Edmonton police take aim at jaywalkers
By Mathew White
EDMONTON – Edmonton police unveiled a new campaign targeting jaywalkers Tuesday afternoon.
- Acting Sergeant Jerrid Maze kneels beside “asphalt art” being unveiled as part of the city’s new campaign targeting jaywalkers on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The campaign uses decals depicting a traffic victim in an effort to get pedestrians to use marked crosswalks. Photograph by Mathew White.
In a nutshell, the campaign involves the use of “asphalt art” – decals that are stuck to sidewalks near marked crosswalks. The decals display a woman who appears to have been run over by a vehicle along with the words, “I was jaywalking when it hit me. Use a marked crosswalk.”
“What we’re hoping is when people view the art and see the message they’ll think twice about taking the short cut across the street and they will use the appropriate marked crosswalk,” said acting Sergeant Jerrid Maze.
So far the city has created three decals – which are currently stuck at different locations on the west end – but police are hoping to go city-wide over the next year.
Maze also said the campaign acknowledges different needs in various communities.
“Each community is unique,” said Maze. “As such, the campaign and personal will be tailored for that area, as well as the language.”
Maze said jaywalking has been a hot topic lately, especially with the back-to-school season upon us. He said police are going to be working with schools and communities to target high-jaywalking areas.
According to police, there have been three jaywalking-related fatalities in the City of Edmonton so far this year.
In my opinion, sometimes it’s jaywalking, and other times it feels ridiculous not to cross the street. Try enforcing jaywalking laws in a place like Thailand or Rome. Well written article though.
According to statistics I have read, nearly 70% of pedestrian accidents are the fault of automobile drivers, not the pedestrian. So, why are the police targeting the pedestrians? In places where there are lots of pedestrian accidents, the city should implement traffic calming measures, ensure drivers are driving within the speed limit, and they should consider improving the pedestrian infrastructure so pedestrians are less at risk. This is a complete case of blaming the victim.