NORTH BEND - Drivers who don't brake for pedestrians might find themselves stopping for police cruisers this spring and summer, when the North Bend Police Department conducts a series of crosswalk stings to increase pedestrian safety.

The department, which received a first-time $2,498 grant from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance to hold three such operations, will set up shop at unprotected intersections where a plain-clothed officer will spend a few hours crossing the street. Five other police officers will assist in the sting by video taping stops, logging information, and pulling over cars.

Motorists, who fail to yield or fail to stop and remain stopped while the decoy crosses, may face warnings or citations worth up to $242, said Officer Bill Downing, the project coordinator.

“We get several complaints throughout the year that people are not observing the crosswalks properly,” Downing said. North Bend held two stings last year in North Bend, resulting in 20 citations and as many warnings. “We took it upon ourselves to do the stings for public awareness as well as public education.”

He said notices of upcoming stings will be placed in local media days prior to each operation.

While citations and warnings were doled out to 40 drivers last year, North Bend Police Chief Steve Scibelli said the purpose of the operation is to inform motorists about their responsibilities, not to punish them. No dates have been set for the stings, but they are expected to occur during daylight hours in warmer weather conditions.

“Our purpose isn't to write citations,” Scibelli said. “If (a pedestrian is) struck by a 5,000-pound car, that's not going to be very good for either person.”

Many of the drivers who were pulled over last year were operating their vehicles without insurance, drivers licenses or with suspended licenses, he recalled.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 64,000 pedestrians were injured and 4,881 were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2005. Most pedestrian fatalities occurred in urban areas at non-intersection locations.

North Bend Mayor Rick Wetherell said in some areas, particularly school zones, traffic laws have changed, and teaching the public about them will clear up some confusion.

The grant money will be used to pay overtime hours for officers conducting the operations before Sept. 14, to send a staff member to pedestrian safety enforcement training and to conduct “diversion” classes that may be offered to at-fault drivers in lieu of a ticket. Downing said the class particulars have not been determined.

Anna Scalera, the pedestrian safety enforcement grant coordinator for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, said the statewide nonprofit bicycle advocacy group administers grant money for the Oregon Department of Transportation's Safety Division. The program is designed to raise awareness of crosswalk laws and every driver's responsibility to stop for crossing pedestrians.

“A lot of people in a lot of communities have difficulty crossing a road. Some people think these things are stings or entrapment but that's really not the purpose of the program,” Scalera said. She added that agencies who conduct the operations give the community advanced notice, including posting signs in the vicinity. “It's often pretty obvious, but every time we get people who blow right through.”

She said 22 other agencies received grants for similar activities, including the Coos Bay Police Department.

“I think it's important for people to be able to walk in their community safely,” Scalera said. “I think the point is that pedestrians are the most vulnerable users of the roadway. The consequences of an accident are much higher for a pedestrian than a motorist.”