While some council members say the ‘outdated’ practice disproportionately impacts Black and Latino residents, law enforcement officials say its a necessary measure for road safety.
New York City officials want to keep ‘jaywalking’ illegal, opposing a bill that would decriminalize the practice, reports Kevin Duggan in Streetsblog NYC.
Tickets for crossing against the light or outside of a crosswalk are rare in the city, but NYPD cops overwhelmingly hand out the $250 summonses to people of color — which is why Council Member Mercedes Narcisse aims to simply decriminalize the process of just walkin' here.
As Duggan explains, “The NYPD has a well-documented history of disproportionately ticketing pedestrians of color for allegedly crossing against a traffic signal, a trend that continued into 2023 with 92 percent of tickets going to Black or Hispanic New Yorkers.”
NYC police officers argue that ticketing jaywalking helps reduce traffic deaths, pointing somewhat counterintuitively to the fact that the majority of jaywalking tickets are given near high-risk corridors.
Elizabeth Adams, interim co-Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, pointed to other ways to improve road safety, saying, "The city can protect New Yorkers by redesigning streets to slow down drivers and make pedestrians more visible — especially in areas with high pedestrian fatalities — not criminalizing walking.” Other safety advocates say jaywalking criminalization is “outdated” and doesn’t contribute to road safety.
FULL STORY: City Wants To Keep ‘Jaywalking’ Illegal For Pedestrians’ Own Good
Data Shows Chicago Speed Cameras Reduce Speeding, Crashes
Countering claims made by the Chicago Tribune that automated enforcement doesn’t improve safety, Streetsblog Chicago lays out the data showing how traffic safety fared in camera zones.
Has Progress on Travel Safety Run Off the Road?
Changing technology and rebuilding infrastructure to improve road safety are long-term strategies. How can enforcement and interventions that influence driver behavior make a difference in reducing traffic deaths sooner?
NYC Sees 127 Traffic Deaths in First Half of 2024
The number is the highest since the city pledged to end traffic deaths through Vision Zero policies a decade ago.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.
EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps by Nearly 50% in California
Fast chargers still lag behind amidst rapid growth.
Affordable Housing Renovations Halt Mid-Air Amidst DOGE Clawbacks
HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.
Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
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