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USG Downtown opposes city of Phoenix jaywalking proposal

USG Downtown hopes the city of Phoenix will consider its opposition on behalf of students

20200306 Undergraduate Student Government Downtown 0001

Undergraduate Student Government Downtown holds a meeting about Phoenix jaywalking laws on Friday, March 6, 2020, at the Student Center at the Post Office on the downtown Phoenix campus.


Undergraduate Student Government Downtown passed a resolution Friday to oppose a proposal by the city of Phoenix regarding jaywalking, median safety and signage policy.

Instead of a warning, the new jaywalking proposal would fine jaywalkers up to $250 on the first offense. A second offense would result in a fine of up to $2,500, jail time or probation. 

The jaywalking law currently states that "before any pedestrian is cited for a civil violation of this section, the pedestrian must be given a warning by law enforcement."

"It's becoming a really large issue of pedestrian fatality," said Nick Valenzuela, management assistant for the city of Phoenix. The Governors Highway Safety Association reported 110 pedestrian deaths in Phoenix in 2018.

A USGD resolution in response to the policy change was proposed by Barrett, the Honors College Senator Spencer McClure, a sophomore studying public service and public policy, who said he felt the USGD's opposition was an important stance to take for the sake of downtown students.

"Our students every day have to engage with Phoenix drivers and the city as an urban area," McClure said. "We feel the (proposal) is putting the blame more on pedestrians rather than focusing on some issues with the drivers and how current crosswalks and signage are marked."

In USGD's Senate meeting Friday, the Senate discussed the issues they had with crosswalks around campus. 

Renuka Vemuri, USGD senate president and sophomore medical studies major, said many students have complained about the crosswalk of Central Avenue between Taylor Mall and the Civic Space Park, which is most frequently used to get between the Post Office, Sun Devil Fitness Center and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

"We understand that it's for our safety," said Vemuri. "But if there's times where you're jaywalking because the time on the stoplight ran out, it just seems really unfair that they would impose a huge fine."  

McClure said some other places of concern were the crossing at Taylor Street and First Avenue, the crossing at Second Street between Health North and the parking garage to the Arizona Center, and the crossing of Third Street and Roosevelt Street, between the Arizona Center and ASU Mercado

The Senate noted in the resolution that the crosswalks around campus do not provide enough time for students with disabilities and large groups to cross the street. 

An amendment to the resolution was made during Friday's meeting to call on the city of Phoenix to examine the timing of crosswalks around the downtown area.

"That's important to us because a lot of the timing feels too short, especially for masses of students as they're crossing the street," McClure said. "We wanted to consider students who are dealing with physical disabilities as they need ample time to cross the street as well."

USGD now plans to send a copy of Senate Resolution 4 to the city of Phoenix, the Phoenix City Council, Dean of Students Downtown Sharon Smith, and ASU President Michael Crow. The Senate plans to present their specific locations of concern at a Formal City Council meeting as well. 

McClure said that USGD hopes the City Council will not move forward with the proposal, and instead "consider focusing on the issue of pedestrian safety rather than increasing fines and punishment for jaywalking."

Valenzuela confirmed in an email that the city of Phoenix will discuss the proposal on March 18 at the Formal City Council meeting. 

"The resolution will be presented to the City Council as part of the item hearing, which would be heard by the policymaking side of the Council and the mayor," said Valenzuela. "They will look at whether they should proceed with an ordinance that removes the warning, or they should continue researching or potentially come up with some better resources for a better tracking system."

Vemuri said USGD will continue to stand up for the student body for any ordinance that would affect student life at the downtown campus.

"Any opportunity that we have to advocate, we take that to express our concerns," Vemuri said. 


Reach the reporter at ekgalin1@asu.edu and follow @eringalindo29 on Twitter.

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