Aliyya Swaby Photo
Jones: I’ll be more careful next time around.
Officer Hector Valentin wrote a woman a warning for breezing through the Orange and Court Street crosswalk without stopping for pedestrian.
“But I didn’t notice the crosswalk!” the woman told Valentin (pictured), looking confused.
She was one of about 25 people who received a warning from traffic cops Tuesday morning for not yielding to pedestrians at a clearly marked crosswalk between two traffic lights at Elm Street and Chapel Street on Orange Street. The city traffic and police departments watched drivers along that stretch for a few hours, warning those who failed to yield and rewarding those who stopped with a gift card from Tikkaway Grill.
The event was part of a larger city initiative called goNewHavengo, which will encourage people to use alternative transportation.
The woman Valentin stopped said she would drive around the corner, park her car and walk up to the crosswalk. “I want to make sure I see the crosswalk for the future,” she said.
Coby Zeifman was one of the “plant” pedestrians. From the moment a pedestrian places a foot in the crosswalk, cars are legally required to yield for him or her and to stop before the painted white bars.
From the corner of Orange and Court Streets, Sgt. Mark O’Neill (pictured) watched and sent radio warnings up ahead to Officers Valentin and Mark Dupont, letting them know whether to hand over a warning or a gift card at Orange and Chapel.
“Gray Toyota Prius, stopped for the crosswalk,” he said, as a pedestrian safely crossed to the other side.
O’Neill said about half of the drivers stopped for Zeifman and other pedestrians when the event started around 10:30 a.m. “I was surprised at the amount of people stopping,” he said. As more people on foot stopped to watch and take photos, drivers realized “something was going on” and more of them slowed, O’Neill said.
Valentin said many of those who didn’t yield said they didn’t see the crosswalk at all. “One guy said, ‘Oh man, it’s not marked.’ A lot of them are not paying attention. They’re in their world. They forget about everything else,” he said. “They forget about safety.”
A few drivers were frightened to see officers pulling them over.
“You had me scared for a minute,” one man (pictured) laughed, taking a gift card.
Others contested the officers’ warnings. Kevin Jones (pictured at top of story) said he stopped and waved pedestrians across before continuing down Orange Street. Sgt. O’Neill had flagged him as someone who failed to stop; Officer Valentin wrote up a warning.
“I stopped,” Jones said. “You know when you pump the brake, stop, wave and go.” He promised to be more careful next time.
“It’s a good thing” we’re giving out warnings, not tickets, which would cost people just over $180, Valentin said. Enforcing crosswalk safety is “not high on our list,” the traffic cop said. “We’re busy with motor vehicle violations.”
The pedestrian safety event slowed down traffic trying to make it past Chapel Street. City transit chief Doug Hausladen said next time they might “remove a couple of parking spaces” next time, to avoid blocking the traffic flow. “Generally during rush hour, we get a little of this back-up,” he said. “We haven’t seen honking or irate” drivers.
City transit summer fellow Jacob Wasserman and Gopi Nair (pictured above at right), owner of Tikkaway, handed out $3.18 gift certificates to drivers who yielded as they neared the corner.
Peggy Stricker (pictured) was pleasantly surprised when Nair gave her a certificate through her car window. “I’m a frequent pedestrian, so I see the crosswalk,” she said. “I always stop for pedestrians. Because my whole family is pedestrians.”
One woman in a black Mercedes slowed to ask what Wasserman and the officers were doing. “We’re rewarding people who stop,” Wasserman said.
“Isn’t that the law?” the woman responded and then drove away.
So when are the police going after Jaywalkers and Bicyclists who run Red lights Stop Signs and Bicyclists who also do not yielding to pedestrians at a clearly marked crosswalk and ride on sidewalks.And cut in front of cars?