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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday night vetoed a pair of bills designed to make streets more welcoming to non-vehicular modes of transportation, including a measure that would have decriminalized jaywalking and one that sought to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as exit signs.
AB1238, by Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, is said to have decriminalized jaywalking statewide when no cars are present on a roadway until 2029, when the law would have ended .
Ting said the jaywalking bans are disproportionately enforced against people of color. In a veto message, Newsom agreed the state must address how unequal enforcement of laws on jaywalking and other minor violations is being used “as a pretext to arrest people of color.”
But Newsom said he had vetoed the bill because California has a high rate of pedestrian deaths, the eighth highest per capita, and he fears the measure will encourage people to cross the roads. streets in a dangerous way.
“I am committed to working with the author, legislature and stakeholders on legislation that addresses the uneven application of jaywalking laws in a way that does not risk increasing pedestrian safety in California. “Newsom wrote.
Thing tweeted that even though he was disappointed with the governor’s veto, he will continue to push to end “the arbitrary application of our jaywalking laws”, which he says are used to target black people and sometimes lead to violent confrontations with the police.
“We all deserve the freedom to cross the street safely,” Ting wrote.
Newsom also vetoed AB122, by Assembly Member Tasha Boerner Horvath, D-Encinitas (San Diego County), which allegedly allowed cyclists to treat stop signs as surrender signs. Under the bill, cyclists could have made so-called Idaho stops at intersections with stop signs – decelerating but not stopping completely before crossing if there is no other traffic. The law would expire in 2028.
In a veto message, the governor said he fears the bill will end cyclist safety as deaths and serious injuries on the state’s streets have increased since 2010. He said that the state could instead increase safety by designing streets more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.
“The AB 122 approach can be of particular concern to children, who may not know how to assess vehicle speed or exercise the caution necessary to give in to traffic if necessary,” Newsom wrote. .
Boerner Horvath said she was disappointed with the veto, saying similar laws have already proven effective in other states. She said reducing the time cyclists spend crossing intersections prevents collisions.
“I remain committed to pushing this policy forward and will continue to monitor its effectiveness in the 10 other states that have already made it law,” she said in a statement.
Dustin Gardiner is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dustingardiner
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