By Ruth Rosas

In a historic step, New York Metropolis has decriminalized jaywalking! This new regulation, handed by the Metropolis Council, addresses long-standing issues over the unfair enforcement of jaywalking legal guidelines, particularly on Black and Latine residents who obtain over 90% of jaywalking tickets.

This shift follows comparable strikes by different states and cities, signaling a broader change to how we take into consideration highway security.

From Shared Streets to Jaywalking

Jaywalking legal guidelines are offered as measures of avenue security by limiting when and the place folks can legally cross the road. The concept is that by controlling pedestrian motion, jaywalking reduces the probability of crashes with automobiles. Nonetheless, the real-world effectiveness, impression and historical past of jaywalking legal guidelines inform a unique story.

Earlier than streets had been dominated and tailored to accommodate automobiles, streets had been vibrant, shared locations the place folks walked, stopped and performed freely. Streets weren’t completely designed for a selected mode of transport, as an alternative they had been a spot the place totally different types of visitors coexisted. With the widespread adoption of cars in the beginning of the 1900s, the variety of folks, particularly amongst susceptible teams just like the aged and youngsters, killed by vehicles elevated considerably. 

Cars and dashing had been blamed for these tragic deaths. The auto trade noticed this blame as a menace to their development and launched into strategic campaigns that shamed and ridiculed folks for getting in the best way of automobile visitors. 

Jaywalking is born out of the auto trade defending itself from public criticism and framing strolling on the street as a reckless, and even felony, exercise. These campaigns efficiently co-opted two narratives: 1) pedestrians who crossed exterior crosswalks are silly and irresponsible, labeling them “jaywalkers”, and 2) streets had been not shared areas, they’re areas primarily for vehicles the place pedestrians had been anticipated to remain out of until crossing at designated factors. 

Jaywalking legal guidelines promote car-first mentality underneath the guise of security. These deeply held narratives throughout communities make it difficult to advocate for security measures that really maintain all highway customers secure. 

Who Will get Stopped?

Jaywalking has additionally introduced unintended penalties that disproportionately have an effect on marginalized communities. Regardless of a big share of people that have jaywalked often, these legal guidelines are enforced relying on the placement, time and discretion of the regulation enforcement officer. The discretionary nature of jaywalking regulation enforcement results in biases, whether or not intentional or unintentional. Jaywalking serves as a pretext for police stops which have led to the harassment and arrests of primarily younger Black and brown males.

The criminalization of jaywalking disproportionately impacts people who find themselves already susceptible, reminiscent of these with out secure housing and low-income communities. This downside is compounded by lack of avenue design, reminiscent of poorly-marked crosswalks, sidewalks that finish and unsafe driving habits. Due to this, folks cross the place they really feel secure. Penalizing pedestrians ignores the problems that create unsafe strolling situations within the first place.

Whereas jaywalking legal guidelines weren’t meant to disproportionately punish susceptible communities, racial disparities has change into an surprising and troubling facet impact of their enforcement. Addressing this challenge requires a multifaceted method to pedestrian security, moderately than enforcement practices.

Knowledge reveals that cities that prioritize infrastructure for folks and slowing vehicles down obtain better security outcomes. Broad roads, excessive velocity limits and lack of pedestrian infrastructure have made communities much less walkable, much less accessible and extra harmful for everybody. When cities prioritize police enforcement over avenue redesign, they not solely fail to cut back crashes, accidents and fatalities, however additionally they exacerbate current disparities and inequities in communities. 

A New Method To Road Security

New York’s choice displays a rising recognition that security ought to come from addressing the broader points that contribute to harmful streets. Cities like Hoboken, New Jersey, have achieved zero pedestrian fatalities by specializing in avenue redesign used to boost all types of visitors, prioritizing probably the most susceptible highway customers, these strolling and rolling, moderately than police enforcement. By decriminalizing jaywalking, New York Metropolis joins different cities like Denver and Kansas Metropolis, states like Virginia and California, in shifting the narrative from punishment to sensible, infrastructure-based options.

Although jaywalking legal guidelines have been in place for about 100 years within the U.S. pedestrians are killed every single day by automobiles. Pedestrians will not be killed as a result of they’re jaywalking, they’re killed as a result of their cities and cities lack secure infrastructure, prioritize dashing, distracted driving and the prevalence of SUVs on the highway. 

So decriminalizing is just one step. To completely defend all highway customers, we should put money into people-first avenue design. This implies creating streets with safer crosswalks, decreasing velocity limits, bettering lighting, narrowing roads, pedestrian infrastructure and shifting duty from pedestrians to the constructed setting.

Imagining Streets For Everybody

If we would like safer streets, we have to think about them as locations constructed for everybody. As New York takes this step ahead, we hope that different cities, cities and states will comply with swimsuit, reassessing the function of jaywalking legal guidelines of their communities and start investing in true pedestrian security. 

Decriminalizing jaywalking is a vital step towards reclaiming streets as shared areas the place folks can transfer, stroll, play and thrive with out worry. Decriminalizing jaywalking is greater than a authorized change, it’s a dedication to construct safer, inclusive and accessible streets for everybody.

In the event you’re trying to make a distinction in your group, begin by getting concerned domestically! Throughout the nation, applications like Open Streets and Protected Routes to College give communities the prospect to expertise streets in new methods and help safer public areas. 

One other highly effective motion is advocating to your native authorities for Full Streets and Imaginative and prescient Zero methods, which prioritize infrastructure that slows visitors, enhance pedestrian visibility and work to cut back crashes. For a hands-on, eye-opening expertise, be a part of the Week With out Driving. This initiative lets you join immediately with decision-makers, encouraging them to expertise life in the neighborhood with out a automobile. Connecting with neighbors and native leaders via these actions is a robust method to reshape our streets.

How Can We Assist

In case you are engaged on decriminalizing jaywalking in your city or metropolis, we’re right here to help you! America Walks supplies sources, connections and advocacy methods for constructing safer streets. Attain out to Ruth Rosas at ruth@americawalks.org for steering, instruments or simply to debate your imaginative and prescient. We’d like to be a part of your journey towards creating streets for everybody.