out walking and biking in our community — especially our community’s kids. The goal is to help ensure everyone’s safety on our sidewalks and streets, and encourage people to make smart decisions when encountering people walking and riding their bikes.

Each safety message features photos of kids and adults from New Ulm — everyone’s neighbors and friends — and all of the schools in New Ulm are participating in the campaign.

April message: Save lives, not seconds: Slow down, New Ulm

Have you ever driven your car faster than the posted speed limit on a street in New Ulm?

If you’re like most people, your honest answer to that question is likely “yes.” But the next time you find yourself speeding down the street because there isn’t anything to prevent you from going over the speed limit, take a minute to imagine the worst thing that could happen to you on your drive to work or an errand. Then imagine stopping for 10 seconds to let that child who is walking to school safely cross the street.

It’s a powerful reminder that we all must slow down to save lives, not seconds. This month’s column provides a brief look at some information about our New Ulm streets and some strategies that have been considered or are currently being considered to help promote safety for our children and everyone in our community.

Slower speeds: The difference between life and death

The speed limit on most New Ulm city streets near the schools is 30 mph. Even so, only 50 percent of children will survive a collision with a vehicle traveling the speed limit. At 40 mph, only one in 10 children will survive. Given these sobering statistics, it’s not surprising that in surveys conducted by New Ulm’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Team, parents have clearly expressed their concern about the speed of traffic in New Ulm — specifically near the schools.

Many people have wondered why New Ulm does not have any designated “school zones” with lowered speed limits. The SRTS Action Team looked into creating school zones, however, the team’s transportation consultant advised against the approach because of the width of New Ulm’s streets. Also, in order to justify creating school zones, the State of Minnesota requires an extensive traffic study of the areas, which can be costly and would need to be done in several locations.

Wide streets: Good for transit, bad for speed

New Ulm is fortunate to have nice wide streets. They make it easier to get around town and easier to clear the snow. Unfortunately, wide streets also promote increased speeds; the wider the street the faster the speed. It’s human nature. There is really nothing to slow us down other than a conscious effort to watch our speed or our friendly law enforcement officials, who can’t monitor traffic everywhere at once.

Over the summer of 2024, the Heart of New Ulm’s Coalition for Active Safe and Healthy Streets and the Safe Routes to School Action Team, in partnership with the City of New Ulm installed temporary curb extensions (bump-outs) at the intersection of 1st North St. and Garden St. The demonstration showed residents how curb extensions help slow traffic and make it safer for all who use Harman Park and walk or bike in the area. While some people were inconvenienced by slowing their travel time, the slowdown was minimal. We must always ask ourselves, “Aren’t the lives of our children worth slowing down for?”

Save lives, improve lives

Today, only 12 percent of New Ulm children walk to school, compared to nearly 50 years ago when nationally 50 percent of children walked to school. That’s despite the fact that 37 percent of children in New Ulm live within a mile of their school, or a 20-minute walk.

If people drive slower near our schools, more parents may choose to let their kids walk or bike to school. This in turn can help cut down on the amount of traffic near the schools during the arrival and dismissal times, and make it even safer. In addition, all schools in New Ulm offer shuttle sites, where parents are encouraged to allow their children to walk to the school nearest their home and then catch the shuttle bus to their school.

By slowing down and making our streets safer for everyone who chooses to walk or bike, we can:

• Help ensure our children get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day if they walk to and from school.

• Help our children do better in the classroom, as studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do perform better on tests and have less behavioral problems in the classroom.

• Save lives. Even driving the speed limit could potentially impact the life of someone who may be walking or riding their bike to and from school.

Let’s all see people biking or walking, act safe, and be smart.