Just want to point out how special interests can actually pretty insidiously change your viewpoint by making you think "that's the way things have always been". It was relatively recently that I discovered that jaywalking, as a crime, was a distinctly American phenomenon, when in an HN discussion someone mentioned that British folk think the crime of jaywalking is insane (in the UK you can cross pretty much wherever you want as long as you're not impeding traffic). My initial reaction was "Wait, that's nuts, of course jaywalking should not be allowed." I didn't even realize how the "default" of what I was used to in the US was basically just constructed by the auto industry for their benefit.

Glad this is coming to light and hope more places get rid of jaywalking.