University to Reimburse Jaywalking Citations

Western Washington University officials have decided to reimburse the cost of $68 citations recently issued as part of an effort to deter jaywalking on campus.

On April 12, University Police issued 23 citations for jaywalking at the intersection of Bill McDonald Parkway and West College Way near the Wade King Student Recreation Center. 

However, University Police Chief Darin Rasmussen said that after talking with several students issued the tickets, university officials decided there had not been sufficient notice to the community prior to the enforcement action.

“In retrospect, we should definitely have done more in the way of notification, before issuing tickets. The goal of the enforcement action was never intended to be punitive, but to alert our campus community to the dangers of jaywalking,” Rasmussen said.

All students who received jaywalking citations on April 12 will receive information in an email explaining how their fines are being reimbursed by Western. The amount of the $68 jaywalking fine is set by Whatcom County District Court.  Neither Western nor University Police receive any of the money for such citation fines; those go to Whatcom County District Court.

Western’s Central Health and Safety Committee (CHS) has identified pedestrian safety as one of its priorities this year and is working on identifying traffic hotspots where pedestrian safety is a high concern. The intersection of West College Way and Bill McDonald Parkway is one of those areas due to the large volumes of both pedestrians and vehicles, particularly at peak hours between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. weekdays. To reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends a three-pronged approach of engineering, education and enforcement.

Rasmussen said that University Police will continue to emphasize and educate about the dangers of jaywalking and pedestrian safety.

“Jaywalking can be fatal. We have had serious pedestrian-vehicle accidents near campus as recently as this school year, and want to strongly impress upon our campus community that jaywalking is dangerous and potentially can be fatal,” Rasmussen said.

One issue University Police and other campus safety officials have noticed is the effect of pedestrians on cellphones not paying adequate attention to their surroundings, including when they are crossing busy streets.

“As people are on their cellphones more and more, we are seeing pedestrians cross intersections sometimes without looking up from their phones,” Rasmussen said. “We want to avert a tragedy.”