CHP Claims 60% Drop in Pedestrians on Freeways

Since teams of officers began cruising South Bay freeways, the number of pedestrians gathering on center dividers has dropped by almost 60%, the California Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.

After the four-car crews went into action July 1, more than 1,000 pedestrians were removed from freeway medians, the CHP reported. Since 1985, 175 pedestrians have been killed attempting to cross freeways from the dividers.

Steve Deck, acting sergeant in the San Diego area division of the CHP, said Wednesday that the patrols will continue, concentrating on the southernmost stretch of Interstate 5. Deck said the area being watch is bordered by I-5, Interstate 805 and California 905.

Deck said the effort is not trying to stem illegal immigration from Mexico.

“We don’t know the immigration status (of the pedestrians involved), and we don’t care,” he said. “That isn’t our job. We simply see it as a big traffic-safety problem, and that’s all we’re concerned about.”

When the program was announced, officials for the U.S. Border Patrol said they did not intend to chase undocumented migrants once they reached the freeway, for fear that the travelers would flee into traffic.

But the Mexican consul general in San Diego and immigration activists were skeptical, fearing that the sweeps would lead to increased cooperation between the CHP and the Border Patrol. CHP officials say they warn pedestrians that repeat offenders will be turned over to the Border Patrol.

CHP Officer Pete Herrera recently told The Times: “We will turn them over (to the Border Patrol) because we just can’t be doing this all day. We’ll give them a warning the first time, but, if they insist on getting on the freeway, we will turn them over.”

The CHP special enforcement unit is the latest addition to what the agency calls “the three E’s of traffic safety”: education, engineering and enforcement.

Flashing lights and signs warn motorists of pedestrian crossings, and the California Department of Transportation plans to build a $922,000, 8-foot fence that will extend along the median for 4 miles to discourage pedestrians from crossing.