Movement to End Unjust Jaywalking Laws Will Continue
SACRAMENTO – In a setback for the movement for more equitable streets, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Freedom to Walk Act (AB 1238, Ting). The law would have ended penalties for safe mid-block pedestrian crossings. CalBike and a coalition of more than 90 groups and individuals supported the repeal of ‘jaywalking’ laws.
“The governor’s veto rests on the belief that police enforcement or the threat of jaywalking tickets will somehow prevent pedestrian fatalities in the future when that has consistently failed in the past. Continuing to criminalize people’s rational, predictable responses to poor infrastructure is simply unjust,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate.
Inequities in neighborhood design and street infrastructure leave many lower-income California neighborhoods less than pedestrian-friendly. Because of this, policing jaywalking often amounts to punishing people for the lack of government services in their community.
Legalizing mid-block crossings would have helped protect vulnerable pedestrians against racially biased, pretextual policing, inequitable fees and fines, and unnecessary and potentially lethal interactions with law enforcement.
John Yi, Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks, said, “The Governor’s recent veto represents continued condescension of pedestrians. To think we can penalize our parents, seniors, and students to bow to high-speed traffic at the cost of their own dignity, ease, and safety is draconian and deeply misunderstands the needs of those walking every day. We cannot begin to ask why it is we jaywalk if we are already criminals in the eyes of the state.”
“This is a tremendous loss not only for racial justice across California but also for active transportation as a whole as Governor Newsom failed to recognize the importance of non-automobile modes of travel,” said CalBike’s Sanchez. “But the Freedom to Walk Act has helped spark a national conversation about unjust jaywalking laws that can’t be stopped by one misguided veto.”
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https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/jay-all-partners-sep21-update2-scaled.jpg13852560Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-10-11 13:06:292021-10-15 13:14:49Newsom Vetoes Freedom to Walk in California
Governor Newsom Vetoes Bill to Improve Bike Safety
Sacramento – The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122 – Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Ting) had broad support from the Assembly, the Senate, and people who ride bikes. CalBike is disappointed that Governor Newsom vetoed a bill that would make it legal for people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields.
Similar laws are on the books in 10 other states and have been proven to reduce collisions and improve conditions for bike riders. CalBike created a video to explain how the bicycle safety stop works, and more than 75 organizations across the state signed a letter supporting the bill.
“Governor Newsom showed today he doesn’t understand the needs of people who use bikes for everyday transportation. This commonsense law would have reduced conflict between bike riders and car drivers,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of CalBike. “I’m disappointed that, while climate change ravages our state, the governor blocked a popular measure that would have helped more people choose carbon-free transportation.”
CalBike Senior Policy Advocate Jared Sanchez said, “CalBike hears complaints every year about punitive sting operations that have nothing to do with safety and are sometimes used as a pretext to stop Black and Latinx people. These police interactions too often have tragic results. The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill would have been a step towards making the streets safer for every Californian.”
Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the bill’s original author, said, “We know from the example of other states that when riders are allowed to yield at stop signs, they choose safer streets and will spend less time in dangerous intersections. It’s time for California to live up to its values and start encouraging — not penalizing — smart riding in our state.”
In Delaware, a recent study found that collisions involving bicycles at intersections decreased by 23% after the state made the safety stop legal. The governor’s veto prevents California from joining a long list of states that have implemented the safety stop: Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arkansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. None of those states have reported any safety problems after implementing this rule.
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https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Stop-as-Yield_Graphic_3.jpg12001200Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-10-11 11:23:092021-10-11 11:40:08Governor Newsom Vetoes Bill to Improve Bike Safety
As the pandemic has broken many of our everyday routines, it has also provided opportunities to improve on the past. That’s the case with the California Bicycle Summit, which will be preceded by three advance symposia: free, online sessions with thought leaders in bicycle advocacy from around California and the world. The first symposium will take place on October 12, 2021, on Zoom.
Every two years, CalBike convenes the California Bicycle Summit, a gathering of urban planners, government officials, and bike advocates to discuss the future of biking in California. Because of COVID concerns, the in-person event that we would have ordinarily scheduled for October 2021 will happen April 6-8, 2022.
Leading up to that joyous reconvening of the California bicycle advocacy community, we have scheduled three advance symposia. Each will be held on Zoom and is free of charge, but advance registration is required.
