Seattle does this too. They want people to take buses downtown, but then ticket people who jaywalk or something to make their bus. It's like, if I have to wait 30 minutes for another bus because I didn't want to get a 200 dollar ticket for crossing while the red hand was flashing and showing me I had 15 seconds to cross the street, I'm just going to drive. I can run yellows all day long and nobody bats an eye.
Nothing more than a money making exercise. This doesn't fix any issues.
LA is an interesting city in so many ways, but it reminds me of an old smoker with emphasema... except instead of phlegm it's coughing up cars... drowning in cars. At least that's the mental image it gives me.