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News & ArtsThursday, November 13, 2008
At Large My Favorite Thing About NYC
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Unselfconscious jaywalking.
Tell it to someone who cares, Mr. Red Hand.
2
One of the things I miss most about living in SF is the blatant, constant jay-walking. This is also true in NYC. In Chicago, I fear for my life if I try to jaywalk at random.
I love Dan Savage!
I love Dan Savage!
3
seriously, i was in harlem for halloween and the election and jaywalking with a joyous impunity in front of cops (including my favorite of NY's finest, with cornrows). Got back here and 2 days back on the west coiast got a jaywalking ticket at 1st and Spring..........fucking priceless. Cop wasn't receptive to my recently returned from NY plea for mercy
4
@2, Really? I jaywalk across six lanes on Wacker almost every day. I've also done it across Michigan, but it is not advised. For my money, though, Boston is the king of jaywalking cities.
5
dan, don't know if you saw this but thought you would appreciate it:
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1393290.…
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1393290.…
6
I'm also surprised by #2 -- I jaywalk all of the time in Chicago. Probably half a dozen times a day. In front of policemen and traffic cops (they really give jaywalking tickets in Seattle?).
I mean, you have to look before you do it to see if there are any cars coming. But, it's pretty much standard operating procedure here.
I mean, you have to look before you do it to see if there are any cars coming. But, it's pretty much standard operating procedure here.
8
@ 4 and 6 - You're probably right. I just sat here and thought about my jaywalking patterns in Chicago, and realize that I jaywalk as much here as anywhere. But I have to be much more careful than when I've lived elsewhere. Thank you, SLOG, for making an honest man out of me.
9
My girlfriend got a jaywalking ticket in Pioneer Square last year by this one cop who's apparently infamous for being a jaywalking nazi. She was crossing on a flashing red hand in a crosswalk at the time.
She got the ticket overturned but we were both surprised that cops actually wrote tickets for that sort of thing. Even so, I still jaywalk the hell out of this bitch whenever I can.
She got the ticket overturned but we were both surprised that cops actually wrote tickets for that sort of thing. Even so, I still jaywalk the hell out of this bitch whenever I can.
11
In Ann Arbor you could cross the street on red if there was no traffic coming. Yeah, so yay for Ann Arbor, the Manhattan of Michigan.
12
My favorite thing about NYC: the subway. My God, the subway! For this Seattle native who used to think that a bus that runs every 20 minutes was rapid transit, the subway was a revelation.
13
to be fair, I talked a bunch of shit to the cop and likely helped myself to the ticket, but still, stopping me for jaywalking....... F*CK OFF!
14
A good friend and native Manhattanite says crossing streets in NYC is like stealing bases...you have to run when no one is there to tag you.
15
NYC is the safest city for pedestrian traffic because the large numbers of pedestrians cause drivers to be more conscious of them. This is a really important point about drivers that Tom Vanderbilt presses in his awesome book Traffic.
Pictures of pedestrians or signs that talk about pedestrians have no effect and are a waste of money. Similarly, paining pictures of bicycles on the street, or putting up signs, or orange flags or flashing lights makes no impression. The actual thing has to exist and be seen in large numbers before drivers start looking out for it.
Pictures of pedestrians or signs that talk about pedestrians have no effect and are a waste of money. Similarly, paining pictures of bicycles on the street, or putting up signs, or orange flags or flashing lights makes no impression. The actual thing has to exist and be seen in large numbers before drivers start looking out for it.
16
I was recently in DC after an absence of over a decade, and it was fun remembering how to jaywalk. Although some of the cars whizzing by reminded me of how scared I was of it when I was a kid, and how I was a bit relieved when it was less common in the places I moved to...
17
@7, wrong. We were responding to another comment in the thread. Don't you hate it when reality doesn't conform to your preconceived notions?
Another word on Boston, though. I can't really think of another city where you walk into the street and the cars actually stop for you. It's always dangerous coming back from a return visit there and having to realize that isn't SOP in other places.
Another word on Boston, though. I can't really think of another city where you walk into the street and the cars actually stop for you. It's always dangerous coming back from a return visit there and having to realize that isn't SOP in other places.
18
The looks I get when I jaywalk in Seattle are priceless -- I watch other pedestrians, judge, and then usually look both ways and guiltily follow me, once they realize they can get away with it.
