GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The Green Bay Transportation, Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission held a meeting Monday night where a discussion about an east side intersection drew public interest and calls for a change to benefit a disabled citizen.
Dan Johnson and his adopted son Johnny moved to the corner of Irwin and Eliza two years ago. Dan adopted Johnny over 30 years ago under unusual circumstances at Dan’s former workplace.
“I found Johnny tied to a bed in an institution in Texas. One day he grabbed my arm and just wouldn’t let go. So I decided to adopt him through the courts,” Dan said.
Dan says the two have had several near-collisions with cars driving down Eliza Street. At one point, Dan was forced to pull Johnny over. Neighbors then started a petition to support converting the intersection to an all-way stop intersection.
“People in this neighborhood believe that we need to stand up for our neighbors, especially our people with special needs,” said Jon Shelton, a neighbor. “He can’t walk safely through this neighborhood.”
Green Bay Public Works Director Steve Grenier opposed the idea, expressing concern that putting stop signs along Eliza Street would only encourage drivers to speed up instead of slow down.
“Drivers feel like they are being unnecessarily delayed for no apparent reason, so they speed through stop signs, which creates the opposite problem of the one we are trying to solve,” Grenier said.
Green Bay City Councilman Bill Galvin led the public address in support of Dan and Johnny on Monday. Three other councilors also spoke in favor of the four-way stop rule.
“We have erected memorials in the past for accidents where people have been struck by road users, and this seems like an excellent opportunity to forego a memorial or monument and thus get ahead of an impending problem,” said Green Bay City Councilman Joey Prestley.
The city will also paint crosswalks at the intersection and add new flags to the stop signs. The member who requested the changes to the intersection said it was “just the right thing to do.”
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