Police Stepping Up Downtown Traffic Enforcement

Walk or drive in downtown Princeton? You may want to think twice before disobeying traffic laws.

Princeton Borough Police have begun to enforce –i.e. issue tickets- to pedestrians who jaywalk, cross an crosswalk without a “walk” sign and to drivers who fail to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Despite a traffic study and an education campaign that began eight to 10 months ago that included warnings, traffic tips and an explanation of the law to drivers and pedestrians who disobeyed the traffic laws, there’s still a continuing problem, Borough Police Cpn. Nick Sutter said.

“We’re fielding a large number of complaints from the public and it’s been pretty steady in the area of safety of pedestrians and motorists,” Sutter said. “It’s incumbent on us to address the problem.

“The enforcement component is the last step in the process.”

When there’s enough police manpower, additional officers are being posted downtown to address the problem, he said.

“We’re still out there educating people and trying to alleviate the problem, but some of the violations, especially those that affect the flow of traffic or present a safety hazard to vehicles or pedestrians, we have taken enforcement action,” Sutter said.

A driver or pedestrian who receives a ticket will have to appear in court. If found guilty, they will pay a fine, although the exact amounts were not immediately available from the Borough Court Office because the department is in the process of moving to the Township Building on Witherspoon Street.

Over the past year- from Oct. 22, 2011 to Oct. 22, 2012- Borough police have issued 80 tickets to pedestrians who cross a crosswalk without a ‘walk’ signal, three tickets to jaywalkers and 134 tickets to drivers for failing to yield for a pedestrian, according to police records.

“It’s a public safety matter, that’s really what our aim is here,” Sutter said.