Maplewood Ponders Ban On Texting And Walking In Street

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — From the New Jersey suburb that brought you the “leaf blower ban” comes another proposed law: no texting and walking in the street.

During the Jan. 16 Maplewood Township Committee meeting, committee member Nancy Adams put forth the idea of fining residents who use hand-held electronic devices while seeking to cross or walk in a crosswalk, a similar proposal to a law passed in 2017 by the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, TAP Into reported.

Adams said that the proposed law is based on the idea that pedestrians share an equal responsibility with drivers for keeping local roadways safe.

The proposal now heads to Maplewood’s public safety committee. It would have to be drafted as an ordinance and offered for public comment before the town committee could take action, News 12 New Jersey reported.

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Maplewood has also made headlines for its recent ban on leaf blowers, which prohibits the use of commercial non-electric leaf blowers from May 15 to Sept. 30 at risk of a $500 minimum fine.

The ban cites "health hazards" and the "annoyance to area residents" as the reason for the regulations.

• See related article: Maplewood Leaf Blower Ban Returns

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