Here are the questions that need to be asked:

(1) Councilman X, how do you feel about the LAPD handing out $200 to $300 tickets to transit users in your district for not crossing the street in time?

(2) Police Commander of Bureau X, can you show us any safety or traffic improvement data that justify this pedestrian sting operation?

When you get answers to those questions, write it into a one-page .pdf file, stamp your letterhead on it with “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”, give it a sensational headline, and fax it to the local press.

Next week, ask a similar set of questions of the Councilman and LADP Bureau Chief. Extend coverage by sending someone down to photograph and interview people being ticketed, or who have just been ticketed.

Try and find people who are old, young, or in some way a unable to physically get across the street due to some sort of sympathy-iducing condition.

Try and see if someone can cross the street before the hand starts flashing. Compare that speed with Olympic runner’s times for a similar distance. Include a graphic with this data in a follow-up article.

Etc., etc. etc.

low hanging fruit.

i once talked to a bike cop at the van nuys station, what his ticketing regime was all about.

he simply waited on his bike, for people to jaywalk near the OL station.

he told me that as long as he keeps his “numbers up” (i.e. write lots of tickets), you get promoted and are considered a good cop.

they have an economic incentive to write tickets. they aren’t doing it for safety, but because it makes them money.

More on Trial by Dec, the usual way of getting out of tickets:
http://www.ticketassassin.com/fight.html

The problem with vehicle violations is that this Court has gotten stingy with allowing traffic school after a trial by dec or physical appearance. So generally I recommend first time moving violators to take traffic school and challenge the second ticket, which is unmaskable (the notation that traffic school was completed appears, which means that it was the person’s second ticket). Jaywalking is generally not a moving violation, but sometimes they write you up under running a red light (traffic control device), which is. However, that is clear overcharging and you should note that in a Trial by Declaration response. Also note that you are not obligated to write anything more on a Trial by Declaration than “not guilty”. Don’t unnecessarily perjure yourself. If you do that, and the officer doesn’t turn in his paper, you win. If you lose because the officer turned something in, then do a trial de novo and see if they show up. If not, you win.

I should also add,
before the police started ticketing, there were many instances where pedestrians started crossing the street mere seconds before the light changed, creating a danger to themselves as traffic started.

I see both sides of the argument. Personal opinion is if they make it across before the light changes, they shouldn’t be ticketed. If they start before the red hand signal begins blinking but don’t make it across in time, they shouldn’t be ticketed.

They were also doing this at 7th & Fig a few days ago. At this intersection, the eastbound left turning vehicles from 7th onto northbound fig frequently run the red arrow signal (frequently DASH!), and cut into the pedestrian walk times. In my opinion, LAPD should focus on ticketing these red light runners, not the peds.

The city should be treating pedestrians and mass transit users, as Stephen Box likes to say, “Kings and Queens.” They are our transportation solution. They should ticket those who do the killing and injuring not those who could be injured.

That is like ticketing a woman in a short skirt if a guy harasses her.

Ticket the drivers, who cut in front of pedestrians. Ticket the drivers, who exceed the speed limit. Ticket the drivers who lay on their horn when someone doesn’t move out of their way. Ticket the drivers who sit in their cars in parking lots with the engine running to keep themselves cool (and the planet warm.)

Another issue along the same line is that a lot of these crosswalk lights are timed so that unless you are standing right at the crosswalk ready to go, then their is almost so chance of you crossing the street legally since the crosswalk lights are timed for such short intervals. This is especially troublesome for people like me that walk slower than the average person

Ticketing a pedestrian under the vehicle code proves the gov. is treating us (people) like the corporate vessels all capital letter names on the birth certificate/identification cards and is paper terrorism. I do not need some officer telling me that he is concerned for my safety and then give me a bill for whatever it ends up to be and telling me I have to sign it (under threat of force) and now since I am not in the business of making federal reserve notes and he is acting more like a parent then he can pay for my alleged debt to society without actual damages. These people act just like the military does in other countries since the ‘Act of 1871’ and subsequent erosion of freedoms to travel. Of course I am walking because the gov. allowed my new Harley to be stolen and then took my last auto. after they put me in jail for not pleading guilty to another charge that should have never been filed. I will be glad in a little over a month when I move out of the US and watch the destruction of the US from afar.