Advance Symposium #1: Cycling for Sustainable Cities
One of the advantages of Zoom is that we can pull in leading voices from across geographies. We’re excited to have Ralph Buehler and John Pucher present on Cycling for Sustainable Cities. The two scholars are the editors of Cycling for Sustainable Cities, a must-have anthology for bike advocates.
Cycling should be feasible for as many people as possible and not limited to especially athletic, daring, well-trained cyclists riding expensive bicycles. Their presentation will explore how cities can make city cycling safe, practical, and convenient for a broad spectrum of ages, genders, and abilities.
Buehler and Pucher will discuss the latest cycling trends and policies around the world and consider specific aspects of cycling. Based on data from 2019-2020 from cities worldwide, this session will also review the impacts of COVID-19 on cycling levels, plus government policies to promote cycling.
The presentation will show how the successful promotion of cycling depends on a coordinated package of mutually supportive infrastructure, programs, and policies. After the presentation, there will be breakout sessions to discuss how California cities can turn these ideas into action.
Symposium 1: Tuesday, October 12, 2021 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Cycling for Sustainable Cities
Symposium 2: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Lessons from Latin America
Symposium 3: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Inspiration for 2022: California Advocacy Success Stories
We look forward to meeting in person at the California Bicycle Summit, April 6-8, 2022, in Oakland, California.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Cycling-for-Sustainable-Cities-cropped.jpeg473687Kevin Claxtonhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngKevin Claxton2021-09-29 16:20:382021-09-29 16:20:39California Bicycle Summit to Begin with Cycling for Sustainable Cities Symposium
Earlier this year, CalBike Insider reported that California’s Active Transportation Program was slated to get an extra $500 million in funding from the state’s budget surplus. That’s enough to pay for approximately 80 high-scoring projects that got turned down in the last round of limited ATP funding. You can see the list of all projects here.
The funding for the ATP was part of a $9.6 billion package approved by the legislature in June. It was contingent upon an agreement with the governor about how to spend almost half of it on high-speed rail. The parties never reached a deal, so the funding, including the $500 million boost to the ATP, reverted to the General Fund on October 10.
In case you haven’t been following this tangled tale, here’s a quick recap. Despite the impact of COVID, California ended up with higher than expected revenue and a budget surplus of almost $76 billion. The budget that passed in July directed $9.6 billion of that surplus toward transportation projects. HSR would have gotten $4.2 billion. The ATP’s $500 million would have more than doubled its annual budget of $220 million. Scroll down for a list of all the projects that lost funding when this deal fell through.
The disagreement that killed these projects was about whether to prioritize HSR spending in the Central Valley or urban coastal regions. The governor wanted to prioritize the Central Valley portion, which is easier to build and necessary for the entire system to work as planned. The legislators wanted investment in the urban areas to speed up transit and give millions of their constituents in Los Angeles and the Bay Area a convenient alternative to sitting in traffic in their cars.
In his veto statement for AB 604, Governor Newsom included this language: “I look forward to re-engaging with the Legislature to finalize and pass a comprehensive transportation package early next year that invests in a wide variety of critically-necessary projects including high-speed rail….”
CalBike is concerned that the governor’s message did not explicitly include active transportation among the projects to be funded when they reach an agreement on HSR. Negotiations will continue during the legislative break, with hopes that the parties can return with a package in January or February.
CalBike will work to make sure that the ATP gets its proposed $500 million boost (at least!) in California’s 21/22 fiscal year. A predicted surplus for next year, which is projected to be at least $5 billion, could provide more incentive to invest some of the prior surplus in worthy transportation projects.
Here’s the complete list of defunded projects from the transportation package:
Los Angeles Olympics – $1 billion General Fund to deliver critical projects in time for the 2028 Olympic Games. These funds would be allocated through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Eligible projects must be in the Southern California region and related to the transportation needs for hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.
Priority Transit and Rail Projects – $1 billion General Fund for transit and rail projects statewide that improve rail and transit connectivity between state and regional/ local services. These funds would also be competitively allocated through TIRCP.
Active Transportation—$500 million General Fund to advance projects that increase the proportion of trips accomplished by walking and biking, increase the safety and mobility of non-motorized users. The intent of this allocation is to fund the list of projects already submitted and scored through the CTC’s Active Transportation Program. While the CTC requested $2 billion for active transportation projects, this significant investment was considered sufficient at this time.
