Before illegally crossing a street, students should look not only left and right for oncoming vehicles but also for police waiting to ticket them.
That is exactly what Nathan McCurley, a second-year political science student, did not do as he ran to catch a light to cross Charles E. Young Drive on a Tuesday night.
“The light was too far away, and I was getting to it as it was turning red,” he said.
He looked both ways, walked across the street and was immediately called over by a traffic enforcement officer, who promptly gave him a ticket for walking against a red light.
Though jaywalking is the general term given to these offenses, it only makes up about one-fifth of the total tickets given out for illegal street crossing. Most violations are due to crossing against either a red light or a flashing red hand at an intersection, which are categorized separately, said Lee Finch, a traffic enforcement officer for university police.
Because of the recent closing of streets for construction purposes, officers have been more relaxed about handing out tickets, as some two-way streets became one-way streets.
A prime example of this was on Charles E. Young Drive near the intersection of De Neve Drive. However, once those streets were reopened, students would often forget to look in the newly opened areas for oncoming traffic, making illegal crossing more dangerous, Finch said.
The closing of other intersections because of construction could present similar problems in the future.
“We get calls routinely with complaints about folks not paying attention to the lights,” said Nancy Greenstein, a UCPD spokeswoman.
These calls primarily come from housing managers and concerned car drivers, she added. Though there are some violations in the Westwood and apartment areas, the intersections in the dorm areas are more densely populated.
Illegal crossing can also delay traffic by stopping cars from making a left turn, Finch added.
For these reasons, the fine ranges from $150 to more than $200, though students can contest the tickets through the court system.
Upon getting his ticket, McCurley said he felt frustrated.
“Paying the fine is expensive, and it’s money I would rather spend on other things,” he said.
Though what he did is illegal, McCurley said that he didn’t think the nature of the crime was serious.
“Students don’t jaywalk in rush hour,” he said. “They do it when there are no cars coming simply because they want to get across the street.”
He suggested putting signs on the stoplight warning about possible fines to help deter illegal crossings.
Other students that have not been ticketed have become wary of tickets and have suggested ideas to keep violations to a minimum.
“The traffic lights should just be taken out and replaced by a stop sign,” said Christophe La, a first-year biochemistry student, adding that there are already stop signs on other streets in Westwood that are just as effective at directing traffic.
Like McCurley, La said he does not think that illegal crossings are a serious enough issue to warrant constant ticketing.
But Finch said police efforts are not one-sided and do not target pedestrians. Traffic enforcement officers often give verbal warnings to pedestrians and are also on the lookout for cars that do not obey traffic signals.
He noted some almost-fatal accidents that have happened because of illegal crossings in Westwood over the years.
“We want the university to be a safe place, and that is our main concern,” he said.