I always feel safer crossing the middle of a street, where I have a clear view and only two directions to worry about, while at an intersection you have to be aware of traffic moving in 4 directions. I've seen mid-street crosswalks in a few towns (mainly tourist areas), and think they're a pretty good idea.

In places where that doesn't work, why aren't there more pedestrian bridges? Are they just too expensive?

I do too. But I won't just say I "feel" safer, I am totally convinced that it's safer. I have an ongoing disagreement with my wife who's a crosswalk-worshiper. No amount of logic sways her. To me they're just lines painted on the road in one of the worst possible places to cross. But as far as I know, no one has done a proper study of this.

I think pedestrian bridges cost too much. I wonder if some people in high crime areas avoid them anyway because you might get trapped by thugs.

You should consider moving to the UK, where most of the crosswalks are mid-block. Even with all the traffic moving in the "wrong" direction, I felt safer walking in London then I ever have in NYC.

There's just one catch (and a big one--I almost learned it the hard way). At intersections, motorists have the right-of-way, even when they are turning.

The UK sounds good to me, and it's not just the crosswalks. But I forgot to mention something that happened just the other day...my wife was just about run over in a crosswalk the other day as a motorist sped around the corner, ran the red light and missed her by inches as she hurried out of the way. She definitely could have been killed, it seemed like the driver saw her but hit the accelerator by accident (or on purpose maybe). This was at the same time that my son and I were crossing the same street mid-block, with no problems. But on our way back home, she insisted that we must all use the crosswalk because it's safer! Go figure. The sanctity of the crosswalk is a religious belief, un-falsifiable.

Crosswalks are at intersections because cars are generally forced to stop or go slower through an intersection than at mid block. It is easier for a car to stop for a pedestrian at an intersection. I don't know if what you guys are saying is true about it being easier for people to see cars at mid intersection, but I think crosswalks are at intersections for the benefit of drivers as much as pedestrians.

crosswalks are at intersections mostly because there are stop signs and stop lights at intersections

Some cities do put crosswalks mid-block. Cambridge, MA is one example. As I understand it, so many pedestrians jaywalked mid-block, they decided to put in crosswalks at those locations in an effort to cut down on accidents. Since there are no stop lights at these mid-block crosswalks, this has the unfortunate consequence of pedestrians being able to stop traffic by stepping into it. Some pedestrians are courteous and wait until a reasonable break in traffic before stepping off the curb. Others literally step off the curb from a crowd and think that drivers can defy the laws of physics and/or that they should risk being rear-ended to avoid running them over.

Even in the Boston/Cambridge area, where drivers are wary of pedestrians, I don't think that these mid-block crosswalks are a good idea.

Where I live, there are a small number of crosswalks mid-block with traffic lights at them. It seems to balance the needs of both pedestrians and automobiles pretty well. Too bad there are so few of them...

"...forced to stop or go slower through an intersection..." Not so. (1) The light doesn't stop or slow the car, the driver does. In case you haven't noticed, a substantial fraction of drivers are aggressive, rude, not paying attention, or all of the above. (2) Even a courteous driver with the best of intentions makes a mistake once in awhile. Such as hitting the accelerator when intending to hit the brakes, or misjudging the stopping distances under slippery conditions. (3) On rare but not unheard-of occasions, brakes fail. Anyway the main topic here is jaywalking. By definition, using a mid-block crosswalk where you step out in front of traffic and expect the cars to stop is not jaywalking.

Oh, come on. According to your theory, there would be a traffic accident every 10 seconds at an intersection. Experience shows this not to be the case.

At intersections with traffic controls, cars have to stop to avoid getting hit by other cars. When I approach an intersection in my car that has a traffic light or stop sign, I expect to stop. Mid block is exactly where I don't expect to stop unless there is a crosswalk.

Think about it, 25 mph = 37 feet per second. With the 2-second rule (that when following a car maintain a following time of 2 seconds in case the car in front of you needs to panic stop) a car traveling the speed limit in a 25 mph zone requires 74 feet - 25 yards or roughly 4-5 car lengths. Stepping out into a street with a fully alert driver approaching less than 25 yards away is asking to get hit. Now as I approach a traffic light or stop sign, I am slowing down, have my foot on the brake already, and can stop within a much shorter distance (probably only 1 car length since I don't have to move my foot from the gas to the brake).

In short, expect traffic to be more likely to stop for you where traffic is expecting to stop.