That's the whole point of the flashing. It tells you when it's too late to start walking and make it across the street before the light changes. Some cities hav

That's the whole point of the flashing. It tells you when it's too late to start walking and make it across the street before the light changes. Some cities have a little quick-reference guide stuck to the pole to remind you of this. Here in Seattle it used to be quite common to get a ticket for jaywalking. Now it only seems to happen if you block traffic flow on a downtown street during rush hour.