Tickets

Iowa City police recently decided to start cracking down on jaywalking. This week I saw about six people issued $70 tickets for crossing streets where there were no cars. I think it is pretty silly to spend so much time and effort trying to defeat an issue that really isn't even an issue. I'm worried that I'm going to get a ticket too because half the time I don't even pay attention to the traffic lights, I just look to see if there are any cars. Walking to class used to be a relaxing experience. However now I walk to class in a constant state of fear that one day I am not going to be paying attention and then suddenly a cop will pull up next to me and issue me a ticket.

After a few days of thinking about this whole jaywalking ticket problem I came up with a solution. I decided to just ride my bike everywhere. Maybe it would bring back some of the leisure in my journey to class each day. For a few days it did, until yesterday when I spoke to my friend John. John works at the college news paper as an editorial writer. I saw him come into the news office and sit down at the computer and start typing away. I went over to say hi and couldn't believe what he told me. Earlier in the day John had received a $70 dollar ticket for running a red light on his bicycle.

First they kick bicyclists off the sidewalks down town saying there was too much potential for pedestrian injury. Then they make it a hassel for bike riders to ride in the street. It's hard enough to ride in the street and not hit or get hit by cars. Now I have to pay attention to the lights too? I understand that may sound like whining but when riding a bike my only intention is to get to where I want to go by doing as little amount of damage as possible to myself and others. One would assume that this is the philosophy for most bike riders, so why start giving them such a hard time all of a sudden?

"A life where one is afraid to walk or cycle is not a life worth living." -Thomas Edison