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Beloit declares October Pedestrian Safety Month; crash survivor urges faster action on street safety
Summary
The Beloit City Council proclaimed October 2025 as Pedestrian Safety Month and heard an emotional account from Nancy Clark Mather, a Beloit College student who survived a 2023 pedestrian crash. Mather urged the council to prioritize traffic calming and infrastructure to protect vulnerable road users.
The Beloit City Council on Tuesday proclaimed October 2025 as Pedestrian Safety Month, urging residents and drivers to prioritize safe walking practices and support investments in sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting and traffic-calming measures.
The proclamation, presented by Vice President Day to Nancy Clark Mather, came with a personal appeal from Mather, who described being struck by an SUV on Sept. 18, 2023 while crossing an intersection at State and Pleasant. "I was hit on 09/18/2023, and I'm actually a student at Beloit College," Mather told the council. "I was coming home from school, and it was 03:00 in the afternoon. I was crossing legally in the intersection...an SUV, a Jeep came whipping around the corner and I didn't have anywhere to go. I couldn't get out of the way."
Mather described ongoing physical and psychological effects from the crash, saying she has "internal injuries" and post-traumatic stress disorder. She thanked emergency responders and hospital staff but warned the council that pedestrian injuries are preventable and called for actions to slow traffic and reduce dangerous cut-through driving. "This is preventable," she said. "Something needs to be done here to slow it down...It's gotta happen."
City staff framed the proclamation as part of broader statewide efforts to improve pedestrian safety and said investments in infrastructure and education are key. Vice President Day presented the proclamation text noting the "shared responsibility of drivers and pedestrians" and encouraging public awareness activities during the month.
The council took no formal funding action at the meeting tied directly to the proclamation; Mather and the proclamation organizers urged continued community engagement on the issue. The proclamation will be posted by the city and used to promote outreach throughout October.
Mather said she is willing to work with the city on safety efforts and emphasized the urgency as downtown development continues. "I'm in support of the Beloit Police Department...I wanna support this community," she said. "I hope to be able to age in place here...But if I don't feel safe here, I'm not gonna do it."
