VicPD targets pedestrians

In January, VicPD spent two days warning pedestrians for "not following crossing signals," saying "We’ve had many complaints about pedestrian actions, particularly downtown." I asked for copies of those complaints, but VicPD said "there are no records available."

“The majority of complaints were received orally, from citizens approaching traffic members.” How many pedestrians approached officers in the street to complain about other pedestrians? Since there are no records of that ever happening, we’ll never know.

How much did the campaign cost? There were “no written plans, budgets or invoices,” but it was “a two day campaign, two hours per day, six officers for the first day and four officers for the second day.” So about $800 of officer time, plus planning and communications.

Behind the scenes, VicPD’s media spokesperson asked “why [are we] doing this? Has there been a recent rash of pedestrian incidents?” Nope – “It’s all about pedestrian safety,” said VicPD traffic. “About 1 in 5 people killed in car crashes in BC are pedestrians.”

One of VicPD’s suggestions is crossing "at a marked crosswalk.” What percentage of crosswalks are marked? What percentage of drivers yield at unmarked crosswalks? Drivers are most likely to kill you at an intersection anyway, so your mileage may vary.

How did the campaign go? Staff said “The tenor has been challenging as we’ve had to defend our efforts quite often.” “Considering all the negative comments,” said the media spokesperson, “I hope the campaign was successful and really needed.”

According to an FOI'd email, “Much of the day was taken up with responding to questions, misinformation and criticism resulting from that misinformation about the pedestrian crosswalk safety campaign.” Yes, that’s it. People were critical because they were misinformed.

What’s next? VicPD said “We will continue with our downtown enforcement over the next few months, focusing on all violations including cyclist, skateboard and motor vehicle. This is just where we are starting.” If that's in order, then cyclists and skateboarders, you’re next.

I FOI’d these records because a victim-blaming campaign is irresponsible. It shouldn’t have to be pointed out again and again that “jaywalking” was invented by the car lobby, or that drivers kill far more pedestrians than pedestrians kill drivers.

VicPD said it received lots of complaints about pedestrian behaviour from other pedestrians, but couldn’t produce any. They were criticized by some folks for implicitly blaming pedestrians, instead of the drivers and infrastructure that kill them.

VicPD said “Everyone is responsible for road safety." The drivers who kill 58 pedestrians in BC a year, and injure 2,500 more, are far more responsible. As are the decision-makers who built the infrastructure or passed the laws that contribute to those injuries and deaths.

VicPD also said that changing laws and policies to make pedestrian-friendly changes was a “debate for the lawmakers.” VicPD regularly comments on policy and laws. Enforcement, instead of speaking out on meaningful ways to prevent pedestrian deaths, is a choice.