LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new proposal in Louisville aims to crackdown on jaywalkers, including panhandlers.
Metro Council members are introducing the ordinance to help increase safety for drivers and pedestrians.
"We’ve been talking about this for a few years,” metro council president, David James said. “In my district alone, there's over 466 people that have been either injured or kill over the last few years.”
Under the rule, pedestrians and panhandlers would not be allowed to cross the middle of an intersection or busy road unless it's at a crosswalk or traffic signal.
"People are more focused on vehicles coming down the road and not people coming out between cars,” James said. “You look for people at crosswalks."
If you're caught breaking the rule you could face a fine up to $250.
The proposal is to help decrease the number of pedestrian injuries or fatalities.
“We've been watching the problems of pedestrian interactions on the street get worse and worse,” James said.
In 2018, 457 pedestrian-involved collisions resulted in 21 deaths. That is according to Louisville Metro Police officers who will crackdown on violators if the ordinance passes.
"They will act upon it just as if someone ran a red light or someone was speeding down the roadway,” James said.
In 2017, Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a Lexington law aiming to ban panhandlers was an unconstitutional violation of free speech. Metro council members have been working closely with the county's attorney office so their ordinance would not run into any problems with the law.
“We don't think it'll run into problems, but if it does we have the county's attorney office there to help us through those issues and we'll be moving forward with it,” James said. "We're just trying to make the roads safer for everybody.”
The proposal will go to the committee and if it passes it will then go to the full council for a vote.
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