High Priority Grade Separations and Grade Crossing Improvements – $500 million General Fund to support critical safety improvements throughout the state. These funds would be allocated through a competitive grant program for both freight and intercity rail-related projects.
High-Speed Rail – $4.2 billion Proposition 1A funds to complete high-speed rail construction in the Central Valley, advance work to launch service between Merced and Bakersfield, advance planning and project design for the entire project, and leverage potential federal funds.
State Highway Rehabilitation and Local Roads and Bridges – $2 billion ($1.1 billion special funds through 2028, and $968 million federal funds) to support the advancement of priority State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) projects, Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) projects, and local road and bridge investments. The source of the $1.1 billion is interest income from the State Highway Account and other accounts.
Zero-Emission Rail and Transit Equipment Purchases and Infrastructure – $407 million ($100 million General Fund, $280 million Public Transportation Account (PTA), and $27 million federal funds) to demonstrate and purchase or lease state-of-the-art clean bus and rail equipment and infrastructure that eliminate fossil fuel emissions and increase intercity rail and intercity bus frequencies. This funding proposal was rejected by the legislature but remains part of the ongoing negotiations.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CalBike-Insider-Image4.png7201280Dave Snyderhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngDave Snyder2021-09-27 19:19:522021-10-06 12:39:41Half Billion Dollars Stripped from Active Transportation Funding in State Budget Impasse
It was the middle of the afternoon in Culver City when Richard Milton left his optometrist to reach the bus stop across the street. “It was in the middle of the block,” he recalled. “There wasn’t any traffic, so I crossed.”
As he walked toward the bus stop, a police car pulled up, and an officer asked Milton, a 66-year-old Black Army veteran, where he was going. Milton said he was headed for the bus stop. The officer wrote him a ticket for jaywalking.
“I just remained mute as he wrote me the ticket,” he said.
What is a ‘jay’ anyway?
“Jaywalking” was invented by auto clubs and car manufacturers 100 years ago. At that time, ‘jay’ was an offensive term to describe an unsophisticated country person.
If someone invented the term today, we might call it “redneck crossings” or “hickwalking.” If those terms sound shocking and rude, that’s the point. We’ve gotten used to the word jaywalking, but we should remember that automakers used prejudice and stigma to enforce a street culture that favored driving over walking. Over time, ‘jaywalking’ has also come to carry racist undertones, as enforcement focuses mainly on policing the movements of Black Americans.
“In the early days of the automobile, it was drivers’ job to avoid you, not your job to avoid them,” says Peter Norton, a historian at the University of Virginia and author of Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. “But under the new model, streets became a place for cars — and as a pedestrian, it’s your fault if you get hit.”
Richard Milton’s race was likely a factor in his traffic stop for jaywalking. CalBike’s data review shows that Black Californians are as much as 4.3 times as likely to get stopped for jaywalking than white residents.
A recent lawsuit filed for bias against Black people on Rodeo Drive underscores that point. The suit (plaintiffs’ attorneys include Benjamin Crump, who represented George Floyd’s family) alleges that, out of 106 people arrested by a Beverly Hills Police task force in the area, 105 were Black, and one was Latino and appeared Black. Those figures don’t include people stopped and hassled by the police, though there is a video of at least one Black man (a VP at Versace) being stopped and frisked as he left the Rodeo Drive store.
Jaywalking tickets also have unequal impacts. Milton’s citation was for more than $190, which was money he didn’t have. He was fortunate to have access to a program out of Venice that provides volunteer attorneys to represent people who are issued citations. His attorney discovered that the officer had written the wrong code on the citation and had the ticket voided.
Even if he hadn’t had access to an attorney, Milton would have gone to court to fight the ticket because unpaid tickets can keep you from renewing your driver’s license and cause other problems. “It’s a nuisance to have it hanging over your head,” he said.
Intersections are often the least safe places to cross the street
When asked if his run-in with the police has changed his behavior around jaywalking, Milton said, “I still jaywalk.”
“In LA, intersections are bad. They are very bad,” he added. “You see cars coming at you, even though you have the green light.” Then he repeated “It’s not safe,” several times for emphasis.
