By Jim Clark

A bit of a controversy has been brewing concerning a Somerville Police Department sting operation involving pedestrian safety in crosswalks in the city.

Undercover “pedestrians” are sent walking through a clearly marked crosswalk for which oncoming vehicular traffic should give right-of-way. If a vehicle disregards the pedestrian and goes through an awaiting patrol car pulls the driver over and issues a citation.

Some have criticized the operation as being too excessive and focused on generating revenue for the city. The police department insists that the program is intended to raise awareness of pedestrian rights and safety concerns.

The SPD have released the following statement:

The City of Somerville takes safety very seriously and pedestrian safety is no exception. Somerville experiences on average 47 pedestrian accidents per year, and a pedestrian was killed just last month in a crosswalk in Davis Square. As the cars speeding by the pedestrian in this video show, increased enforcement is clearly needed for crosswalks. Just as we enforce stop signs, speeding and red lights, we must enforce crosswalk regulations as well to ensure resident safety, especially the safety of children and seniors. This intersection has seen a number of pedestrian and cyclist accidents over the years and was recently identified as one of the top intersections of concern in the city. At intersections such as this where drivers clearly are not stopping as required, we prefer to have an officer out there rather than wait for an unsuspecting resident to risk getting hit.

The Somerville Police Department worked with state and federal transportation and public safety agencies to target this area specifically to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Additionally, the city restriped or added more than 2,000 crosswalks citywide, added or repaired more than 1,800 damaged or faded traffic signs, and installed about 300 reflective signs for added visibility on pedestrian and stop signs. We’re trying to make it easier for drivers to see pedestrians in crosswalks and know when to stop. But when they fail to do so, it is our duty to enforce the laws that keep our residents safe.

The video posted here was taken and placed on YouTube by a citizen who is skeptical of the city’s motives in implementing this program.
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