Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Guerrilla pedestrianism

It's easy to spot suburbanites driving downtown: they drive in herky-jerky fashion, constantly looking for the free parking space they imagine no one else has seen. Of course there are no such spaces, which is why suburbanites are so unhappy downtown. One of the pleasures of living downtown is that you can walk to a lot of places other people have to use cars to visit. But doing so makes you aware of the tilt towards motor vehicles inherent in "standard" street design, signalization, and signs. There are, for instance, any number of corners in downtown San Diego where a pedestrian has to look very hard to find a sign showing the name of the street he's on, or even the one he's crossing. The signs are way up high, perhaps partly to avoid vandalism but also to be more visible to--who knows?--truck drivers, maybe.

This article in Slate addresses the topic nicely, and suggests that "traffic engineers," as they are significantly called, make certain adjustments to their standards to be more pedestrian friendly. One such idea is that the pedestrian "Walk" signals be timed to let the peds get a head start on turning vehicles. But there's really no need to wait: at intersections I use every day I usually step off a few beats before the vehicular signal turns green, thereby precluding the turners from usurping the right-of-way that is, because this is California, mine alone.

I also cross against signals when it's safe to do so. A certain extravagantly mustacchioed motorcycle cop delights in handing out "jaywalking" tickets, so one must be sure he's not present before stepping out. Police in squad cars don't seem to notice but it's probably better not to provoke them. Aggressive pedestrians are also obligated to yield the right of way to cars when they rightly have it--no stepping off the corner just as the light is about to change.

A few weeks ago I was about to cross the trolley tracks on C Street when the trolley arrived and blocked the pedestrian walkway, extending partly into the intersection as well. The motorman was right in front of me so I looked at him in such a way as to say, "Can't you do your job any better than this?" because I knew, just as he did, that the train easily fits between the corners in the block in question. My mimed critique of his performance was rewarded with a stream of shouted invective, citing California law about how trains have the right of way in all circumstances. True no doubt!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Next Article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians

It's easy to spot suburbanites driving downtown: they drive in herky-jerky fashion, constantly looking for the free parking space they imagine no one else has seen. Of course there are no such spaces, which is why suburbanites are so unhappy downtown. One of the pleasures of living downtown is that you can walk to a lot of places other people have to use cars to visit. But doing so makes you aware of the tilt towards motor vehicles inherent in "standard" street design, signalization, and signs. There are, for instance, any number of corners in downtown San Diego where a pedestrian has to look very hard to find a sign showing the name of the street he's on, or even the one he's crossing. The signs are way up high, perhaps partly to avoid vandalism but also to be more visible to--who knows?--truck drivers, maybe.

This article in Slate addresses the topic nicely, and suggests that "traffic engineers," as they are significantly called, make certain adjustments to their standards to be more pedestrian friendly. One such idea is that the pedestrian "Walk" signals be timed to let the peds get a head start on turning vehicles. But there's really no need to wait: at intersections I use every day I usually step off a few beats before the vehicular signal turns green, thereby precluding the turners from usurping the right-of-way that is, because this is California, mine alone.

I also cross against signals when it's safe to do so. A certain extravagantly mustacchioed motorcycle cop delights in handing out "jaywalking" tickets, so one must be sure he's not present before stepping out. Police in squad cars don't seem to notice but it's probably better not to provoke them. Aggressive pedestrians are also obligated to yield the right of way to cars when they rightly have it--no stepping off the corner just as the light is about to change.

A few weeks ago I was about to cross the trolley tracks on C Street when the trolley arrived and blocked the pedestrian walkway, extending partly into the intersection as well. The motorman was right in front of me so I looked at him in such a way as to say, "Can't you do your job any better than this?" because I knew, just as he did, that the train easily fits between the corners in the block in question. My mimed critique of his performance was rewarded with a stream of shouted invective, citing California law about how trains have the right of way in all circumstances. True no doubt!

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.