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14 stouffville suntribune u thursday sept 2 2004 police target jaywalkers after 23 pedestrian deaths by martin derbyshire staff writer the average joe may not take jaywalking seriously but york cops do plainclothed york regional police officers have been lurking around intersections high in pedestrian traffic this sum mer ticketing those who step over the line so far 25 people have been charged for various infractions and face fines ranging from 40 to 90 the initiative was launched in the wake of 23 pedestrian deaths in less than four years said staff- sgt thomas carrique head of the traffic enforcement bureau the number of pedes trian fatalities on york region roads has been higher than previous years partly because of an increase of people moving into the area and the use of public transit he said we take this very seriously six pedestrians- have been killed on york region roads this year and if ticketing people for these violations gets the message out that safety comes first then we might be able to save some lives between 2000 and 2003 17 pedestrians lost their lives on york region roads with another six fatalities so far this year but those tragic statis tics werent enough to stop richmond hill resident euclide cormier from crossing against the light at the busy intersection of major mackenzie avenue and yonge street tuesday morning he was almost hit by a vehicle turning left on an advanced green its always an emer gency everyones always in a hurry he said explained himself if i get a fine i will pay it but soon they will forget about it the police are concerned about it now but they will drop it soon just like anything else staffsgt carrique doesnt think so the forces pedestrian safety plan may slow down with winter when there are fewer pedestrians on the streets he said but policing pedestrians is also part of the traffic skating registration where lobby of the stouffville arena when thursday sept 9th tuesday sept 14th time 630 830 pm learn to skate programs of fered for boys and girls used figure skates and clothing sale during registration stouffville skating club bureaus regular routine richmond hill resident and regular transit rider bob bowd said he always obeys road safety regula tions when crossing and understands why police are enforcing the law still he believes the police budget is better spent elsewhere the are a number of other problems in york region and i think the force would be better off putting their limited resources to resolve them he said mr bowd witnessed a local television crew film ing officers as they ticketed jaywalkers at major mackenzie and yonge just a few weeks ago but they were only around for to minutes it was a setup for the media he said i dont think theyre really out here all the time monarch vyas 17 has been using yorks transit system to get to work at paramount canadas wonderland in vaughan all summer he said hell jaywalk on small streets but never at major intersections and doesnt have a problem with officers ticketing those who do if thats what police are doing thats fine he said it is against the law some pedestrians have become upset when ticket ed by police staffsgt carrique said but the majority have a positive reaction to the program i think most of them understand were trying to put safety first he said according to police putting safety first for pedestrians means cross ing at traffic signals cross walks and stop signs mak ing eye contact with drivers before stepping off the curb and waiting for vehi cles to stop before crossing it also means wearing bright or reflective cloth ing especially at night and whenever possible using sidewalks if you must walk on a roadway always do so fac ing traffic police said dont let your dreams go up in smoke quitting saves more than your life calculate how at cancerca rsmokershelpline 1 877 5135333 markhamstxmffville register now for girls hockey join the fastest growing girls sport 37 house league rep select teams all girls 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