Pedestrian-involved crashes and fatalities occur frequently in the Tucson region.
In recent years, an average of 278 pedestrians have been involved in crashes with cars, and 20 die as a result each year.
In an effort to increase pedestrian safety, the city of Tucson and the Tucson Police Department plan a one-day crosswalk enforcement campaign Tuesday.
“The goal here is not to be ticketing every motorist, but education,” said Lt. Paul Tosca, with TPD’s traffic-enforcement unit.
Tosca said an officer in plain clothes will pose as a pedestrian at a university-area crosswalk while nearby officers monitor drivers’ responses.
Motorists who don’t follow the rules will be stopped and told what they did wrong and, possibly, be issued citations.
“We know of a lot of other cities that have done this, too,” said Ann Chanecka, the city of Tucson’s bicycle and pedestrian program coordinator, who helped organize the effort.
Chanecka also said the goal of the program is to educate drivers and pedestrians of their responsibilities.
“Pedestrian safety is a shared responsibility,” Chanecka said.
For instance, drivers often don’t recognize that pedestrians always have the right of way at intersections, even unmarked intersections, Chanecka said.
Another common misunderstanding occurs regarding the many High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk — or HAWK — signals scattered throughout Tucson.
At these crosswalks, located at areas of high pedestrian activity between intersections, pedestrians push a button to activate a red light allowing for safe crossing.
These signals stay solid red for about a half-minute or more, then begin to flash.
On solid red it’s easy enough for most motorists to understand: Stop on red.
But when the lights begin to flash, many don’t know how to behave. Frequently, drivers simply continue on as if the light weren’t there.
Drivers should recognize the flashing signal also indicates a stop. Only this signal is the same as a stop sign: pull up to the line and stop before proceeding through the crosswalk.
But it’s not only the drivers who need to be aware.
“In my experience, there’s responsibility on both sides,” Tosca said, adding that many times pedestrians are distracted or simply not being cautions.
A Pima Association of Governments report on pedestrian issues from last year noted that 36 percent of pedestrian-related crashes between 2007 and 2011 occurred outside of intersections.
But those crashes outside of intersections accounted for 66 percent of the fatalities recorded.
The same report notes only 1 in 10 pedestrians involved in a crash with a car traveling at 40 miles per hour or faster lives to tell about it.
Chanecka said other pedestrian safety and education efforts are planned for the future, including public-safety announcements and literature.
Down the road
On Wednesday, crews will begin pavement-preservation work on 22nd Street from Wilmot Road to Swan Road. Work hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The following Monday, crews will begin milling and repaving the same section.
This work will take place at night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and is scheduled for completion Friday.
During this work, at least one lane of travel in each direction will remain open.
On Tuesday, crews will begin a reconstruction project on Pantano Road from Escalante Road to Irvington Road. Crews will work Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The project is scheduled to be complete by mid-July.
On Monday, March 30, through Monday, April 13, the Pima County Department of Transportation will mill and repave Camino del Sol from Camino Encanto to Camino Urbano. Final striping will occur in May.
Work on this project will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
