By Erik Noonan
“I come before you today as a hardened criminal,” said Michael Wojcik, executive director of BikeMN, testifying before the House and Senate Transportation Committee Members. “Like many others in this room, I have frequently crossed streets ‘between intersections and/or against a crossing signal’””
It got a laugh in the hearing room. But it also landed with the weight of truth.
Because if crossing a street safely, when and where it makes sense, makes someone a criminal — then most of us are guilty.
And that’s exactly the problem.
This year, BikeMN is working with lawmakers in the Minnesota Legislature to pass a simple, common-sense update to state law: decriminalizing so-called “jaywalking” when a person crosses anywhere other than at an intersection safely and does not create a hazard. The bill (SF 1836) reflects how people actually move through their communities — on foot, using wheelchairs or other mobility devices, on bikes, with strollers, with grocery bags, with kids in tow.
It’s about aligning our laws with reality. And with safety.
A Brief History of “Jaywalking”
The word “jay” once meant a rube — someone unsophisticated, out of place. In the early 20th century, as cars began to dominate American streets, auto industry interests helped popularize the term “jaywalker” to shame people who moved through the street outside of vehicles — even though streets had historically been shared public spaces for walking, rolling, vending, playing, and gathering.
Instead of designing streets to slow cars and protect people, the legal framework shifted responsibility onto those outside of vehicles. Over time, crossing mid-block — even safely — became criminalized in many places.
In other words, we didn’t criminalize dangerous behavior. We criminalized being outside a car.
Everyone is a Pedestrian at Some Point
At BikeMN, we like to say something simple: everyone, at some point in their journey, is a pedestrian — or more broadly, a person moving under their own power with a mobility assistance device.
Even if you drive everywhere, you still walk or roll from your car to the store, to work, to school, or even your own front door. That short stretch between ignition and destination? That’s a pedestrian trip.
And that portion of your journey deserves to be as safe and convenient as is reasonable.
We shouldn’t design — or legislate — as if walking or rolling is a niche activity. It’s universal. It’s fundamental. It’s how every trip begins or ends.
When we criminalize safe street crossings, we’re not targeting some abstract “other.” We’re targeting ourselves, our neighbors, our kids, our parents — including those who use wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, scooters, or other mobility devices to get around.
Safety Should Scale With Danger
At BikeMN, we believe something simple: the greater the potential harm, the greater the responsibility.
A person walking or rolling across a street carries the kinetic energy of their own body and device. A person driving a two-ton vehicle carries vastly more risk. When crashes happen, it’s almost always the person outside the vehicle who pays the highest price.
That’s why the burden of safety on our roadways should fall primarily on those operating the most dangerous vehicles, and before that the engineers, planners, and designers who built a system that allows and inclines drivers towards unsafe behavior.
Decriminalizing jaywalking is not an encouragement to run or roll into traffic. It is not a free-for-all. The bill maintains that people must yield when necessary and cannot create a hazard.
What it does is remove criminal penalties for people who make safe, reasonable choices about when and where to cross.
And that matters.
The Reality on Minnesota Streets
If you’ve lived through a Minnesota winter, you know that sidewalks are not always usable.
Snowbanks pile high. Ice forms in uneven ridges. Curb ramps disappear beneath plow berms. For people using wheelchairs, walkers, or pushing strollers, sidewalks can become impassable overnight. The safest — sometimes the only — option becomes the street.
Are we really going to say that person is a criminal for choosing the only navigable path available?
The same thing happens during construction season. How often have you encountered a closed sidewalk with no detour provided? A sign that says “Sidewalk Closed” with no alternative except the travel lane?
Our infrastructure frequently fails to provide a continuous, accessible path for people walking and rolling. Criminalizing the improvisation required to navigate that failure only compounds the harm — particularly for disabled Minnesotans who already face disproportionate barriers in the built environment.
