Should jaywalking be illegal in Anchorage — again?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Public testimony on an ordinance that would make jaywalking — which is defined as crossing a street outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk — illegal and subject to a $40 fine is set to be considered by the Anchorage Assembly.

Jaywalking used to be against the law on the streets of Anchorage, but in 2023, Assembly members passed an update to the city’s transportation laws that included removing fines for jaywalking.

The new laws — designed to make roads safer for drivers, pedestrians, and bikers — took effect in early October 2023.

In 2024, Anchorage experienced a record number of pedestrian deaths — 15. According to the proposed ordinance that would reinstate fines, 11 of those deaths occurred on a major roadway outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk.

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and Assembly member Randy Sulte are sponsoring the newest ordinance to make jaywalking illegal. Despite pushback from some fellow members who have said fining people for crossing the street won’t make roads safer, and likely won’t be enforced, Sulte disagrees.

In response to a written question, Sulte said in a text to Alaska’s News Source that the idea is to change the culture so that jaywalking is not an accepted practice.

“I would agree it is not feasible for APD to enforce the law given the current staffing levels and prioritization,” Sulte said. “Hence, we need to reestablish the culture to encourage citizens to act and demonstrate the right behaviors to save lives.”

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