COLONIE — In an effort to increase pedestrian and driver safety, police plan to start handing out more tickets for traffic violations this summer.
Last week, police began ticketing more people in an attempt to stop driving and pedestrian injuries and fatalities, specifically in the area between Colonie Center and Northway Mall, according to police spokesman Lieutenant Ken Pero. Right now, officers are stationed in various places along the road making sure drivers and civilians don’t take shortcuts that could lead to injury or death, such as stopping their vehicle in a crosswalk or failing to push a crossing button and wait for a signal to cross a street, said Pero.
According to Pero, officers are simply watching to make sure pedestrians are following the rules of the road. “Anyone who disregards that gets a ticket,” he said.
Pero said police have been educating people about traffic safety for years, going as far as to put safety posters on the insides of buses. He said the increase of enforcement “isn’t a big surprise” and that at this point, some people will only learn by receiving tickets.
During the first two days, Pero said more than 50 tickets were issued to people, but during their detail this week, that number decreased.
“I’m hoping by the end of the summer, our numbers will be way down,” Pero said.
Central Avenue is widely known as the most dangerous road in the Capital Region. This past May, 62-year-old Borziloke Zakolli was killed on Central Avenue after she was struck by a car and thrown into another car in the next lane.
