Hours after a New Haven Independent article unleashed an avalanche of public criticism, Police Chief Otoniel Reyes Friday afternoon announced that his cops on a special detail will no longer ticket pedestrians for crossing diagonally at downtown crosswalks.
The article reported on a state-funded pilot enforcement program police are undertaking downtown to educate and in some cases ticket both motorists and pedestrians violating laws at dangerous intersections.
In practice, almost all the ticketing has been of pedestrians — who didn’t realize it’s illegal to cross diagonally at intersections rather than at two right angles.
“The intent was to educate,” not to give pedestrians $92 Christmas-season fines, Reyes told the Independent.
He added that his decision affects specifically this limited downtown initiative — he’s not interfering with officers’ day-to-day discretion in enforcing traffic-safety laws.
He also said he intends to address broader concerns raised by readers and other members of the public about barriers pedestrians face in navigating city streets.