Crosswalk enforcement nets 26

The four-hour enforcement action saw 26 citations issued for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

That is slightly down from the 28 issued in the first enforcement action, in March, and below the 38 issued for the second action, done in April.

Perhaps underlying the importance of reminding motorists to be aware of pedestrians, the officer who served as the pedestrian on Monday came very close to being hit by a passing car.

An officer who served as the pedestrian was almost hit in the first enforcement action also.

In addition to tickets for failure to yield, Monday’s enforcement action also resulted in one citation for driving with a suspended license, one for driving without a license, four for using a cell phone while driving, one for driving without insurance, and one for passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.

This enforcement action, like the first one, was at East Third and Court streets, between the Commodore Building and the new Neon Sign museum.

The second one took place in two locations on Second Street.

When Pat Ashmore became police chief in The Dalles last summer, he began hearing complaints about drivers not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks.

He asked Jeff Kienlen, as traffic enforcement officer, to focus on it, and Kienlen secured a $2,800 state grant for the enforcement actions. Kienlen took a six-hour training class to prepare.

The enforcement action has to be publicly announced about a week beforehand, and signage has to be posted warning drivers that they are about to enter an enforcement action area.

Officers involved in the enforcement action include a designated walker, who must wear brightly colored clothes and must be clearly intending to cross the street.

The walker must show intent to cross when oncoming vehicles are at least 131 feet away. That is considered safe braking distance for vehicles traveling 20 mph, the posted speed limit downtown.

The 131-foot zone is blocked off, so no vehicles can park there, giving motorists ample opportunity to see pedestrians waiting to cross.

By law, a pedestrian must show intent to cross in order for a motorist to yield.

Intent can mean just putting a toe over the edge of the sidewalk, or sticking a bike wheel out over the sidewalk into the crosswalk.

A spotter nearby films drivers, and if a driver doesn’t yield to the walker, he will radio the color and make of the vehicle to officers positioned up ahead to pull over drivers.

At his training, Kienlen was told to expect some irate motorists. An officer on Monday did say one person he ticketed intended to immediately go to the police department to complain.

Those ticketed for failing to yield to a pedestrian are given an opportunity, if they wish, to come view the video taken of their infraction.

The ticket for failure to yield to a pedestrian is $260, a level set by the state.

For any ticket written for any offense, $61 goes to the state and the rest goes to the city general fund, The Dalles Municipal Court Clerk Dorene Brown told a Chronicle reporter earlier.