Crime
Jaywalking now legal in New York
According to the Associated Press, jaywalking has been legal in New York City since October 26.
The New York City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has introduced a bill to amend the law that makes jaywalking a criminal offense.
Because Mayor Eric Adams didn’t approve or sign the bill, it took effect 30 days later, which is now New Yorkers can “legally cross the road at any place, including outside a marked or unmarked pedestrian crossing, and allow the crossing before the traffic lights.”
Mercedes Narcisse, New York City Councilwoman, trusts individuals who break the principles regarding crossing the road they do not deserve punishment. In a city of thousands and thousands of individuals, “people are just trying to get where they want to go.”
Narcisse also argues that jaywalking laws disproportionately impact communities of color. In 2023, she said, 90% of pedestrian crossings in New York City were Black and Latino.
The latest law will put the responsibility for safety on the shoulders of pedestrians because they are going to not have the proper of way. Road signs, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights will remain lively. Residents and visitors can now determine whether to implement safety measures.
“We continue to encourage pedestrians to use existing safety mechanisms – such as daylighting, pedestrian islands and first setbacks – when entering crosswalks using the pedestrian signal,” said Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for Adams.
New York just isn’t the one American city that has to come back to terms with the results of criminalizing jaywalking.
A brand new report from the Transportation Choices Coalition shows just how marginalized communities are affected in Seattle, Washington: :
- Black pedestrians are stopped by police for jaywalking at 4.7 times the speed of their share of the population.
- Unhoused residents constitute at the least 41% of those affected by pedestrian stops.
- Mandatory inspections are carried out at 77% of pedestrian stops.
No definitive conclusions could be drawn from these numbers, but it surely appears that the consequences of jaywalking are just like New York’s abandoned “Stop and Frisk” policy.