Enforcement and Equity
Across the country, enforcement of jaywalking laws has been shown to be disproportionately applied to members of historically marginalized communities. When no crash occurred. When no danger resulted. When the only “offense” was crossing outside painted lines.
Laws that rely heavily on discretionary enforcement create space for inequity.
We should be honest about that.
If crossing safely harms no one, but enforcement harms trust, livelihoods, and safety in other ways, then the law deserves scrutiny.
Laws Should Reflect How People Safely Behave
There’s a long-standing legal principle called stare decisis — the idea that law should respect precedent and stability. But law has always evolved alongside social practice. When people consistently and safely behave in certain ways, law eventually adjusts.
And let’s be clear: Minnesotans already cross mid-block and/or against a traffic signal when it’s clear and safe to do so. They already make judgment calls. They already look both ways and cross or roll when it is safe.
Our laws should reflect how people safely behave — not pretend they live in a world of perfectly spaced signalized intersections and usable sidewalks.
What This Bill Does — and Doesn’t Do
BikeMN’s bill modernizes state statute so that:
- Crossing outside a marked crosswalk between signalized intersections or against a signal is not a crime if it is done safely.
- People walking or using mobility devices must still yield to vehicles when necessary.
- Dangerous behavior remains prohibited.
- ‘Jaywalking’ no longer qualifies as a primary-offense.
It does not:
- Encourage reckless crossings.
- Remove accountability in cases where someone creates a hazard.
- Prioritize convenience over safety.
- Prevent law enforcement from preventing dangerous crossing.
Instead, it restores proportionality and common sense.
A Simple Change That Makes Us Safer
When we criminalize ordinary behavior — walking across the street, rolling across to catch a bus, navigating around a snowbank — we distract from the real safety work that needs to happen: designing streets that slow vehicles, creating safer crossings, clearing sidewalks, and holding drivers accountable for dangerous operation of heavy machinery.
When the law acknowledges that people walking, biking, and rolling are legitimate users of public space — capable of making safe decisions — it shifts culture towards valuing people not motor vehicles.
Toward shared responsibility.
Toward accessibility.
Toward safety grounded in design, not punishment.
How to Talk About This With Neighbors and Lawmakers
If you’re speaking with a neighbor or legislator, keep it simple:
1. Lead with common sense.
Ask: “Have you ever crossed mid-block or against a signal when it was clear and safe?” Most people have, whether walking or rolling.
2. Remind them that everyone moves under their own power at some point.
Even drivers are pedestrians for part of every trip. That portion of the journey deserves safety, dignity, and accessibility.
3. Emphasize safety scaling.
While safety is everyone’s responsibility, the person operating the most dangerous vehicle should carry the greatest responsibility.
4. Clarify what the bill does.
It doesn’t allow people to dart into traffic. It allows safe crossings without criminal penalties.
5. Bring up winter and construction reality.
Snow-covered sidewalks and missing detours make strict crosswalk compliance unrealistic and sometimes unsafe, especially for people using mobility devices. These are familiar and easily visualized.
6. For progressive audiences, highlight equity.
Laws enforced unevenly undermine trust and fairness.
7. Frame it as modernization.
This isn’t radical. It’s aligning statute with how Minnesotans already behave safely.
At the end of the day, this change is about dignity.
It’s about recognizing that people moving under their own power — whether on two feet, two wheels, or with assistive devices — are not nuisances to be managed, but neighbors navigating their communities.
And it’s about making Minnesota’s laws reflect the simple truth Michael Wojcik named in that hearing room: if crossing a street safely makes us criminals, maybe it’s the law that needs to change.
Minnesota is a national leader in forward-thinking transportation policy — and that didn’t happen by chance. For over 17 years, BikeMN has been at the table, fight after fight, shaping a future where biking, walking, and rolling is safe, accessible, and valued. That work is funded by members like you. Join as a sustaining supporter today at bikemn.org/join — $5 or $10 a month helps ensure Minnesota stays ahead. We all move forward together.