LAKEPORT – Responding to concerns about the safety of pedestrians on city streets, the Lakeport Police Department has launched a new effort to both educate the public and ticket those who don't yield to people in crosswalks.

Lakeport Police has identified pedestrian safety in crosswalks as a particular concern, said Lt. Brad Rasmussen.

So far this year, there have been two pedestrian-versus-vehicle accidents that have occurred in the city, Rasmussen said. In one of the cases, a person was hit while in the middle of a crosswalk on Third and North Forbes.

In addition, Rasmussen noted, “Over the past several months our office has received several complaints about drivers failing to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks,” especially in the downtown business district and near the courthouse.

Then, the city's Traffic Safety Advisory Committee also pointed to pedestrian safety as one of its primary issues, said Rasmussen.

And with Memorial Day weekend and the summer tourist season arriving, drivers need to be especially alert, with more people out and about on the city's streets, said Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said Lakeport Police officers conducted the first in a series of enforcement operations on Friday.

The operation took place from 10:30 a.m. to noon on North Main Street and North Forbes, between Second and Third streets, said Rasmussen. The area includes the block in front of the courthouse.

A police cadet dressed in plain clothes was the decoy, said Rasmussen. As the cadet crossed the street using the crosswalks, three officers watched for drivers who didn't yield properly.

“We cited six drivers who failed to stop for him while he was in the crosswalk,” Rasmussen said.

The drivers offered excuses that ranged from claiming they didn't see the pedestrian to saying that he “jumped out” into the roadway, not giving them a chance to stop.

The officers saw other drivers violate the pedestrian right-of-way laws, said Rasmussen, but they were too busy writing citations to be able to stop more of the violators.

Citations for the right-of-way violation can cost drivers more than $100, according to state penalty schedules.

Lakeport Police's emphasis, said Rasmussen, is on educating the public.

That includes explaining the law and what it says about pedestrians, cars and crosswalks.

When a pedestrian is in any part of a crosswalk, drivers must yield the right-of-way, according to vehicle code. Drivers must wait until the pedestrian has completely moved through the crosswalk to proceed.

However, as Rasmussen pointed out, pedestrians also have a responsibility to be careful when crossing the street, which includes not suddenly leaving the curb or running into the path of a vehicle so as to create a hazard.

As part of their safety enforcement, Rasmussen said police are also keeping an eye out for pedestrians who don't observe the law.

Lakeport Police plans to conduct several more operations similar to Friday's, Rasmussen said.

“The reason we're doing it is we want to increase driver awareness, increase pedestrian safety and reduce the number of accidents,” he said.

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