Rules of the Sidewalk
At the tender age of 16, most kids obtain their Learners permit and commence their life-long journey of automotive transport. I actually waited until I was 18. There didn’t seem to be a purpose, as my parents were pretty good about dropping me around town.
I like driving.
I almost always listen to music, and exclusively listen to mixed tapes or CDs, as my patience with radio inevitably leads to constant channel changing. This I figured was a dangerous practice, given the one incident years ago, where I swerved off the road and onto a neighbour’s lawn as I fiddled with channels.
Having been a student for years, and only now just getting on my feet, I have been unable to afford my automotive pleasures. To make me feel better, I can think of a plethora of reasons why public transit makes sense for me.
1) Gas prices have gone through the roof, these days averaging more than a dollar a litre
2) The cost of purchasing and insuring the car is beyond the limit of my piggy bank
3) While drivers sit in constant traffic, I am able to read, nap, people watch etc
Given these reasons, you will usually find me walking the pavement around my neighbourhood with other pedestrians. Here is where my dilemma unfolds.
Generally, people who drive abide by the rules of the road. We drive on the right side, we follow the speed limit, and we signal to indicate our intentions at an intersection.
How is it that when people get out of the car and onto the sidewalk, they throw these rules out the window?
Pedestrian misdemeanours can be grouped into the following categories:
1. Speed Limit Violations
2. Incorrect Lane Usage
Speed Limit Violations:
When driving a car, you will always have a posted maximum speed. For many, this is the speed you try to maintain at all times, so it becomes like a minimum and maximum together…a suggested speed. People will of course slow down when necessary, perhaps when turning, or due to traffic, or inclement weather. When driving significantly slower, you risk getting a ticket, as you are now a safety issue to the other cars actually doing the posted limit.
Pedestrians don’t get this ‘posted limit’. In my experience, peds don’t lean more towards exceeding the average rate, but rather towards creeping along more slowly. Let me point out that I am not a fast walker. I have little legs, and I don’t move them very quickly. Having said that, I don’t doddle. I know where I have to go there, and my legs go with the intention of getting me there without wasting any time. How frustrating it is to constantly be navigating through a sea of doddlers, the slow walkers … the Sunday drivers of walking. Suggestion: two lanes of pedestrian traffic in each direction. A slower lane for the window-shopping, ho-hum pedestrian, and a faster lane for the no nonsense walker. If sidewalk room doesn’t permit two lanes each way, then one lane with people ‘pulling over’ to let faster walkers pass would suffice.
Incorrect Lane Usage
How many people, driving down a busy street, could just come to a complete stop when in conversation or deep thought? Pedestrians do this little trick all the time. The complete stop usually occurs after they have seen someone they know, and both stop to converse. Maybe they are pondering entering a shop, or forgot something (which is followed by an illegal turn into oncoming traffic). Either way, it is followed with me having to dart around and avoid a collision.
This category also describes the occasions where a pedestrian emerges from a store or another walkway, and merges into sidewalk traffic, without looking to see if there is room or if they will be causing a potential collision. Often, this incident is followed with a complete stop in motion. Not only have they turned out into my path, but then they stop to talk to the person behind them, causing another quick swerve in my path to avoid a collision.
A final violation worth noting in this category is the ‘group’ scenario. When a group of friends is walking down the sidewalk, there should still be ample room to let by a pedestrian walking in the opposite direction. How many times have you been forced onto the grass when a group goes by, because if you didn’t move, you would surely collide with the group? Groups tend to spread and monopolize the sidewalk, in attempt to keep everyone engaged in the conversation. Etiquette would dictate that a group keep single file if possible during moments of passing traffic, and paired walking at other times. If you want to include your group in conversation, turn around to give a quick look and smile. Do not, of course, stop walking and turn to engage the rear walkers - this would be the type of violation mentioned in the previous paragraph.
You may find my Rules of the Sidewalk too strict. I am not trying to take the fun out of walking down the street, but I do think it necessary to be courteous. If I run into some friends on the street, I should be making every effort to get out of the flow of traffic to continue my conversation. If I remember I forgot to pick something up at the Safeway down the street, I should make sure I am not cutting anyone off before doing my little U-Turn. If I am emerging from a store, I should pause just outside the door, and look for my turn to enter traffic. If I want to meander down the sidewalk, pondering the mysteries of life, that is fine – but I should take myself out of the way of faster traffic. If there is room for two ‘lanes’ then take the lane closest to the building. If the sidewalk is tiny, and traffic is steady, maybe I should get off that sidewalk, and find myself one that has a slower pace. Safety first – I don’t want to cause anyone any grief, and I want to maximize my walking pleasure.
Following these simple rules will enhance the quality of your walking experience.
