Mounties target university jaywalkers

There has been a rash of incidents in Kamloops involving pedestrians being struck by vehicles — and still students at Thompson Rivers University choose to forego a crosswalk as they rush across Summit Drive. In a one-hour span on Nov. 30, Mounties issued 30 tickets for jaywalking, each carrying a fine of $121. 

DAVE EAGLES PHOTOS/KTW

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Police in the Tournament Capital are taking to the streets in an effort to make them safer for Kamloops pedestrians.

Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said local Mounties kicked off their December road safety blitz one day early, starting Friday, Nov. 30, on a busy stretch of road long popular with shortcutting Thompson Rivers University students.

Learned said the campaign began on Summit Drive north of McGill Road, where students have been known to jaywalk to class across the busy four-lane thoroughfare from off-campus housing.

"The officers remained at that location for only 60 minutes, but issued 30 violation tickets," he said, noting each jaywalker was fined $121.

In recent weeks, Kamloops has seen a spike in pedestrian-involved collisions. Learned said that trend will dictate how the month-long blitz plays out.

"The public had called for more police action to address the problem and an analysis of the pedestrian-crash data indicated that pedestrian decision-making was a factor in many of the collisions," he said.

Learned said the enforcement campaign will not be limited to pedestrians. Officers will also target distracted and impaired drivers throughout the month of December, as well as drivers running stop signs and red lights.