Urban

NY Times - Nearly 70 years ago, New York City began a campaign to warn pedestrians of the dangers of jaywalking.“Cross at the green, not in between,” the slogan said.Seldom has a public safety announcement been so roundly ignored.

Telling New Yorkers, famously short of patience and time, not to cross the street mid-block did little to curb the illegal practice. Neither did the threat of fines: A violation carried a potential fine of up to $300, and hundreds of people received tickets each year.

But after decades of mostly turning the other way, city officials finally decriminalized jaywalking, crossing against a traffic signal or outside a crosswalk. The City Council passed a bill last month to allow pedestrians to cross the street wherever they please, and it became law over the weekend, after Mayor Eric Adams ran out of his allotted time to decide whether to veto or sign the bill...

Jaywalking laws, historically used to target Black and Latino residents, were not evenly enforced in New York, and the Council bill was primarily a racial justice measure. About 92 percent of the 463 people who received summons last year for crossing a street against a signal were Black or Latino, according to city records.

The new rules come at a tumultuous time for city streets when traffic deaths have risen. There have also been tense debates over electric bikes, outdoor dining and congestion pricing, a proposal to ease traffic and raise money for the transit system that was halted by Gov. Kathy Hochul.  About 200 people have died over the last five years while crossing streets in the middle of a block or against the light — about 34 percent of all pedestrian fatalities, according to city transportation officials.