On the one hand, I'm a lawful sort of person. I tend to follow the rules, unless there's a good reason (personal caprice not being one) not to.
On the other hand, so many communities and complexes are pedestrian unfriendly. Sidewalks on just one side, or on no sides. Crosswalks set at long distances so that cars aren't interrupted by signals and people on foot.
On the other hand, when I'm driving, I want to get from Point A to Point B in the minimal amount of time. Walkers weaving through moving vehicles, or forcing me to slow down, is inconvenient, not to mention dangerous.
On the other hand, why the assumption that the legal and social right-of-way– especially in some areas — is for cars? Is the downtown area a place for cars to transit, with pedestrians allowed in certain confined channels? Or is it a place for people on foot, with vehicles allowed through if they can do so safely?
On the other hand, I work for a company with a really strong safety culture, and not obeying pedestrian rules is seriously frowned on, for safety reasons if not for legal ones.
On the other hand, my "Rules of Jaywalking" post (https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2002/09/09/the_rules_of_ja.html) is still one of my most popular blog entries.
So if I get off the rear of the light rail in downtown, and it's mid-block and 6 a.m. and there are no cars, I'll cross over to my office without a worry. On the other hand, in the ordinary scheme of things walking downtown, the blocks are so close together that crossing at the intersections isn't too much of a hassle. Though if I can see no cars are coming I'll cross against the light. Though if I'm not familiar with intersection I may hold off if I don't know the light sequence there.
(Denver's downtown used to have the "scramble" intersections described in the article — we called ours the "Barnes Dance" after the traffic commissioner who introduced them. They recently went away when the light rail usage increased enough that the trains needed a scosh more time going through intersections so the pedestrian crossing times needed to be reduced. They still have all-stop crossing periods, though, and people still cut across diagonally.)
Anyway, interesting article about social engineering.
The Invention of Jaywalking Was a Massive Shaming Campaign
Before the invention of the car, jaywalking wasn’t a recognized concept. Want to get across the street? Then just walk across the street–nobody’s going to stop you. But the rise of the automobile posed a new problem for people of the early 20th century. While the median state-designated speed limit for American cities was just 10 miles per hour in 1906, the pace of American streets soon increased enough that people who wanted to cross them were …
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Very interesting. Yes, as a downtown dweller (San Jose) I usually go to the corner and use the lights, but there are spots where I can clearly see traffic and I just walk across.