Mixed Signals: Pedestrians Ticketed in K-Town Sting

Ask a motorcop why they write tickets to cars disobeying signs and pedestrians walking against the man's hand and you'll hear a lot of them say it's a sign of "arrogance." When justified like that, they have no problem writing hundreds of tickets. Last Friday, StreetsblogLA blogger Damien Newton observed a sting at Western and Wilshire: "I counted two pedestrians who didn't make it across before the red. One of whom was an elderly woman who started as soon as she got the white person and who received no help from the LAPD officers busy writing tickets," he observed.

He also saw over 30 cars run a red light at the same intersection with no enforcement. What's the message Newton took away from this? "Impatient drivers running red lights aren't causing crashes throughout the city. It's the fault of pedestrians who make it across the street before the traffic signal turns red. Of course, this 'blame the pedestrian' mentality also exists with the LADOT who believes removing unsignalized crosswalks is the best way to make crossing the street safer for pedestrians."