June 21, 2012

Pedestrian Safety Operation


Yesterday the Santa Cruz Police Department Traffic Unit wrote 20 citations in 2 hours for vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians on Soquel. The pedestrian safety operation was conducted in the mid-afternoon and came as a result of complaints from businesses and residents in the Soquel/Cayuga and Soquel/Marnell corridor about vehicles not yielding to pedestrians.  Officers had plainclothes community service officers cross Soquel at several different locations between Soquel/Cayuga and Soquel/Marnell. Drivers who failed to yield to the pedestrians in the crosswalk received citations for that violation.

Summer weather in the eastside business district encourages more people to walk to their destinations. Vehicle versus pedestrian collisions are preventable when drivers and pedestrians follow the laws. Proactive enforcement activity such as this event serve to raise driver awareness and prevent tragic accidents.