Pedestrian Thoughts on Cars in Crosswalks

As a person who does a fair share of walking in downtown Los Angeles and the Pasadena area, I find it absolutely mystifying that vehicle operators routinely park in pedestrian crossings while waiting for stoplights to change or traffic ahead to clear. In many instances, there is room behind the crosswalk for these vehicles, but their operators choose instead to sit there.

Their rudeness forces pedestrians to navigate around the offending vehicle. As a longtime resident of San Francisco, I note that rules against jaywalking (which is a way of life up north) are strictly enforced by local authorities, but no effort is made to penalize or even educate inconsiderate drivers who inconvenience, if not endanger, the lives of pedestrians. If the authorities would only make the effort to put out the message that such conduct is punishable by fine and citation and take steps to enforce this policy, this annoying, if not dangerous, practice would be substantially reduced.

Steve Cannata

San Marino