Another Seattleite rudely introduced to city's vigilant jaywalking enforcement

July 17, 6:56 PMSeattle People ExaminerLaura Vecsey

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The fact that Seattle is a pedestrian-friendly & highly walkable city is not lost on any of us who live or visit here. It  really is a part of what makes living here so addictively easy. There are crosswalks and right-of-ways and Washington state laws in which Seattle pedestrians have the clear advantage over two-ton Tessies & assorted Priuses and Smart Cars. That sense of safety and freedom is what gives Seattle pedestrians that unmistakeably haughty air of "Don't Mess With Me'' superority when crossing Queen Anne Ave or Greenlake.

The flip side of the equation? Yeah, you got it. That would be the militaristic approach by which the Seattle Police Department issues tickets for jaywalking.

I've seen stats that say demonstrate Seattle is among one of the most restrictive cities for would-be jaywalkers. One Seattle police report showed the department issues one ticket per every 370 city resident, each year. That means anyone who dares tip a toe off a curb in downtown Seattle when the crosswalk signal says stay put is, well, in danger of being treated like a common criminal. Or at least someone who is suddenly and annoyingly fined $56, like this Seattleite.

And on that note, we deliver today's YouTube selection from our friend David Gibbons. David works for Zillow, a real estate valuation company with a database of 80 million homes. Zillow's offices are downtown in the Wells Fargo building, which means Gibbons is not exactly a neophyte when it comes to getting himself safely across the streets of  Seattle. Nonetheless, Gibbons became another sad Seattle statistic today: He was caught jaywalking and issued a citation by a Seattle police officer.

The video is NOT exactly scintillating. But then again, when is getting a ticket for jaywalking ever scintillating? Still, this IS the way it is here.