If you are still unsure of the Rules of the Sidewalk, imagine you are in a car – can you do what you are doing and not get a ticket?
Happy Walking!
I like driving.
I almost always listen to music, and exclusively listen to mixed tapes or CDs, as my patience with radio inevitably leads to constant channel changing. This I figured was a dangerous practice, given the one incident years ago, where I swerved off the road and onto a neighbour’s lawn as I fiddled with channels.
Having been a student for years, and only now just getting on my feet, I have been unable to afford my automotive pleasures. To make me feel better, I can think of a plethora of reasons why public transit makes sense for me.
1) Gas prices have gone through the roof, these days averaging more than a dollar a litre
2) The cost of purchasing and insuring the car is beyond the limit of my piggy bank
3) While drivers sit in constant traffic, I am able to read, nap, people watch etc
Given these reasons, you will usually find me walking the pavement around my neighbourhood with other pedestrians. Here is where my dilemma unfolds.
Generally, people who drive abide by the rules of the road. We drive on the right side, we follow the speed limit, and we signal to indicate our intentions at an intersection.
How is it that when people get out of the car and onto the sidewalk, they throw these rules out the window?
Pedestrian misdemeanours can be grouped into the following categories:
1. Speed Limit Violations
2. Incorrect Lane Usage
Speed Limit Violations:
When driving a car, you will always have a posted maximum speed. For many, this is the speed you try to maintain at all times, so it becomes like a minimum and maximum together…a suggested speed. People will of course slow down when necessary, perhaps when turning, or due to traffic, or inclement weather. When driving significantly slower, you risk getting a ticket, as you are now a safety issue to the other cars actually doing the posted limit.
Pedestrians don’t get this ‘posted limit’. In my experience, peds don’t lean more towards exceeding the average rate, but rather towards creeping along more slowly. Let me point out that I am not a fast walker. I have little legs, and I don’t move them very quickly. Having said that, I don’t doddle. I know where I have to go there, and my legs go with the intention of getting me there without wasting any time. How frustrating it is to constantly be navigating through a sea of doddlers, the slow walkers … the Sunday drivers of walking. Suggestion: two lanes of pedestrian traffic in each direction. A slower lane for the window-shopping, ho-hum pedestrian, and a faster lane for the no nonsense walker. If sidewalk room doesn’t permit two lanes each way, then one lane with people ‘pulling over’ to let faster walkers pass would suffice.
Incorrect Lane Usage
How many people, driving down a busy street, could just come to a complete stop when in conversation or deep thought? Pedestrians do this little trick all the time. The complete stop usually occurs after they have seen someone they know, and both stop to converse. Maybe they are pondering entering a shop, or forgot something (which is followed by an illegal turn into oncoming traffic). Either way, it is followed with me having to dart around and avoid a collision.
This category also describes the occasions where a pedestrian emerges from a store or another walkway, and merges into sidewalk traffic, without looking to see if there is room or if they will be causing a potential collision. Often, this incident is followed with a complete stop in motion. Not only have they turned out into my path, but then they stop to talk to the person behind them, causing another quick swerve in my path to avoid a collision.
A final violation worth noting in this category is the ‘group’ scenario. When a group of friends is walking down the sidewalk, there should still be ample room to let by a pedestrian walking in the opposite direction. How many times have you been forced onto the grass when a group goes by, because if you didn’t move, you would surely collide with the group? Groups tend to spread and monopolize the sidewalk, in attempt to keep everyone engaged in the conversation. Etiquette would dictate that a group keep single file if possible during moments of passing traffic, and paired walking at other times. If you want to include your group in conversation, turn around to give a quick look and smile. Do not, of course, stop walking and turn to engage the rear walkers - this would be the type of violation mentioned in the previous paragraph.
You may find my Rules of the Sidewalk too strict. I am not trying to take the fun out of walking down the street, but I do think it necessary to be courteous. If I run into some friends on the street, I should be making every effort to get out of the flow of traffic to continue my conversation. If I remember I forgot to pick something up at the Safeway down the street, I should make sure I am not cutting anyone off before doing my little U-Turn. If I am emerging from a store, I should pause just outside the door, and look for my turn to enter traffic. If I want to meander down the sidewalk, pondering the mysteries of life, that is fine – but I should take myself out of the way of faster traffic. If there is room for two ‘lanes’ then take the lane closest to the building. If the sidewalk is tiny, and traffic is steady, maybe I should get off that sidewalk, and find myself one that has a slower pace. Safety first – I don’t want to cause anyone any grief, and I want to maximize my walking pleasure.
Following these simple rules will enhance the quality of your walking experience.
If you are still unsure of the Rules of the Sidewalk, imagine you are in a car – can you do what you are doing and not get a ticket?
Happy Walking!
posted by asthmatic at 6:48 AM
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