Pedestrians will soon be able to cross the street outside of an intersection without being ticketed, as long as it’s safe to do so. Governor Newsom signed AB 2147, The Freedom To Walk Act by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), which legalizes safe street crossings. The bill defines when an officer can stop and cite a pedestrian for jaywalking - specified as only when a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision.
“It should not be a criminal offense to safely cross the street. When expensive tickets and unnecessary confrontations with police impact only certain communities, it’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians,” said Ting. “Plus, we should be encouraging people to get out of their cars and walk for health and environmental reasons.”