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Students may want start thinking twice about how they cross University Drive.

Fort Worth police officers will be on University Drive this week to issue tickets to students who jaywalk.

Officer Sidney Keith of the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) said he received notice from FWPD patrol officers that students are causing traffic problems by walking across the street despite crosswalk signals.

“We will write tickets to all students who do not use cross walks or don’t obey the signs,” Keith said.

Keith said about five officers will be on hand along University Drive to write tickets every day next week from approximately 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

TCU Crime Prevention Officer Pamela Christian said jaywalking tickets have been issued on campus before. TCU officers do write tickets, but not jaywalking tickets, Christian said.

“It is a city street that students are jaywalking across and I think our supervisors feel it best for Fort Worth Police to write the citations because of that,” Christian said.

Senior biology major Vanessa Norris said she understands officers are giving out tickets because they have a duty to make sure people are being safe, but she wonders how effective the tickets will be.

According to the Fort Worth Municipal Court website, the maximum fine for a jaywalking citation is $200. Norris said the idea of a $200 fine is a “scary thought.”

Keith said he realizes officers are not able to ticket every student who jaywalks, but he hopes the enforcement will deter students from illegally crossing University Drive.

Freshman graphic design major Alexandra McVicker said she will probably continue to jaywalk unless she sees an officer or another student getting a ticket.

Besides the threat of a fine, students are worried about the time constraints of getting to class while waiting for crosswalk signals.

“We just cross the street when we need to. Otherwise we’ll be late to class,” McVicker said.

“I think that there will be a negative reaction from students because that is how we get to class on time,” Norris said. “You have to wait a long time to cross the street.”

Keith said jaywalking is not only a traffic problem, but a safety issue as well.

“I would rather our students get a ticket than get hit by a car because of jaywalking,” Christian said.