KALAMAZOO, MI — Pedestrians and vehicles in Kalamazoo may want to pay extra attention when approaching crosswalks this week.

From Sept. 5-11, the city of Kalamazoo — as well as the cities of Warren, Detroit and Lansing — will be participating in Pedestrian Enforcement Week, the Michigan State Police announced in a news release.

The four Michigan cities each received grant funding for a high-visibility safety campaign focused specifically on protecting pedestrians. The jurisdictions were selected as each were among those with the highest number of pedestrian crashes over the past five years on record, according to data provided by the Office of Highway Safety Planning.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety received $78,416 in grant funding, which allows for outside law enforcement agencies to assist with pedestrian enforcement during high enforcement periods, Capt. Matt Huber told MLive earlier this year. The grant will pay for about 1,160 hours of enforcement over the course of the year, and only covers personnel costs, Huber said.

The city, which also participated in a week-long enforcement period in March, is required to provide a 20% local match.

“The money is awarded for all of 2019,” OHSP communications strategist Kari Arend said in an email to MLive.

“Unlike our other enforcement periods for seat belts and impaired driving, this enforcement period can extend beyond the two mandatory enforcement periods (in March and September) The communities have to develop a strategic plan based on crash data and plan when the extra enforcement will occur.”

Based on traffic crash data, the grant directs the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety to focus enforcement efforts on the downtown area and along West Michigan Avenue west of Western Michigan University’s campus, Huber said.

In Michigan, more than 100 pedestrians die each year, according to the OHSP. The month of September is an especially dangerous time of year for pedestrians, with one of the highest volume of crashes — more than 1,000 in the last five years.

Between 2013-2017, Detroit recorded a total of 2,330 pedestrian crashes; Kalamazoo a total of 264; Lansing a total of 261; and Warren, 193.

In 2018, Kalamazoo County ranked No. 8 among counties statewide with 66 accidents involving pedestrians, according to data provided by the OHSP. Sixteen pedestrians were seriously injured as a result of those and four people died. With four fatalities, Kalamazoo County ranked sixth for fatal pedestrian crashes statewide.

“This enforcement period aims to educate community members about the importance of pedestrian safety and the traffic laws designed to protect them,” said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director.

Over the course of the next week, officers will be on the lookout for violations by drivers that include: illegal turns, failing to stop at a signal or stop sign before a crosswalk, failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk and blocking a roadway that interferes with the normal flow of traffic.

Officers will also be looking for violations by pedestrians that include: not following traffic control signals, not walking on a sidewalk where provided, not walking facing traffic when on a roadway, and failing to yield to drivers with the right-of-way.

Beginning June 1, motorists in the city of Kalamazoo began being required to stop for pedestrians and cyclists who were either in, or waiting to enter, any crosswalk that does not have traffic control.

The enforcement campaign is supported with federal traffic safety funds provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and coordinated by the OHSP.