Contrary to popular belief, jaywalking laws do little to improve roadway safety. Instead, they distract us from investing in pedestrian infrastructure, which is critical for our state to meet its public health and climate goals — including its ambitions to reach 100% clean energy by 2045. It’s time for us to dismantle the punitive measures placed on pedestrians and instead shift our focus on creating safer walkable environments.
Despite decades of heavy-handed jaywalking enforcement, pedestrian fatalities continue to rise, signaling that our current approach is ineffective. And these trends will only continue if we continue with business-as-usual: building wide and fast roads, increasing vehicle size and spending precious public resources on penalizing pedestrians.
Research from the “Freedom to Walk” policy report by the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice underscores the fact that jaywalking laws were never about safety — they were a byproduct of auto industry lobby efforts in the 1920s that sought to deflect the blame when drivers hit pedestrians. Limited focus on vehicle regulations and lack of safe infrastructure has led the United States to have the highest rate of traffic deaths among developed nations. Our nation’s traffic fatality rate is 50% higher than nations in Western Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia.
We need a new approach to roadway safety. Instead of blaming pedestrians for traffic violence, we must acknowledge and address our systemic issues — mainly our current transportation planning approach that prioritizes traffic flow over safety — and adopt holistic strategies that center roadway infrastructure and design that slow vehicle speeds, increase the visibility of pedestrians, and physically protect pedestrians from vehicles. A good example of this is Honolulu’s Complete Streets Program.
The Freedom to Walk report also highlights that jaywalking laws lead to hostility toward pedestrians, overpolicing, increased debt collection and court records, loss of state revenue, and diminished resources for pedestrian infrastructure. And Hawaii’s pedestrian infrastructure needs are significant and growing. On Oahu alone, the cost to build the island’s 900 miles of missing walkways is over $2.6 billion.
While Hawaii imposes harsh financial penalties on pedestrians (jaywalking tickets are more expensive than many driving citations), it subsidizes automobile use. Studies show that the automobile is the most subsidized and costly mode of transportation. Given that roughly 17% of households in Honolulu are carless, and 70% of those households are low income, jaywalking citations effectively become an extra tax on the poor.
From road diets, to sidewalks, to street trees and lighting, investing in pedestrian infrastructure benefits everyone and promotes healthier lifestyles, land preservation, and economic vitality. Walkable neighborhoods increase small-business activity, create vibrant public spaces, and lower dependence on automobiles and oil imports. With our favorable climate and geography, Hawaii could be a great place to walk with improved infrastructure.
Senate Bill 2630 would repeal outdated and ineffective jaywalking laws, preventing pedestrians from being stopped by a law enforcement officer or fined for jaywalking, unless the pedestrian’s actions could result in a collision with a moving vehicle, or slowing or stopping in any fashion.
Let’s prioritize safety, equity and community well-being by investing in much-needed pedestrian infrastructure. Together, we can create neighborhoods where everyone has the freedom to move about their community.
Abbey Seitz and Anthony Chang are advocates for safe streets and graduates of the University of Hawaii-Manoa Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
