I'm sure everyone reading this knows what "clickit or ticket" is -- the catchy slogan designed to get you to wear your seat-belt -- although my wife prefers to say "clickit or get a ticket" which she insists is far more catchy.
What really gets you to obey the traffic lights or safety ordinances, though, is a police presence. I immediately tense up when I see an patrol vehicle, its almost instinctual, probably some kind of subconscious reaction to some of my childhood antics, where I would egg the school or move "for sale" signs to different houses or rearrange neighbors' outdoor patio equipment in the middle of the night.
For instance, it doesn't matter what I'm doing I will never commit any sort of traffic violation outside of 12th and Pine/Pike. It's not because that's where the police station is... for many years I didn't even know that's where the East Precinct was located. It is because there is nearly always a police car parked at one of those intersections.
All of this is a lead-in to why I've been thrilled to see a clear increased presence of patrol cars around the corner of 32nd and Yesler, in part due to the efforts of the Leschi Community Council and some of my calls to the local precinct about unsafe driving practices outside of Leschi Elementary.
I saw a car on Thursday evening parked on the south side of 31st and Yesler, and have heard several reports of patrols nabbing speeders and stop-sign blowers over the past month or so.
I'm not in favor of tickets, or anything like that, but if this gets people to instinctively be more careful around the elementary school, I'm all for it!
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