In fact, the midblock crossing wasn’t simply the most convenient way to get across the street for Richard Milton. It was a conscious choice for his safety, based on his own harrowing experience.
He knows what he’s talking about. He has been hit by a car twice while walking, both times in the crosswalk. He was fortunate to have suffered only minor injuries, but he has friends who have been seriously injured in crosswalks.
Milton’s concern is backed by statistics. CalBike’s analysis of SWITRS collision data found that 44% of pedestrian collisions in California occurred at intersections. Another study found that, while a quarter of pedestrian injures happen during mid-block crossings, 75% occur elsewhere, including intersections (26%), sidewalks, and the margins of roadways without sidewalks.
Milton doesn’t see the sense of penalizing somebody for choosing the safest way to cross the street based on their experience. If someone made it to the other side of the road and didn’t cause any harm, he said, “Why criminalize them?”
California has a chance to take the lead in reimagining our streets
California was at the forefront of the car-centric movement to chase people on foot out of the roadway. As a recent LAist article noted, LA passed its first jaywalking law in 1925. LA’s laws became a model for the rest of the country. Now, California has the opportunity to lead in the other direction toward a more pedestrian-friendly future.
Already this year, Virginia made jaywalking a secondary offense. It’s still a crime, but an officer can’t initiate a stop because of jaywalking and can’t issue a citation unless they stop you for something else. But the Freedom to Walk Act (AB 1238, Ting) would go a step further in the right direction. It would make safe mid-block crossings legal.
Today, the only thing that stands between California and the freedom to walk is the governor’s signature. If Governor Newsom signs AB 1238, it will still be against the law to disrupt traffic, but people who safely cross, like Richard Milton, will no longer get stopped, questioned, and ticketed by the police. Tell the Governor you support the Freedom to Walk Act, AB 1238.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/skateboarder-in-crosswalk-scaled.jpeg25601713Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-09-21 15:50:342021-09-28 16:05:53California Can Lead the Way in Reclaiming our Streets if Newsom Signs AB 1238
September 10, 2021, was the last day for bills to make it out of their second house in the California legislature. CalBike’s three sponsored measures were all effectively passed by the legislature: one is fully funded, and two have passed both houses. But CalBike engaged with many bills during this legislative session. Here’s where they stand now.
Next stop Newsom’s desk
Now that voters have decisively rejected the undemocratic and dangerous recall, we can move our attention back to transforming our communities through bicycling. Besides our two bills that decriminalize everyday behavior by all of us, there are many important bills we are working on getting the governor to sign.
Bicycle freeway in Auckland, NZ; photo courtesy of Alta Planning
Regional transportation planning reform (AB 1147, Friedman)
One of the most exciting bills in this legislative session, AB 1147, came in a plain brown wrapper. Assemblymember Friedman’s visionary bill will change the priorities in regional transportation planning documents. Among the priorities AB 1147 would enshrine into law is creating bicycle highways and 15-minute neighborhoods. We hope the governor recognizes the value of this measure for combating climate change and creating livable communities. Sign our petition to support AB 1147.
Allow lower speed limits (AB 43, Friedman)
The 85th percentile rule forces communities to let people who drive too fast set speed limits on most California streets. While it doesn’t eliminate the 85th percentile rule, AB 43 gives communities more flexibility to lower speed limits in high-injury corridors. Add your name to show your support for this bill.
More Slow Streets (AB 773, Nazarian)
AB 773 will make it easier to continue the Slow Streets we enjoyed during the pandemic and open up safe neighborhood spaces for walking and biking.
The Great Redwood Trail (SB 69, McGuire)
SB 69 is a step towards building a bike path along the mostly unused right of way of the old North Coast Railway, from Sonoma County to Humboldt County.
Bill CalBike opposed that didn’t move forward: Shared Micromobility Insurance
Shared micromobility insurance (AB 371, Jones-Sawyer) would have imposed such steep and unprecedented insurance requirements on bike share and scooter share providers that those services would likely disappear from California. That would be a significant setback in CalBike’s work toward equitable transit systems that provide low-cost, low-impact transportation.
The author held this bill back in the Senate after hearing the concerns from CalBike and our allies. We will continue to work with him to develop a solution that will allow bike sharing systems to thrive. That solution will also need to address the issue of liability, and insurance coverage for people injured by, for example, tripping on scooters left carelessly on the sidewalk,
The bills we wish had made it
Fleet electrification (AB 1110, Rivas). This bill would have made it easier for public agencies to convert their fleets to electric vehicles, including electric bicycles, by enabling statewide contracts to reduce local agencies’ costs.
