San Francisco – Jaywalking is arbitrarily enforced throughout California with tickets disproportionately given to people of color and individuals of modest means. In a continued effort to seek fairness and prevent potentially escalating police stops for jaywalking, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) reintroduced a proposal to change the way pedestrians can be cited for crossing a street outside of an intersection. AB 2147, The Freedom To Walk Act, would decriminalize jaywalking when the roadway is safe to cross.
“Whether it’s someone’s life or the hundreds of dollars in fines, the cost is too much for a relatively minor infraction. It’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians, especially when we are trying to encourage people to get out of their cars and walk more for health and environmental reasons,” said Ting at a San Francisco press conference.