Virginia Peng
*Note: I don’t condone jay-walking. But also — just keep reading.*
The Yale campus is slashed into pieces by New Haven roads. York, High, College, Elm, Grove. These streets separate students from their favorite dining halls, from their friends in other colleges, and from the classes they rush to at 9:25 each morning.
Along with other students, I know all too well the anxious pain of standing at a street corner, waiting for the walk light. Cars rush by, free to pursue their daily missions, while I am stagnant until the little walk man appears.
Sometimes your club meeting just can’t wait. Sometimes you’re already late for that meeting with your advisor. Sometimes lunch is closing in ten minutes and you’re already worried they won’t have any chicken tenders left. What is the solution? Must you be constrained by the so-called pedestrian laws that society forces on us?
No. Across campus, students take the liberty of crossing streets “illegally,” perpetrators of the glorious crime known as jay-walking. As an avid — but safe — jay-walker, I offer my experience and advice, in hopes that you, dear reader, appreciate it.
*Another note: This does not reference the maybe-jay-walking act of using a crosswalk when you don’t have the light — also a helpful technique, when done properly.*
Silliman to Hillhouse Ave (across Grove Street)
There really should be a crosswalk here — like, actually. They just haven’t painted it yet. In the immortal words of Annie Ye ’28, “It’s not even jaywalking anyway.”
Still. There is something thrilling and nerve-wracking about darting out from the Silliman gate at 10:26 for my 10:30 class on Hillhouse Avenue. After carefully looking right to see that oncoming traffic is far enough away, I rush across the dark, crosswalk-free pavement. With the Jitterbus on my left and the Taqueria Tlaxcala truck on my right, I feel protected by guardian angels.
I don’t typically see many other jaywalkers at this intersection. Many people use the four-way intersection at SSS, but I find it unnecessary. Not only does it add an extra half-block, but I am forced to wait for the walk light. If I cross Grove Street of my own accord, I can relish in my free will.
Old Campus to Cross Campus (across Elm Street)
Who would wait for a walk light when you can sprint across three lanes of speeding traffic? This is one of the more heavily-trafficked jay-walking locations on my route, which I usually frequent after my 11:35 class in LC.
I jay-walk out of necessity here. It’s not my favorite place to cross, because I must wind through the cars parallel-parked on the sides, and because the traffic always seems to go faster than 30 mph. There’s not nearly as much glamor, and there’s not nearly as much time to cross.
But if I’m shaking off a frustrating class or just looking forward to lunch with a friend, I see no reason to torture myself by heading to the intersection by the New Haven Green or at High Street. I might as well give myself a few extra minutes in my day and just jet across Elm Street, hoping I don’t become roadkill.
Old Campus to Branford (across High Street)
By far the easiest place to jay-walk on campus. Barely a street — one way, one lane, with minimal traffic. It makes Branford feel like Old Campus’s backyard — or the other way around, if you’re coming from the Branford side. Crossing here is a joke; I feel like I don’t even need to look for a car coming — I still do, don’t worry.
If I’m going to Atticus, Book Trader Cafe or York Street in general, this is a convenient shortcut. Otherwise, I don’t use it too much. But maybe I should. It’s cute, light, fun. And it sets you up to cross the horribly busy Elm Street at a crosswalk!