Why does everyone in Winnipeg J-Walk?

[icarus]

The entire world jaywalks except for Western Canada and Scandinavia. Apparently Winnipeg doesn't not fall under Western Canada in this instance.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Yah, I think Calgary is the anomaly here.

J-walking is a normal part of city living. The whole idea that pedestrians are limited to sidewalks is ridiculous. Cars, bikes, and people all share the streets - and everyone should be aware.

The idea that police can tell you where to walk is disgusting. They should be focused on stopping dangerous drivers, criminals, etc.

It is not the police telling where you can and cannot walk, it is the politicians. Direct your anger with them.

Personally I would much prefer having people not J-Walk as it is much more orderly than have everyone just walk where ever the hell they want to.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Yah, I think Calgary is the anomaly here.

J-walking is a normal part of city living. The whole idea that pedestrians are limited to sidewalks is ridiculous. Cars, bikes, and people all share the streets - and everyone should be aware.

The idea that police can tell you where to walk is disgusting. They should be focused on stopping dangerous drivers, criminals, etc.

Honestly?

When I'm a pedestrian, I've never once felt that I "shared" the road with cars.

[Resolute 14]

The only thing I'm going to say about jaywalking in Calgary is that it should be legal to hit the ######s who ignore all the lights and signs at 61st and 1st by the Chinook LRT. And I should be able to sue the grieving parents of the moron(s) I hit and kill to make them pay for the damage their precious little snowflake's head did to my front grill when I send them flying.

As far as Winnipeg goes, there isn't a single person in that city that knows how to drive anyway. Even if you wait for a light, someone's still going to peel through the red, so you might as well just go when you are least likely to get clobbered.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Honestly?

When I'm a pedestrian, I've never once felt that I "shared" the road with cars.

And until a person can reach 60kph on foot, they should stay the hell off the roads except at crosswalks and intersections.

[Suzles]

Coming from England where you cross the road wherever you want whenever you want it was a big shock to me that cars give way to pedestrians here. I really love it. I just wonder how many home bred Calgarians get hit by cars whenever they travel abroad!! I also LOVE the right turn on red - England should allow something like that - of course, there it would be a left turn but knowing English drivers and their love of road rage it would probably just be abused.

[Eagle Eye]

Originally Posted by WesternCanadaKing

Calgary seems to be a weird anomaly. Its the only place in the world I've where traffic actually stops immediately to let people cross roads. I have to be careful whenever travelling to other places because its so ingrained into me that I have the right of way when crossing the road.

Haha so true. Just got back from a trip down south last week and almost got run over by a car in a crosswalk, I just expected them to stop.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Suzles

Coming from England where you cross the road wherever you want whenever you want it was a big shock to me that cars give way to pedestrians here. I really love it. I just wonder how many home bred Calgarians get hit by cars whenever they travel abroad!! I also LOVE the right turn on red - England should allow something like that - of course, there it would be a left turn but knowing English drivers and their love of road rage it would probably just be abused.

Calgarians don't get hit by cars abroad because they don't jaywalk. If anything they get hit by other pedestrians while they are stopped at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change. When I go back to Calgary now I have to try to rein in my jaywalking instincts because the other pedestrians waiting give me nasty or quixotic looks.

As for turning on red lights, that is so elementary I can't believe its use is not more widespread. I don't have a car but whenever I'd rent one I would get so frustrated by having to wait for the light to change.

One of my coworkers remarked yesterday how he thought it was amazing that in North America the streetlight AND the pedestrian lights both turn green at the same time. He wondered why the pedestrians don't get hit by turning cars.

[The Ditch]

I don't mind jaywalkers but the absolute worst is on 8th ave SW between 7th-11th street SW. I do not slow down for jaywalkers but it's like entering the twilight zone in this section of road, people just walk out in front of me no regard for their own life, I've had to slam on my brakes numerous times. If you're going to jaywalk at least wait till there's room to.

[Barnes]

When I was living in my condo in Evergreen, I was at a friends place directly across 162nd Ave late one night and I had to run home to grab something.

I crossed the east bound lanes and was walking across the wide median (It's designed for a c-train line) when a car speeds up the westbound lane and stops right in front of me. It's a cop asking me if I wanted a ticket. I said no, but where was I supposed to cross to get between the two buildings walkways. He pointed to the as of yet incomplete intersection at 24th st about 150m away. I said 'you want me to walk across the median through the mud and cross the left turning lanes with my back to traffic?' He said yes. So I did, scraping the mud collected on my shoes all they way through the cross walk and the curbs. They sat and watched me.

Meanwhile, 15 Drunky McDriverson's got in their cars at the Bull and Finch across the parking lot from which I came.

[Flames89]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Honestly?

When I'm a pedestrian, I've never once felt that I "shared" the road with cars.

That is why I tried to phrase it differently "share the streets". The 3" of concrete called a curb is really no different to a car travelling at 50km/h than the yellow lines are.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Flames89

That is why I tried to phrase it differently "share the streets". The 3" of concrete called a curb is really no different to a car travelling at 50km/h than the yellow lines are.

Maybe not to a car, but a driver should understand the difference.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Kidder

Haha, the title of this thread made me laugh because it's just so true.

There exists two very different silent agreements between drivers and pedestrians in Winnipeg and Calgary.

