{"id":858,"date":"2014-03-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=858"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:51:13","slug":"jaywalking-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/17\/jaywalking-in-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaywalking in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dec. <\/a>
Dec. 10, 1970: Each of these jaywalkers could have been fined $1 if a 1932 ordinance was enforced. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"March <\/a>
March 2, 1958: We\u2019ll hope this sequence ended well for both the Yellow Cab and the woman venturing to the other side of the street. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"March <\/a>
March 13, 1959: A woman and her child, jaywalking through traffic on Stanwix Street near Liberty Avenue, were greeted with a safety lecture. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"April <\/a>
April 18, 1958: Some do it because they\u2019re in a hurry, other\u2019s just like it\u2026 read The Pittsburgh Press caption on this photo at Fifth Avenue. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Jaywalking is treated in the sports town of Pittsburgh as both a birthright and\u00a0participatory\u00a0sport, and judging by photos found in our archive, this has been the\u00a0case for a long time. Columnist Phil Musick of The Pittsburgh Press put it nicely in 1986 in a piece describing the city\u2019s character quirks.<\/p>\n

“For example, unlike the less sophisticated residents of such paradises as, say, Cleveland, we both chop our ham and chip it\u2026 We originated and continue to make heavy use of the mangled but innovative pronoun \u2018yuns.\u2019 And our favorite outdoor sport is jaywalking, which we have long since raised to an art form.”<\/p>\n

There were times when authorities tried to put a halt to Pittsburgh\u2019s long-running jaywalking history.<\/p>\n

In 1977, Mount Lebanon police started dropping $15 fines on pedestrians spotted jaywalking; few were amused.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been so angry in my whole life,\u201d resident Stuartie Merrill told a reporter of The Pittsburgh Press. \u201cI refused to sign the citation, so they wrote \u2018refused\u2019 on it, and for a moment I thought they would cart me off to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business owners were unhappy about the crackdown as well, seeing it as a harassment on customers.<\/p>\n

Traffic patrolmen interviewed by The Pittsburgh Press in the 1970s said jaywalking wasn\u2019t against the law in Pittsburgh, \u201cthus proving a 1932 ordinance on the subject is one of the best-kept secrets in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the years, there has been an ebb and flow here to jaywalking regulation.<\/p>\n

In the late 1970s, Pennsylvania\u2019s General Assembly mandated enforcement of its jaywalking ban. But in Pittsburgh, enforcement rarely went past a warning \u2014 only if the pedestrian caused an accident.<\/p>\n

Often, it was just too pervasive to bother. As a 26-year-old jaywalker from Spring Hill once told a Press reporter, \u201cThe only people in this town who don\u2019t jaywalk are the ones who ain\u2019t fast enough\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaywalking is treated in the sports town of Pittsburgh as both a birthright and participatory sport.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesJaywalking in Pittsburgh<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[961,1173,1243,1031],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n289kqjgcr1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C613&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":729,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/25\/the-long-view-of-the-produce-terminal\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":0},"title":"The long view of the Produce Terminal","date":"April 25, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Often, a visit to the Strip District also means paying for parking on the southern side of the Produce Terminal.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/tumblr_n4jzrm3YhR1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C774&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2185,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/12\/24\/christmas-parades-in-mt-lebanon\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":1},"title":"Christmas parades in Mt. Lebanon","date":"December 24, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"On this occasion, we at The Digs would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas!","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tumblr_mf6t2a0Tq91rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C990&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":217,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/29\/pamelas-pittsburghs-signature-breakfast-diner\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":2},"title":"Pamela’s, Pittsburgh’s signature breakfast diner","date":"September 29, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"If you ask a Pittsburgher where to find best pancakes in the city, the answer most likely would be, \u201cAt Pamela\u2019s.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_ncnbdwrjRj1rr5swxo2_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":66,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/11\/17\/pie-in-the-face-and-pittsburghs-crusty-hit\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":3},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s crusty \u2018hit man\u2019","date":"November 17, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"When was the last time you heard of a pie-throwing battle in Pittsburgh?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/tumblr_nf5tu4o3TG1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C845&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9320,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/01\/18\/pittsburgh-snow-old-photos-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":4},"title":"Stuck cars and snow angels: Photos of past Pittsburgh snow storms","date":"January 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Pittsburghers have enjoyed an unusually\u00a0mild winter so far this year. So with meteorologists\u00a0monitoring\u00a0a winter storm\u00a0set to hit the area this weekend, we thought everyone could use a reminder of what a snowy Pittsburgh actually looks like.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/snow006.jpg?fit=1200%2C1023&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4705,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/01\/07\/pittsburghs-fallout-shelters\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":5},"title":"Pittsburgh’s fallout shelters","date":"January 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Allegheny County once nearly purchased a hole in the ground for $30,000.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Fallout-shelters-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C883&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4021,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/4021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}