A law passed by the Bernalillo County Commission prevents people from impeding or obstructing public roads, sidewalks, medians and crosswalks and also prohibits camps on sidewalks. The Pedestrian Safety Bill was approved four to one.
“The intent of the ordinance is to reduce the likelihood of a pedestrian-caused crash or injury at an intersection by restricting activities on any median that is less than four feet in width,” Bernalillo County Public Works Director Elias Archuleta told KRQE. “Anything less than that really doesn’t provide good shelter for somebody that has any activities in there.”
The new law prevents anyone from blocking public rights of way. Though the law would prevent anyone from panhandling and camping, county officials said the law is about pedestrians and not those experiencing homelessness. The ordinance does protect people’s free speech rights as long as it doesn’t block pedestrians from using public areas.
The director of public works said the law will impact 44 intersections in Bernalillo County like Coors and Dennis Chavez, as well as Isleta and Rio Bravo. The county reported 173 pedestrians were killed in Bernalillo County between 2016 and 2020.
Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Walt Benson insisted homeless people are not the targets of this law. “This is not directed towards impinging on the rights of homeless people who already have it hard, bad enough,” he said. “This is about reducing fatalities, dangerous accidents, property damage with vehicle damage and making the roadways safer.”
