Cutting corners could soon be allowed in Victoria as the city moves to legalize jaywalking.

"The Motor Vehicle Act says you can cross the street anywhere as long as you are not impeding traffic," Mayor Dean Fortin said.

"If it's clear and safe to do so you can cross. You don't need to cross at corners."

City councillors today will discuss the idea of amending its streets and traffic bylaw to allow pedestrians to cross the street mid-block in the downtown.

"Government Street is probably a classic example of what's happening and what the reality is out there," Fortin said.

The change would be in keeping with Section 180 of the provincial Motor Vehicle Act, which permits pedestrians to cross a roadway other than at a crosswalk provided they yield the right-of-way to motor vehicles.

In Victoria and the capital region, crossing mid-block is permitted on all streets except at some downtown Victoria streets where it is specifically prohibited by bylaw.

Pedestrians have been prohibited by city bylaw for some 30 years from crossing mid-block in the "congested" area generally defined as bordered by Douglas Street, Herald Street, Government Street and Fort Street. (Fisgard Street between Government and Douglas, and Government between Fort and Yates streets have been exempt.)

But a city staff report says that due to significant improvements in downtown infrastructure, including mid-block crosswalks and pedestrian-friendly intersections, they have no concerns about mid-block pedestrian crossings either from a safety perspective or from a traffic impact perspective.

"Pedestrians generally take advantage of the infrastructure provided and make reasonable choices when crossing a street," the staff report says.

"So much of our effort lately has been to move toward more of a pedestrian-friendly city," Fortin said. "You can see that where part of our downtown design has been all these mid-block walkways we've put in between our major streets."

City police are supportive of the move, the report says.

Last February, when the region's Integrated Road Safety Unit doled out $100 jaywalking tickets downtown during an enforcement blitz, they stirred up a hornet's nest of resentment and were roundly criticized for having misplaced priorities.

Officers should have given out warnings instead of fines to let people know about the enforcement campaign, Ken Kelly,

manager of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, said at the time, adding that the initiative undermined the association's efforts to attract people downtown by offering free parking.

Sgt. Ross Elliott of the road safety unit said police will abide by any bylaws the city adopts.

"A dyed-in-the wool traffic officer would obviously lean toward public safety. But it's their city and they can do with it what they want," Elliott said.

"If they change their bylaws to allow mid-block crossing anywhere in the city of Victoria, then we have to respect that."

He said many of the tickets issued during the blitz last year were for pedestrians crossing against a red light -- something that would still be illegal even if jaywalking is allowed.

bcleverley@tc.canwest.com