[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...a4675634281.txt

Police to stress sidewalks instead of streets

By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, January 29, 2011 5:06 PM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — Residents who walk down the middle of the street instead of the sidewalk are becoming a problem, and the Michigan City Police Department has the solution.

They will begin cracking down this spring.

Police Chief Mark Swistek sympathized with people wanting to avoid snowy sidewalks in the winter, but said there is no excuse for doing so in the summer.

“In recent years, we’ve experienced an extraordinary amount of people that seem to ignore the utilization of the sidewalks in the neighborhoods,” he said. “And they like to walk down the middle of the road, and sometimes they obstruct the flow of traffic.”

Sometimes, the issue leads to fights “...when you have large groups and then they want to argue with the motorists,” Swistek said.

The police chief suggested pedestrians have become a nuisance for many residents, saying it’s “those little things that really get under the skin of the people in the neighborhoods.”

Swistek said he doesn’t want to fill jail cells with wayward pedestrians, saying it’s all right with him if the courts impose fines.

But he wants to send a message.

“Word’s going to get out that ‘Hey, the police arrested John yesterday because John was walking down the middle of the street’,” he said.

It’s not always easy to find a sidewalk to walk on. For the approximately 313 miles of road Michigan City maintains, there are only about 103 miles of sidewalk, according to city engineer Boyd Phelps.

The enforcement push won’t come into full swing until April.

“It’s mainly our teenagers that do this,” he said, “and once we start making arrests, words get around quickly.”

[Tim]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...a4675634281.txt

Make some arrests. What a stupid problem, brought about by stupid people too freaking stupid to act accordingly.

[Ang]

They do that in LaPorte too. Drives me nuts. I hope the LPPD step up and do the same thing.

[davew]

[size=5]

Seriously, about freaking time, yes winter I think I can see a good reason here, but on Franklin. Please don't be stupid.

I remember one very rotund woman walking down 11th street with 3 cars stacked up behind her and no one could go around due to a train coming. It was spring not winter.

Or, the instance of 4 kids on 10th, in the summer, just walking along not a care in the world.

I find it very embarrassing and very much a black-eye on the city. Really, walking in the street on Franklin, should be a jail-able offense due to the risk and possible injury to others on the road.

Dave