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Why You Should Jaywalk

Posted by: Kilgore Trout
Thanks to: Phillip Todd
27 February 2006 - 5:00am

The prevalence of jaywalking in dense, urban cities demonstrates the need for pedestrian-oriented street design.

Jaywalking is often portrayed in a negative light. But Maisonneuve urban affairs columnist Christopher DeWolf argues that we should take a second look at the phenomenon. "The failure of lawmakers to control pedestrian behaviour shows that this approach simply does not work," he writes. "Instead of trying to force pedestrians to conform to streets designed primarily for cars, why not adapt them to the behaviour of pedestrians?" DeWolf goes on to look at how streets can be made to embrace jaywalking and ensure a more harmonious relationship between pedestrians and motorists.

Full Story: The Truth About Jaywalking: Besides being dangerous, is there a silver lining to pedestrians' unruly habits?
Source: Maisonneuve, February 22, 2006
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Great Article

Submitted by btorzyn on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 05:36.

I'm a professional bicycle and pedestrian planner, and I was ready to read the article and slam the author. I figured this article would be totally bogus, telling people to jump in front of cars in the hopes of achieving a "tipping point" or some such nonsense.

But the author makes some excellent points and has really thought things through. I especially like seeing the statement that walking is the superior/preferred mode of transportation. We need to shine a light on this fact! The world would be a better place if everyone who could walk, did, and more often.

Bob
Rochester, NY

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