In Winnipeg it's understood that drivers have the right of way, but pedestrians are free to cross wherever and whenever they like (as long as they don't impede traffic). So you'll commmonly see people standing in a lane just behind the dotted line until a car whizzes by in the adjacent lane, a mere few feet away. The car doesn't even slow down.

In Calgary it's understood that if a pedestrian is so bold to step off the curb illegally, the car must yield to them. If a pedestrian steps off the sidewalk while a car was approaching, undoubtedly the driver will screech to a halt. It has to be unnerving for an Albertan driver their first time in a city like Winnipeg as people are constantly stepping off the curbs, timing their cross exactly behind the moving vehicle.

I went to a school that had it's campus seperated by a busy street (Grant). Every morning a hoard of students bundled in their winter attire would cross en masse inbetween the gaps of cars. Then await in the narrow meridian until a gap appeared in the traffic from the other direction, and like a herd of buffalo proceed across the road. Never mind that a simple slip on the icy roads would mean certain death from the oncoming motorcade, didn't make driver or pedestrian bat an eye.

No wonder the buffalo is near extinct.

That's so true. When I moved from Calgary to Winnipeg at age 14, I was nearly run over many times - even in mall parking lots where Winnipeg drivers still rarely stop for you to cross.

When I moved back to Alberta at age 18 (after getting my driver's license in Manitoba) I noticed a funny thing about Manitoba drivers. When making a left turn at a non-traffic light intersection they'll drive out halfway and stop at the median then wait for traffic to clear up in the other direction before proceeding.

When I did that in Alberta, cars going the other direction once I was at the median would either slam their brakes to a screeching halt, honk their horns or both.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

When I moved back to Alberta at age 18 (after getting my driver's license in Manitoba) I noticed a funny thing about Manitoba drivers. When making a left turn at a non-traffic light intersection they'll drive out halfway and stop at the median then wait for traffic to clear up in the other direction before proceeding.

Ah yes. That just works so well for everybody there too. Nobody gets stuck behind the guy turning left because his car is outside of the flow of traffic. I'm actually pretty sure they made me show them I knew how to do this when I got my license in Winnipeg.

Then there was when I first moved to Calgary and discovered you were not allowed to make a U turn at a traffic light. I found this out from the officer who stopped me. The funny part; when I was pleading my case to just get a warning from him he refused to believe that you were allowed to do a U turn at a light. Wasn't until his partner came up; only hearing part of the conversation, and agreed with me about how that was the law there.

[HelloHockeyFans]

I jaywalked today while walking my dog right in between a cop car and another while they waited at a red light... cop opened his window and asked me what kind of dog I had...

[Suzles]

Originally Posted by icarus

Calgarians don't get hit by cars abroad because they don't jaywalk.

I suppose I should have made myself clearer. It is more the parking lot (or car park) mentality. Cars in England would NEVER stop for a shopper. We had a few close calls when we first landed here with shoppers just stepping out right in front of the car. We have since learnt that that is the way here and are now willing to oblige. My husband still can't make a car stop for him though when he is walking. He says it is just WRONG! In England the vehicle is king.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Ah yes. That just works so well for everybody there too. Nobody gets stuck behind the guy turning left because his car is outside of the flow of traffic. I'm actually pretty sure they made me show them I knew how to do this when I got my license in Winnipeg.

Then there was when I first moved to Calgary and discovered you were not allowed to make a U turn at a traffic light. I found this out from the officer who stopped me. The funny part; when I was pleading my case to just get a warning from him he refused to believe that you were allowed to do a U turn at a light. Wasn't until his partner came up; only hearing part of the conversation, and agreed with me about how that was the law there.

Yep, I had to do it in my driver's test too.

That's true about U-Turns - I still do them here even though I probably shouldn't. Haven't been caught yet.

Winnipeg even has traffic signals with U-Turn arrows on them!

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/det...-43217652.html

[ken0042]

And I remember when a buddy from Calgary was out to visit, was driving and yelled "what the heck is that!" We were going down Ness toward Polo Park, and the lights on Route 90 was red; with a green "straigh ahead" arrow." Link

[tete]

Originally Posted by ken0042

And I remember when a buddy from Calgary was out to visit, was driving and yelled "what the heck is that!" We were going down Ness toward Polo Park, and the lights on Route 90 was red; with a green "straigh ahead" arrow." Link

Yeah, those lights have been the cause of many an accident by out of province drivers in Winnipeg. Now that I've been away for almost 10 years, those damned things throw me when I'm visiting.

The OP makes complete sense to me - I never thought of it as a Manitoba vs. Calgary thing, but it's true. It still drives me crazy that I have to yield to pedestrians - should take people out and train them "Dodgeball" style "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a car..."

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by ken0042

And I remember when a buddy from Calgary was out to visit, was driving and yelled "what the heck is that!" We were going down Ness toward Polo Park, and the lights on Route 90 was red; with a green "straigh ahead" arrow." Link

Ha ha yeah, that one's more common. My favourite is at St. Mary's and I think Bishop Grandin where sometimes you have a green arrow up, left and right at the same time.

Speaking of traffic signals, I'm sure that Toronto drivers have gotten in accidents in Vancouver before. In Toronto, flashing green means you can turn left. In Vancouver, it means that there is only stop signs on the crossing roadway.