19
If this were about cyclists ignoring red lights, which is no different from jaywalking, people on here would be frothing at the mouth in anger. It's one of the more interesting double-standards.
20
Upon arriving in Seattle I learned quickly that jaywalking carries with it an awesome responsibility. Having grown up in a city I learned that before crossing the street one should look for traffic in both directions. In Seattle, however, as soon as I step off the curb, the lemmings behind me will follow suit, apparently never having been taught to "look both ways" and/or trusting a colored light to protect them against traumatic injury. So, it's not self-consciousness that prevents me from capitalizing on certain jaywalking opportunities but the lives of my followers.
21
@17, yes, I do hate it when reality doesn't conform to my preconceived notions, because my preconceived notions fucking rock.
Your inferiority complex makes you grumpy, did you realize that?
Your inferiority complex makes you grumpy, did you realize that?
22
Yeah, I was in NYC for to see Yankee Stadium before the season ended, and was pretty blown away by the street crossing behavior. You can spot the tourists because they pay attention to the walk/don't walk lights.
23
I was a jaywalker my whole life in NJ and NY and continued to jaywalk when I lived in Austin and Seattle and am, presently, a jaywalking resident of San Francisco. Jaywalker4Evah!
25
I'm surprised no one's yet mentioned this incident in this thread.
Jaywalking in Seattle = safe as eating lutefisk.
Jaywalking in Seattle = safe as eating lutefisk.
26
@25: It's safe if you don't jaywalk in front of cars... jaywalkers in NYC look both ways and then move at a steady pace across the street. It's... informed jaywalking instead of walking out carelessly and assuming drivers will stop for you.
28
I jaywalk all the time here, have for decades.
But, just like any other potentially dangerous activity, common sense should prevail; one has to be observant and weigh the risks. If there aren't any cars (or cops) visible for several blocks in either direction, then absolutely I'll cross against the light or in the middle of the street.
And if the lemmings behind me don't have the cognitive skills to do more than blindly follow someone into the street, well, nature has its own way of sorting them out, doesn't it?
But, just like any other potentially dangerous activity, common sense should prevail; one has to be observant and weigh the risks. If there aren't any cars (or cops) visible for several blocks in either direction, then absolutely I'll cross against the light or in the middle of the street.
And if the lemmings behind me don't have the cognitive skills to do more than blindly follow someone into the street, well, nature has its own way of sorting them out, doesn't it?
29
Indeed, COMTE, nature wisely has placed your superior mind at the pinnacle of a mighty pyramid of intellect, towering above the blind lemmings who can only dream of jaywalking with such lordly power and pride. God, I admire you.
30
the thing is comte @28, in new york you can jaywalk right in front of the cops and they generally don't care, as long as your not fucking up traffic by being an asshole. it's one of the biggest culture shocks between seattle and new york. i've never understood why seattlites are so submissive to cars and do-nothing traffic laws.
31
Not to pee on everyone's jay-walky parade, but all american cities, towns and rural areas are the Capital of Jaywalking, other than Seattle and perhaps Portland.
However, there are many great neighborhoods in Seattle where jaywalking is a fun, low-risk sport. Take Fremont, for instance - the only risk in Fremont is being yelled at by a biker also running a red. This is delicious irony, and a reward in itself.
However, there are many great neighborhoods in Seattle where jaywalking is a fun, low-risk sport. Take Fremont, for instance - the only risk in Fremont is being yelled at by a biker also running a red. This is delicious irony, and a reward in itself.
32
This is interesting. I've lived in NYC forever and don't even realize I jaywalk - you just cross the street when there are no cars (or even when there are cars but enough people decide to cross anyway that the cars can't move) - the sign/light is meaningless indeed. What a funny discussion topic! Thank you Dan for making me notice something new about my city.
33
Haha, I agree with Robyn. I secretly heart it when a horde of people decide that they're just not gonna fucking wait anymore and cross, cars be damned. Number 974 that New York truly is the greatest city on Earth.
34
It's true. I can tell you, as a lifelong Noo Yawkah, that the only people who wait for the light to change are tourists and the occasional old lady or woman with a baby in a stroller. I firmly believe that it is every New Yorker's God-given right to cross the street wherever and whenever we damned well please. Giuliani tried, briefly, to prevent jaywalking a few years back by putting guard rails on all the sidewalks. People just jumped over the guard rails.
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