The Albuquerque Police Department is enforcing a new median safety ordinance recently approved by the city.
According to a report by KOB4, the new ordinance applies to narrow medians at busy intersections. This is in response to pedestrian deaths, which have doubled in the last year with 14 fatalities. Warnings were reportedly given out by officers about the new ordinance May 15, and it is currently being enforced with citations.
“We decided to begin enforcement of this ordinance slowly, with warnings to educate the public that this is a citable offense, but also to spread word of the dangers,” said Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina.
According to the KOB4 report, the ordinance says it is against the law for someone to stand in a travel lane of a street, highway or controlled access roadway, or any travel lane of the exit or entrance ramps. The police are monitoring 15 priority locations. On May 22, there were 12 citations issued, the report said.
Medina told KOB4, “We know there are individuals across the city who frequent our medians for a multitude of reasons, but this presents safety concerns for them and drivers."
Mayor Tim Keller added, “We don’t want to see one more person struck by a vehicle in Albuquerque, and ramping up enforcement efforts is the right thing to do to keep pedestrians and drivers safe. We will continue to invest in solutions that make folks safer as they travel throughout our city.”
A federal court ruled nearly a year ago that the city's ban on panhandling on medians was unconstitutional and against freedom of speech rights.
“This third law, which passed in January, is only about safety on 4-foot medians regardless, and our legal team at least believes that will stand up in court,” Keller said in the KOB4 report.
A representative from the ACLU of New Mexico called the move a “cover-up,” adding, “It is no secret that the city’s goal is to sweep under the rug individuals seeking assistance from their neighbors on Albuquerque’s streets. Despite the city’s use of language like 'pedestrian safety' and 'median enforcement,' we all know that these are anti-panhandling measures dressed up in public safety clothes.
"The intent is and has always been to drive the most vulnerable and desperate in our community out of public spaces where they are most visible," the ALCU representative added. "The solution to homelessness is not to attack and criminalize our unhoused community members but to provide quality housing to all who need it, something that the city has consistently failed to do."