PHOENIX — A new state bill is being introduced with the goal of reducing the number of pedestrian deaths on the roads, but not everyone agrees that's what its intentions are.
Currently, Arizona averages five pedestrian accidents each day, according to ADOT crash stats. While factors like impaired, distracted, or speeding drivers often contribute to these incidents, District 3 Republican legislator Joseph Chaplik argues that pedestrians themselves need to exhibit more caution.
“People are standing all over the place. They’re standing on medians, on gravel, on off ramps," Chaplik said.
This legislative session, he introduced House Bill 2684. His bill seeks to ban pedestrians from "congregating" or "soliciting" in high-risk areas like raised medians, highway off-ramps, and locations lacking sidewalks. The first violation of this law would result in a warning, but repeat offenses could lead to misdemeanor charges.
“We’re allowing them to be in spots where pedestrians shouldn’t be," Chaplik said. "You can't stand in these areas where vehicles are traveling 30, 40, 50 miles per hour."
Critics of the bill, like community advocate Stacey Champion, argue that this measure targets the unsheltered population who often find themselves in those areas out of necessity.
"There are so many other things we could be doing to help people so they don’t have to panhandle in the first place,” Champion said.
Champion adds there should be more of a focus on other initiatives to improve pedestrian safety like funding infrastructure projects and increasing penalties for drivers who are not looking out for people.
"If they're going to pitch this as a pedestrian safety issue, there are so many other pieces of proactive safety legislation that could be written," Champion said.
Rep. Chaplik insisted that the bill is not aimed at criminalizing homelessness, but rather at improving safety for all road users.
"There’s nothing in this bill that says anything about homeless or panhandlers...I don't care what you're holding, if you have a sign that says patio furniture for sale,” Chaplik said. "This is about people standing where they shouldn't be on the roadways. It has nothing to do with who they are."
Chaplik's hope is that his bill will lead to a significant reduction in pedestrian fatalities.
"Our fatality rate comes down, and we're one of the lowest in the country,” he said.
Champion says focusing on the people in the roads won't solve everything, and that effective safety measures are lacking.
"We don’t have safety measures in place to back people up from the crosswalk,” she said. "A lot of the reasons [for pedestrian crashes] are we have big, wide, fast-moving streets. And it's dangerous by design."
Champion adds she is frustrated by other bills introduced by Chaplik's colleagues this legislative session which she believes will make the roads less safe, citing the "Slow Poke" bill, and another bill that would allow golfers to bring their own alcohol to the course.
"It's a joke," Champion said.
Last year, Chaplik attempted to pass a similar bill, but it was vetoed by the governor. With small modifications this year, including a warning for first-time offenders, he is hopeful this time it will get Governor Hobbs's approval.