On Wednesday, September 13, 2015, between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., the Sacramento Police Department will be conducting a Pedestrian Safety Operation named “Wait for the WALK”.

Sacramento police officers, Sacramento Police Volunteers and Sacramento regional Law Enforcement Chaplains, will be on foot in the area of 10th Street and 12th Street between K Street and L Street to educate the public on pedestrian safety.  The team will be handing out safety fliers and educating the public on pedestrian laws and hazards. 

The purpose of the Pedestrian Safety Operation "Wait for the WALK" is to educate, reinforce good safety routines and answer any questions from the public.  This is being done in an effort to lessen the possibility of pedestrian related vehicle collisions. September has been declared Pedestrian Safety month in California.

Out of the 14 largest cities in California, Sacramento currently ranks 7th in total fatal and injury collisions.  (Information gathered from Office of Traffic Safety.  http://www.ots.ca.gov/ ). This year alone, 11 pedestrians have died in collisions with vehicles on our city streets.

Midtown and downtown have the highest concentration of pedestrian traffic in all of Sacramento. Officers will be concentrating on these high pedestrian volume locations during the educational period. An additional event will be conducted in the evening hours on September 23^rd.  

Pedestrian related collisions can be avoided. Let’s stack the odds in our favor and remember to use the sidewalks, cross at crosswalks, and wait for the “walk” signal.  

Funding for these operations is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Please direct any inquiries to Sergeant Chris Prince via email at cprince@pd.cityofsacramento.org or by telephone at (916) 808-6069.