In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, jaywalking has literally become a showdown between pedestrians and drivers. I've seen many times where a group of teenagers will force drivers to stop in the middle of the road while they saunter through as though their on some sort of urban cat walk. The attitude conveyed is aggressive. They're basically saying: "Yea, I know I shouldn't be crossing here, but I'm going to take my sweet time and screw you!"

In the big scheme of crime and law enforcement, jaywalking is minor. But it has become a nuissance. I think it is also a symptom of a larger problem in society: a lack of respect and courtesy for others.

it may be true that you've dealt with a few jerk jaywalkers. But for every jerk jaywalker there are about 10000 jerk drivers who blow through crosswalks without looking or make wild right turns on red-lights without even checking if someone is in the intersection. And the jerk jaywalkers aren't threatening anyones life, the jerk drivers could (and often do) kill someone.

Milwaukee can solve that problem. Every time I've been there I've been struck by the fact that there are virtually no crosswalks. Of course people are going to jaywalk if they have to go half a mile out of their way (on foot!) to get across the street to where they're going. ********* ************** ************* ********** *********** ******* ********* ********* ********** ********* ********* ********* ******** ********* ******** ******** ******** ******* I don't understand why I don't see more American cities with flashing yellow lights at crosswalks. They're perfect for pedestrians and they don't slow traffic like lighted intersections or even four way stops do. The pedestrian pushed the button, the yellow light flashes and drivers know that someone's in the intersection so they can slow down. It's a terrific system.******** ********* *********** ********** ******** ********* ********* *** ********* ********* ******** ********* ************ ********* *********** ************ ******** ********** **** Chicago can be a pedestrian nightmare. Few drivers stop for pedestrians, even when there's an all way stop. they just roll on through, ignoring anything in their way. Don't get me started on cyclists.

I don't like the yellow light system. They have those where I live (California), but I can't even count the number of times I started to walk into an intersection, with the yellow lights flashing (AND a sign that says you must stop by state law for peds), and I STILL almost get run over. People just get into this ridiculous mindset when they're driving that they can't waste 5 seconds in order to ensure someone's safety. It's ridiculous.