Housing for people, not cars (AB 1401, Friedman). This bill would have reduced parking mandates in new construction near transit, making more room for homes. Unfortunately, it died in the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Speed Safety Systems (AB 550, Chiu). This measure would have allowed communities to use automated speed enforcement. That would remove police from speed enforcement, which is often the beginning of dangerous police encounters for people of color. Speed cameras, on the job 24/7, reduce injuries and crashes wherever communities install them. Despite collaboration with diverse stakeholders to ensure equity and privacy in the implementation of camera enforcement, this critical measure died an early death in the Assembly. We hope to see more automated speed enforcement proposals in the future.
Several other bills that CalBike supports became two-year bills. Check our Legislative Watch page for all the details.
California’s legislative session has ended with several big accomplishments for active transportation. CalBike’s signature E-Bike Affordability Program is fully funded and in development. And the two other bills we sponsored this year have passed the Assembly and the Senate, which have placed a spotlight on the need to decriminalize the bicycle safety stop and jaywalking.
In 2021, California became the first state to offer e-bike subsidies. And the legislature passed bills to decriminalize safe biking and walking.
We don’t know if Governor Newsom will sign our outstanding bills (we hope he does), but we want to take a moment to savor the forward momentum for people who bike and walk in California.
More affordable e-bikes
Bicycle advocacy in Sacramento can be frustrating. Trying to explain the joy and efficiency of getting around by bike to people who only see the world through the windshield of an automobile is sometimes a steep uphill pedal. Fortunately, this year, the California legislature showed that it understands the value of e-bikes to fight climate change.
Electric cars get most of the attention and funding as a solution for climate change, even though electric bikes are the greenest transportation options. Electric bikes are accessible and healthful transport for people who aren’t physically able to ride a standard bike, carry heavy loads or passengers, or need to ride farther and faster than a traditional bike can take them. Plus, e-bikes have been shown to replace car trips, so they provide excellent low-carbon transport.
But e-bikes are much more expensive than classic bikes, so they often aren’t accessible to the people who need them most. CalBike has been working for the past several years on programs to make e-bikes more affordable. SB 400 (Umberg), passed in 2019, added electric bikes to the Clean Cars 4 All program. However, the rollout was hampered by the pandemic. And, while the program offers generous incentives, only people with a qualifying car to surrender could participate. We knew we needed to do more to help Californians get on e-bikes.
So we rolled out an ambitious campaign to get $10 million for e-bike subsidies through the budget process and AB 117 (Boerner Horvath). The legislature and the governor have agreed to a $10 million budget for e-bike purchase incentives. The program will launch by July 1, 2022. CalBike is working with the California Air Resources Board to develop its guidelines.
Our goal is to help get e-bikes into the hands of approximately 10,000 Californians who would benefit the most from electric bikes. That includes people who need utility bikes, bikes for carrying children, folding bikes, and bikes for people with disabilities. We are working hard to support a multi-faceted program that will meet the needs of these Californians and more. Sign up to find out when e-bike grants are available.
Common sense wins: the legislature endorses the Bicycle Safety Stop
The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner Horvath) will make it legal for people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. Riders will legally do what most of us already do: slow down when approaching a stop sign and stop, if needed, to let other traffic and pedestrians cross. If the intersection is clear, bike riders can pedal through without stopping.
Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arkansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and North Dakota have already made this commonsense bicycle maneuver legal. This year, the legislature signaled that it’s time for California to join the movement for sensible bike laws. That’s thanks in no small part to the many of you who emailed your representatives in support of AB 122.
We hope this will be the year California passes the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, but we have not heard from the governor that he’ll sign it. Please contact Governor Newsom and tell him to sign AB 122.
California poised to be a leader by legalizing safe street crossings
As a recent LAist article noted, everyone jaywalks. Jaywalking is an invented offense, put on the books a century ago to clear the streets for early (and very unsafe) car drivers. The new “crime” was designed to shift the blame in a crash from a negligent driver to the person walking.
