Letter: Bigger fines for jaywalking could save pedestrians

Monday, Nov. 12, 2001 | 8:41 a.m.

Apparently it's that time of year again! Prompted by a spate of pedestrian deaths -- usually of jaywalkers, or some bogus occasion, like "National Pedestrian Awareness Month," or, for this year's festivities, the awarding of a million dollar-plus grant to UNLV to study causes and corrections of pedestrian fatalities -- we once more will encounter a spate of news articles, editorials, self-serving speeches by politicians and law enforcement officials and radio and TV public service announcements.

Once more, it will be forgotten by next month, and nothing substantive will be done until next year's occasion for starting the same posturing and window-dressing.

Here's a suggestion that might actually work and won't cost much: Increase the fine for jaywalking; post the fines prominently with an announcement that jaywalking laws will be enforced; and then -- and this is the tricky part -- enforce them! Any costs deriving from the signs and additional enforcement personnel will be offset by the increased fines.

I even have a suggestion as to some locations where hundreds of jaywalking citations could be issued every day: In front of the Metro office across from the El Cortez; in front of City Hall; in front of the County, Municipal, and Justice courts; in front of UNLV.

Are jaywalking pedestrians the whole problem? Of course not. But wouldn't alleviating even a third of the problem be a good thing to do?

DANIEL DORSE