Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials issued 19 tickets to drivers during a crosswalk safety operation held in conjunction with Santa Clarita city officials.

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“We had 99 incidents last year where a car collided with a bicyclist or a pedestrian,” said Santa Clarita Spokeswoman Gail Morgan. “Most of those were caused by drivers who failed to yield.”

A Sheriff’s Department Explorer program volunteer dressed as Batman crossed the street, and if drivers didn’t wait for him to be out of the crosswalk, deputies were there to hand out the citation.

In addition to 17 crosswalk tickets, two cellphone violations were issued, Morgan said Tuesday.

The campaign also is meant to encourage motorists to scan the road ahead for pedestrians, stay focused, yield to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks and watch for pedestrians while making turns and obey speed limits, officials said.

“The city sees an average of two incidents per week involving cyclists and pedestrians, and in the last year alone, we saw 50 injury-related traffic collisions involving pedestrians on our local roadways,” said Sgt. Rich Cohen of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s Traffic Unit, in a news release.

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“The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department and the city are partnering to conduct a public safety operation that will increase awareness of safety laws and remind pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists how important it is to follow the rules of the road,” the release stated

This operation is being held in conjunction with the city’s current public safety campaign: “Respect is a Two-Way Street,” and “Be Aware, Stay Alive.”

For more information on how to safely “share the road,” visit bikesantaclarita.com.

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