CalBike’s Freedom to Walk Act (AB 1238, Ting) would make California one of the first states to reclaim the right of pedestrians to cross the street safely, repealing century-old jaywalking laws that made such crossings technically illegal. It will still be illegal to run out into traffic, but safe mid-block crossings would no longer be crimes. Virginia and Nevada have already enacted limited jaywalking decriminalization measures this year.
CalBike co-sponsored this bill with our partners California Walks, LA Walks, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Our streets can’t truly be safe until everyone is safe. The Freedom to Walk Act recognizes that street safety requires better infrastructure plus freedom from dangerous police encounters that too often end badly for BIPOC folks.
Getting this bill through the legislature was a hard-won victory. Legislators and law enforcement groups raised safety concerns, especially since pedestrian fatalities have been rising in recent years. However, our current jaywalking laws have done nothing to protect pedestrians. Decriminalizing jaywalking will free lawmakers and police to address the true causes of traffic violence (hint: it’s the people inside the two-ton machines, not the people outside them).
Jaywalking laws let reckless drivers off the hook for killing and injuring pedestrians and give police a pretext to harass Black Californians, who are cited at a rate as much as five times higher than white people—even though everybody jaywalks.
We are grateful that lawmakers understood the importance of legalizing safe street crossings and ending outdated and unjust laws. Their action is the first step in making California streets safe for all of us.
Governor Newsom can make California a leader in stepping boldly into that future by signing the Freedom to Walk Act. California will be the first state in the nation to repeal unjust jaywalking laws, which could be the start of an overdue trend. AB 1238 has already added to a growing national discussion about the need to decriminalize jaywalking.
We hear that the governor is under pressure to veto this critical bill. If he hears from enough constituents who support it, that could help him get to yes. Tell Governor Newsom to legalize safe street crossings.
More wins and losses for people who bike, active transportation, and climate-friendly communities
California’s legislative session ended on September 10. It was a mixed year for the other transportation and climate bills CalBike supported or was following. Some excellent legislation didn’t make it, but some visionary measures passed both houses. Read our full recap.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/iStock-598565062_purchased-scaled.jpg17072560Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-09-16 10:47:492021-09-16 13:02:04CalBike Scores Wins in Sacramento for Californians Who Bike and Walk
Contact: CalBike: Jared Sanchez, jared@calbike.org | 714-262-0921 California Walks: Caro Jauregui, caro@calwalks.org | 562-320-2139 Los Angeles Walks: John Yi, john@losangeleswalks.org | 213-219-2483
CA Freedom to Walk Act Passes Senate
SACRAMENTO – The Freedom to Walk Act, a bill designed to reform California’s “Jaywalking” laws, passed the California Senate today with a vote of 22-8.
AB 1238, which would make it legal for pedestrians in California to cross mid-block provided they don’t interfere with traffic, was authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco. CalBike and a coalition of more than 90 groups and individuals support the repeal of ‘jaywalking’ laws.
AB 1238 will not change existing laws that require pedestrians to avoid potentially hazardous situations on the roadway. Instead, it legalizes the safe street crossings that pedestrians make every day. Everybody ‘jaywalks’—nobody should be penalized for a safe street crossing.
Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate, said, “CalBike applauds the Senate for supporting this crucial legislation to make California’s streets safer and more accessible for everyone. We will now work with Governor Newsom to secure his support for the freedom to walk.”
Inequities in neighborhood design leave lower-income neighborhoods less pedestrian-friendly than others. Because of this, policing jaywalking often amounts to punishing people for the lack of government services and improper land use planning in their community. People should not be penalized for decades of infrastructure neglect and auto-first street design. AB 1238 will help protect vulnerable pedestrians against racially biased, pretextual policing, inequitable fees and fines, and unnecessary and potentially lethal interactions with law enforcement.
“The Freedom to Walk Act legalizes safe walking,” Sanchez said. “Governor Newsom now has a chance to advance racial justice by repealing jaywalking laws. In the absence of safe and accessible pedestrian infrastructure, residents do their best to access school, work, grocery stores, or parks. Continuing to criminalize rational, predictable responses to poor infrastructure is unjust,”
Also, enforcing low-level infractions, like ‘jaywalking,’ can have a substantial cost for law enforcement. So, decriminalizing safe street crossings has the potential to conserve considerable resources for agencies across the state.
