Bernalillo County is considering an ordinance that would penalize people who stand on medians at dangerous intersections.
“With New Mexico being number one in the nation for pedestrian deaths, this is to, the same purpose, is to eliminate unnecessary deaths,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson told KRQE recently.
Benson is sponsoring the proposal, which mirrors the proposal currently under consideration by the City of Albuquerque.
The ordinance would prohibit people from standing in medians at intersections deemed “dangerous” based on the rates of crashes that occur there. The ordinance would directly impact panhandlers and those who sell flowers and others goods while standing in medians trying to solicit money from cars stopped at intersections.
The ordinance would give law enforcement the power to order people to move to sidewalks instead.
The County is seeking public input before voting on the proposal.
In 2021, the Governor's Highway Safety Association (GHSA) ranked New Mexico as the deadliest state for pedestrians. The rate of pedestrian deaths in the state was 4.77 per 100,000.
In total, 103 people were killed walking, the highest number ever in the state. Albuquerque also hit a record with 49 fatal pedestrian crashes. The GHSA report also noted that pedestrian crashes were on the rise throughout the nation in 2021 when there were more than 7,400 pedestrian fatalities, the highest number in four decades.