The new ordinance of Mobility and Security of Santa Cruz, currently in the public exhibition phase, after its initial approval, not only regulates the circulation of vehicles, but also that of pedestrians. The chapter dedicated to these addresses both the rules of behavior and everything that they are prohibited from doing. Thus, among the rules that must be complied with, there are some logical ones, such as only crossing the road at authorized places or staying on it, except in the cases and conditions permitted by law. Other prohibitions attract more attention, such as, for example, “running, jumping or moving around in a way that bothers other users”.
It is also prohibited to “wait for buses and other public transport vehicles outside the shelters or sidewalks or invade the roadway to request their stop,” as well as “get on or off moving vehicles, or carry out activities on the sidewalks, steps , roads, shoulders or, in general, in areas adjacent to the road, which may objectively disturb drivers or slow down, or hinder the progress of their vehicles, or may hinder the passage of people with reduced mobility. This last point is directly related to another of the articles in which it is expressly prohibited to occupy the road or its surroundings carrying out activities, such as “juggling, selling handkerchiefs, street vending, cleaning windshields, distributing advertising or others, taking advantage of the arrests or retentions originated by the traffic regulatory signs”.
Another of the issues that is regulated in the ordinance is mobility on the sidewalks, where people under 12 years of age will be allowed, provided they are accompanied by an adult, to circulate with skates, scooters, skateboards, tricycles, bicycles and the like. , as long as they adjust their speed to that of pedestrians, “without exceeding in any case five kilometers per hour”.
In addition, “they must respect the priority of pedestrians with whom they must maintain a minimum separation of 1 meter and other road safety conditions. In any case, they must dismount from the vehicle in case of high pedestrian density. In this section, another of the articles that draws attention is the one that indicates that pedestrians will try not to stop on the sidewalks, forming groups when this makes it difficult for other users to pass or forces them to move off the sidewalk, encroaching on the road or another route for the movement of vehicles (sidewalk-bike, lane-bike…). With regard to the uses permitted or not on the road, “ball games, skates, skateboards, etc., are prohibited, except in those duly authorized places.”
allegations phase
This ordinance is in the phase of presenting allegations, and some groups have already advanced that they are going to present them, given that there are articles that, they believe, do not conform to the law, or that are simply impossible to apply.