The Freedom to Walk Act WILL NOT:
Make it legal to obstruct traffic or endanger other road users.
Send crowds of pedestrians into the streets. People who walk have the same common sense and desire for self-preservation as anyone else. Pedestrians will continue to do what they already do: assess traffic conditions and cross when it’s safe to do so.
Lead to increased hazards for walkers. Reckless driving and unfriendly infrastructure are the main dangers that pedestrians face. There is no evidence that jaywalking laws help pedestrians and the laws do nothing to solve those problems.
Take money from local coffers. Many jaywalking fines are never collected, so the cost of police and administrative time for enforcement is often higher than the money collected.
The Freedom to Walk Act WILL:
Legalize common, safe street crossings that most Californians make regularly.
Reduce potentially lethal police interactions for Black Californians.
Free low-income people from the financial burden of jaywalking fines and fees.
Allow police officers to spend their time more effectively, increasing public safety.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-jaywalking.jpeg8661600Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-09-08 14:19:182021-09-15 18:49:03CA Freedom to Walk Act Passes Senate
For Immediate Release Contact: Dave Snyder, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 Jared Sanchez, 714-262-0921, jared@calbike.org
Bicycle Safety Stop Bill Passes Senate
SACRAMENTO – On August 30, the California Senate passed the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Ting) with a bipartisan 31-5 vote. The bill allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields, including giving the right of way to pedestrians. More than 75 organizations across the state signed a letter in support of the bill.
CalBike is thrilled that the Senate has shown its support for commonsense biking. A recent study in Delaware found that collisions involving bicycles at intersections decreased by 23% after the state made the safety stop legal. If the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill becomes law, California will join a long list of states that have implemented the safety stop: Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arkansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. None of those states have reported any safety problems after implementing this rule.
Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the bill’s original author said, “We know from the example of other states that when riders are allowed to yield at stop signs, they choose safer streets and will spend less time in dangerous intersections. It’s time for California to live up to its values and start encouraging — not penalizing — smart riding in our state.”
“Bicycling is good for California in so many ways: it improves our health, our economy, and our environment. We’re grateful to the thousands of Californians who encouraged their State Senators to remove this nonsensical obstacle to safe and reasonable biking,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of CalBike.
The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill doesn’t change existing right-of-way laws. People on bikes will still have to take their turn at intersections. AB 122 makes it legal for bike riders to slow down at intersections, wait for other traffic to clear, then proceed without coming to a full stop. It will improve predictability at intersections and mutual respect among road users. CalBike has created a video to explain how the bicycle safety stop works.
Unnecessary laws that are disregarded can become a pretext for unfair enforcement. CalBike hears complaints every year about punitive sting operations that have nothing to do with safety, and are sometimes used as a pretext to stop Black and Latinx people. These police interactions too often have tragic results.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/no-words-Stop-as-Yield_Graphic_3.jpg8161149Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-08-31 17:06:272021-09-15 18:51:32Bicycle Safety Stop Bill Passes Senate
The Freedom to Walk Act passed out of the California Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. We’re thrilled lawmakers agreed that, as a state, we should stop raising revenue from our most marginalized and vulnerable residents.
Two more steps to legalize safe street crossings
There are two more crucial steps before we repeal unjust jaywalking laws, and we’ll need your help to get there.
First, the Freedom to Walk Act will need a majority vote on the Senate Floor in the next few weeks. The bill needs 21 votes to pass. Please email your California Senator today and ask them to vote YES to legalize safe walking.
Second, the bill needs Governor Newsom’s signature. If/when it passes the Senate, we’ll need help to let the governor know that Californians support ending unjust jaywalking laws.
Legitimate concerns about decriminalizing jaywalking
Nationally, pedestrian traffic deaths grew by 46% from 2010 to 2019, a much larger increase than all other vehicle-caused fatalities. The effects have fallen disproportionately on Black Americans, who now suffer a higher rate of pedestrian fatalities than other ethnic groups. It makes sense to be concerned about pedestrian safety and to hesitate to make any change that will make pedestrians more vulnerable.
However, there’s no reason to believe that jaywalking laws are preventing additional pedestrian deaths. Bloomberg CityLab reported that only 26% of severe pedestrian injuries occur during mid-block crossings. Another 25% of collisions involving pedestrians happen in crosswalks. And fully 50% of serious pedestrian crash injuries happen in other locations, including cars running up on the sidewalk and people hit while tending to their car by the side of the road.
