Redmond police to crack down on pedestrian enforcement next week

On Sept. 18 and 25, the Redmond Police Department (RPD) will be doing pedestrian enforcement in the downtown.

On  Sept. 18 and 25, the Redmond Police Department (RPD) will be doing pedestrian enforcement in the downtown.

Officers will target RCW 46.61.235, which involves crosswalks. They will enforce marked crosswalks to ensure drivers provide two lanes of space before passing a pedestrian or the entire roadway on a one-way road.

In part, that code states a vehicle must “stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning.”

Pedestrians and bicyclists also have responsibility. They are not permitted to “suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk, run, or otherwise move into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop.”

Drivers and pedestrians should be cautious when approaching crosswalks and never assume that the other is going to stop. A fine for violating this regulation is $124. To read the entire RCW, visit http://tinyurl.com/9yllo3a.