Recently I posted about CalBike’s report on Traffic Enforcement “Reduce the Role of Traffic Enforcement for the Safety of Everyone”. Subtitled “What the Defund the Police Movement Means for Bicycling”.
Key recommendation is to grant authority of traffic enforcement to departments of transportation. For instance, the city of Berkeley CA approved the creation of BerkDOT as part of a restructuring of the police department. BerkDOT will be responsible for enforcing traffic laws “with a racial justice lens”. Reports Walk Bike Berkeley, it’s vision for BerkDOT is “prioritizing engineering and community engagement over enforcement“. In other words, the trouble begins when police routinely stop citizens of color for minor traffic violations and the situation escalates to a deadly confrontation.
The idea is to reduce police budget intended for traffic enforcement and to then invest in youth and restorative justice programs, housing and homeless services, and mental health services, among other community needs. Theoretically “other community needs” could mean better cycling routes to encourage citizens to ride a bike instead of driving a car.
