Sonoma Police focusing traffic enforcement on school crosswalks, downtown pedestrian crossings

Sonoma Police Traffic Deputy Mike Baraz recently issued a statement thanking citizens traveling through Sonoma’s school zones the last several weeks.
“Because of your cooperation and diligence in protecting people around our schools, we have seen a decrease in speeding and pedestrian violations around these areas,” Baraz said in the statement.
Continuing the Sonoma Police Department’s traffic safety program, deputies will be concentrating their efforts in the downtown area, specifically monitoring the area for pedestrian violations. Pedestrian violations include both vehicles failing to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and pedestrians failing to yield the right-of-way to vehicles.
As always, Baraz stated, the Sonoma Police Department encourages all pedestrians to use common sense when crossing any roadway; to pay attention to the vehicles approaching close enough to constitute a hazard and to make eye contact with the driver of an approaching vehicle to ensure that the driver sees you and is stopping as you enter the roadway.
“We encourage drivers, upon approaching a crosswalk or intersection, to expect a pedestrian to be crossing the roadway and adjust speed accordingly,” he said.