Ahoy,
One of my most favorite things ever that I've heard about Chicago is "I'm from Chicago. I can cross the street any time I want." I followed this edict religiously in Berkeley. Everyone thought I was insane. And I remember biking and walking during rush hour downtown Chicago. I'll never forget how majestically planned it looked, people would just step into the street, in between and around the cars - like organized chaos. It was lovely.
It's interesting to experience what pedestrian etiquette is like in other cities. In the Bay Area, they might stand on the edge of the curb, but they follow the signals. In LA, no one dares approach the curb until the light has changed - forget about stepping off the curb. In NY, the streets can get so crowded - people walk in the road. But New Yorkers never pay attention to the crosswalk signal - they look at traffic or traffic lights for the other direction. I have jaywalked in front of police officers many a time, and have yet to be given a second glance. Jaywalking in the LA bus turnaround - not even the street - someone came up to me and warned me they fine people for doing that.
How can I start a revolution to make jaywalkers out of Angelenos?
mischievously forlorn,
jt
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