Drivers near Christie's restaurant and the Burlingame Caltrain station ignored pedestrian right-of-way rules so frequently during a Burlingame Police Department enforcement operation in early August that officers averaged a citation every 15 minutes.

The department issued approximately 16 citations during the four-hour morning operation, according to a BPD statement reported by Burlingame Voice on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The sweep targeted drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Violations kept coming.

Joe noted that officers were writing tickets in plain sight, yet drivers continued to blow through crosswalks throughout the four hours. Multiple people told Burlingame Voice blogger Joe it was like "shooting fish in a barrel."

The operation is the latest in a string of BPD traffic enforcement efforts. In September 2025, the department participated in the San Mateo County Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, which produced 203 citations. BPD also ran a "Step Up For Safer Streets" pedestrian safety month initiative that same month, according to department press releases.

Fang lawsuit alleges high fatality rate

Pedestrian safety in Burlingame has drawn heightened scrutiny since the death of 4-year-old Ayden Fang, who was killed in a crash on Aug. 8, 2025. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Fang family in March alleged that Burlingame's pedestrian fatality rate is three to four times higher than the national per-capita average, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Attorneys for the family alleged in the March court filing that the city's "inaction after Ayden's death is illustrative of the (city's) years-long refusal to take pedestrian safety seriously."

That claim has not been independently verified and remains an allegation in active litigation.

Joe, who writes about walking on Burlingame Avenue and Broadway, called for the department to add officers. "I think we need a couple more officers and a little less overhead elsewhere," he wrote.

BPD has not announced a follow-up enforcement operation or released the exact date of the August sweep. Residents can report traffic safety concerns to the Burlingame Police Department at (650) 777-4100.