Foot Traffic
People actually do walk in Los Angeles, let’s try to make it better
I love cars. I love driving. Living in California, as a driver, is fantastic. From track days, to twisty canyon roads, there’s something for every kind of driver. Winding up Laurel Canyon (when there’s no traffic) and crusing along Mulholland is one of my favorite drives in Los Angeles.
I have lived in Los Angeles for about 7 years now and even though I enjoy driving, for most of the time I only ever had one car. You see I hate traffic and since moving here, I primarily commute via a combination of walking, public transport and cycling.
Recently there has been an issue erupting in Downtown Los Angeles over the LAPD ticketing people who enter the crosswalk once the flashing hand countdown begins. It has been covered by the New York Times and is featured on most of the local Los Angeles liked Curbed LA.
The Crosswalk Explained
Most crosswalks in Los Angeles are broken down into three stages.
When it is ok to walk, there is a little white walking guy symbol. As a pedestrian you are free to enter skip, dance, hop through the crosswalk during this time.
Once the little white walking guy symbol has had its time, a red hand will appear and begin flashing along with a countdown. The countdown can be of a variable length, based on the distance it takes to walk across the street. This is the stage where there is a point of contention amongst pedestrians and LAPD officers (but we’ll get to that later).
The final stage of the crosswalk is the red hand that does not flash. This means do not walk.
The ticketing issue aside, here are a few baby steps as to how we can all make Los Angeles better for pedestrians and in turn, everyone else that uses the streets.
Ditch The Flashing Hand Countdown
I’ve traveled quite a bit and one thing I’ve never seen before moving to Los Angeles was this countdown with a flashing hand. Not one to look up pedestrian laws I immediately thought it meant, “Hey, this is how much time you have left to cross the street, so cross quickly.”
I can’t be the first person who ever had this thought since I see folks crossing while the hand is flashing nearly every day. This is what the LAPD are ticketing people for. Even if you step out while there is potentially a full safe walking time on the clock, you may earn yourself a $250.00 ticket from the friendly fellows in blue.
The flashing hand with the countdown needs to go. Too often have I seen people make a mad dash into the street and put themselves at risk with only a short amount of time on the clock. I’ve also seen drivers use it as an indication to drive faster to get through an intersection knowing that the flashing hand means the end of their green light.
It really is simple. If it is not safe to walk, then give people a warning that has no countdown. The countdown gives people the impression that there is still hope for them to cross the street. By removing this hope, I believe as a walker people will be more averse to trying to rush across the street. Drivers will also have less of an incentive to race through the intersection to beat the clock.
Remove Pushing Button to Cross
As the New York Times writer expressed in his travels to LA, in some parts of town you have to actually press the button to activate the crosswalk. As people become more reliant on walking and public transit, this is something that I believe needs to go in the most walkable neighborhoods across the city.
Take the following example. A pedestrian arrives at a crosswalk and didn’t know he or she needs to press the button to cross the street. The light for the cars turn green but the red hand remains. The traffic light is green, so the pedestrian thinks it’s safe to cross and enters the street. Unfortunately this can lead to a dangerous misunderstanding between car and walker, where both parties don’t see the other one coming.
Eliminate the confusion, always have the walk signal fire. If there are no pedestrians in the crosswalk then the driver can turn safely.
Crackdown on Poor Driving
If pedestrians can get ticketed for jaywalking then drivers should be educated for some of the dangerous maneuvers they do. Here’s a list of things I have seen drivers do that almost ended up with me or someone else getting auto-smushed.
My personal favorite is the turn right without actually looking right. In Los Angeles you can turn right on red. Nearly everyday I see a driver try to turn right into a street only to be waylaid by incoming traffic from the left. Due to the driver focusing so intensely on the incoming traffic from the left they forget to look right and often end up sitting half in the crosswalk with folks walking them as the opposing light turns green and people start to walk. Driver enters crosswalk, almost hits and / or blocks pedestrians, ticket.
There seems to be some confusion as to where you are actually supposed to stop at an intersection in Los Angeles. Whether it be at a stop sign, red light, you are guaranteed to see a driver sitting right in the middle of the crosswalk at anytime in Los Angeles. For some folks there seems to be a huge lack of understanding as to which line they should stop at when they arrive at a stop sign or red light. As to my point above, driver stops in a crosswalk, ticket.
This one is also pretty obvious and needs to be cracked down on so very hard. Do not drive and use your phone, believe me that SnapChat can wait. Here’s an example. Driver is using Google Maps. Decides to take a turn into an intersection while looking at the phone. Still looking at the phone, they will not see anyone walking into the intersection that has right away. This one really does give me the shits. According to the CA Office of Traffic and Safety the first ticket for being on your phone is $159.00. A pedestrian jaywalking ticket is $250.00.
Which brings me finally to zebra crossings (that’s what we call them in Australia, because you know, zebras right?) Everyone else in the world if you approach a zebra crossing, the cars usually stop. In Los Angeles you have what I would say is a 50/50 chance that the driver will stop.
This is how it usually plays out. Driver sees pedestrian approach crosswalk, pedestrian starts to cross, driver speeds up to beat pedestrian to crosswalk… Even with the flashing lights or a traffic light, drivers simply blast through these most of the time. If there’s a pedestrian about to walk and driver blows through the crossing, ticket.
Probably the most dangerous driver thing of them all due to the speed associated with it. There’s nothing more insane then getting your walk signal only to be almost taken out by a driver who thought he or she could make the yellow light. Even looking both ways does not help in this case as more often than not the acceleration from the driver happens suddenly as he or she decides to either try and make the light or not. A sudden burst of speed in this case can be deadly. Run through a red and almost kill someone, fucking ticket for sure.
We need to find a balance between enforcing pedestrians doing silly things as well as drivers, it’s a two way street (pun absolutely intended).
Whatever ends up happening regarding the whole jaywalking controversy, it really is going to take drivers, walkers, the department of transportation and law enforcement to all get on the same page regarding what is allowed and what isn’t.
As LA becomes less reliant on cars, we are going to need to make some changes in order to make it better for people who choose to walk and ditch their cars which will in turn make it much easier for drivers.
If you’re an LA resident who drives or walk, please feel free to leave your own feedback or suggestions. You can also argue with me on Twitter @rustydingo