“New data from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects that 2020 had the largest ever annual increase in the rate at which drivers struck and killed people on foot. What drove this surge? The likely culprits are dangerous driving like speeding, drunk and drugged driving, and distraction, which were rampant on U.S. roads during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with infrastructure issues that have prioritized the movement of motor vehicles over walking and bicycling for many years.”
Pedestrians, like most road users, use self-interest to guide their actions. After all, running out into the street could have lethal consequences for someone on foot. And, while young children aren’t always capable of making good decisions about street crossings, what keeps them safe is parental supervision, not jaywalking laws.
Rising pedestrian injuries and fatalities are a legitimate concern that policymakers should address. But jaywalking laws aren’t the solution. California has enforced the existing jaywalking laws for the past 10 years while pedestrian fatalities soared. To protect people who walk, we must look at the true causes of the rising toll on pedestrians.
For example, it’s no accident that the upward trend in pedestrian deaths has matched the increase in popularity of SUVs. Higher front grills make them more lethal to people on foot, and increasingly tall front ends create large front blind spots. Testing and rating the crash safety of cars for people outside the vehicle as well as inside would be an excellent first step towards increasing pedestrian safety.
Chart created by Smart Growth America
In addition, as the GHSA noted, our built environment has for years prioritized the movement of motorized vehicles over the safety of people on foot and on bikes. Making pedestrian safety paramount in street repaving projects will do more to prevent pedestrian deaths than criminalizing walking on poorly-designed streets where jaywalking is sometimes the safest option.
Listen to the experts: people who walk
It’s critical to look at who stands on both sides of this issue. Local police departments and the CHP have exerted pressure against AB 1238. They witness the worst-case scenarios and that, along with the idea that enforcement and punishment keep people safe, shapes their view of jaywalking.
Police see the pedestrian under the influence who stepped into a busy street and got hit. They don’t see the much more common crossings that people make in every California community every day: people walking safely, taking the most logical routes to their destinations, often using a mid-block crossing to get where they need to go.
Jaywalking laws can’t prevent the tragedy of an impaired person making an unsafe crossing. And they don’t stop careless drivers from hitting pedestrians in crosswalks and on sidewalks, which is where two-thirds of accidents that involve pedestrians take place, according to our analysis of SWITRS crash data. In almost all of those collisions, the car driver is at fault.
Our lawmakers should listen to the voices of the people who walk every day and their advocates. They should listen to over 100 organizations that signed on in support of the Freedom to Walk Act, to the supporters of racial justice who understand that jaywalking laws have been and will continue to be a significant pretext for biased policing.
Police will claim that jaywalking laws cause people to walk in predictable patterns, which allows all users to share the road more safely. However, since the driver is at fault in most pedestrian fatalities, the safety conversation should focus on the behavior of car drivers, not people on foot.
Enforcement of jaywalking laws doesn’t deter mid-block crossings, but it does reinforce privilege because poor and Black people are much more likely to get ticketed and harassed.
Here’s a thought experiment: notice where you walk over the next few days. Do you always find a crosswalk or, when there’s no traffic, do you sometimes cross mid-block? Everybody jaywalks — and that probably includes you.
Better ways to protect pedestrians
CHP officers and local police witness firsthand the horrific results when a car hits a pedestrian at speed. Naturally, they want California laws to prevent as many devastating collisions as possible, so we can understand why some police organizations don’t want to see the Freedom to Walk Act become law.
However, if police, policymakers, and elected officials want to protect pedestrians from harm, there are much better ways to do that than jaywalking tickets. For example, they could support AB 43, which gives communities more options to lower speed limits. Reducing speed is one of the best ways to save lives: at 20 mph, a pedestrian has a 95% chance of surviving being hit by a car. At 40 mph, the survival rate is just 15%.
AB 1147 is another terrific pedestrian safety measure. The bill would change how planners write regional transportation plans, prioritizing alternative transportation options, including walking and biking. A 15-minute neighborhood is a community that gives people ways to walk safely to their local destinations.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/family-street-crossing-scaled.jpeg17092560Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-08-30 16:05:052021-08-31 15:06:02Bill to End Fines for Safe Street Crossings Moves to CA Senate Floor for Final Vote
