By Roy Denish
Kandy’s streets are entering a new era of discipline as police launch a zero-tolerance crackdown on jaywalking, warning pedestrians to use zebra crossings and underpasses or face legal action. Authorities say the move is aimed at reducing accidents, easing congestion, and making Sri Lanka’s hill capital safer for residents and tourists alike.
Authorities in Sri Lanka’s historic hill capital have launched a strict enforcement campaign targeting pedestrians who bypass designated road crossings, deploying specialized police units to curb an influx of jaywalking that officials say severely worsens urban gridlock and compromises public safety.
The Kandy Police, working alongside regional transport authorities, announced that pedestrians failing to use designated zebra crossings or specialized underpasses will face immediate legal action, including spot fines and prosecution under the country’s Motor Traffic Act.
The legal sweep focuses on high-congestion zones around central Kandy, particularly intersections near the primary railway station, the clock tower junction, and major local schools where multi-lane traffic intersects with heavy foot traffic.
“We are enforcing these regulations uniformly,” a senior Kandy traffic police official said, noting that past leniency had led to a culture of casual road-crossing that disrupted vehicular flow and contributed to a high rate of localized commuter accidents. “Infrastructure has been built at significant public cost to keep people off the active lanes. Avoiding them to cross busy roads unlawfully is now subject to prosecution.”
Central to the enforcement push is the mandatory utilization of Kandy’s pedestrian underpass system. Built to safely route thousands of daily commuters beneath the city’s congested intersections, the subways have frequently been underutilized by pedestrians choosing to dash through moving traffic instead.
To address public reluctance to use the underground pathways, the Ministry of Transport and Highways has simultaneously initiated an aggressive cleanup campaign within the infrastructure. Under newly issued directives, municipal authorities have cleared unauthorized street vendors, pavement hawkers, and beggars who previously obstructed the tunnels, while updating lighting and security systems to ensure accessibility.
Plainclothes officers and specialized monitoring teams have been positioned at known high-risk crossing zones to intercept violators. According to municipal traffic records, pedestrian-involved incidents historically rank among the highest categories of road accidents reported within the Kandy jurisdiction, frequently involving motorcycles and three-wheelers.
The police department emphasized that the strict measures are part of a broader, long-term traffic restructuring plan designed to transform Kandy’s central business district into a safer, more organized transit hub for both residents and visiting tourists.
