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It is time for the Legislature to approve the bill making jaywalking legal (“Bill advances letting pedestrians safely jaywalk,” Star Advertiser, March 19). The term “jaywalking” is a pejorative label invented by the car lobby in the 1920s to counter societal outrage over the scourge of drivers killing pedestrians on our roadways. Sound familiar? The car lobby wasn’t concerned with public safety; it wanted to marginalize pedestrians and claim our streets as the exclusive domain of drivers.
In today’s world, jaywalking enforcement is used against people of color at disproportionate levels, and really has nothing to do with public safety.
With more bikes and pedestrians on our streets, decriminalizing jaywalking will remove one more barrier to transportation equity. As for drivers, slow down, look both ways and come to complete stops. Our roads are for all people, not just drivers, and no one transportation option has a monopoly on the use of our roads.
Jeffrey Merz
Waikiki
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