WalkSydney were disappointed to hear of the recent NSW Police blitz targetting pedestrians in Sydney.

This operation states that it aims to reduce the risk of collisions involving pedestrians through education and enforcement at locations identified as high-risk areas.

Meeting the needs of people walking in a City with a rapidly growing population is an important task, and fining pedestrians is not an effective way to reduce collisions.

More work needs to be done to make walking safer, including reviewing the Road Rules to better recognise and prioritise the vulnerability of people walking, as well as better education around these rules.  

NSW Road Safety acknowledges one of our most commonly misunderstood road rules is giving way to pedestrians when turning.

Road design can be improved to reduce risk of injury by

• reducing traffic speeds to 30km/hr,
• increasing footpath widths,
• reducing the waiting time at lights,
• increasing the crossing times, and
• pedestrianising town centres.  

We urge the state government to focus on implementing evidence-based strategies to improve the safety of people moving around in our city.