| Topic: | Pavements are for everybody. Except pedestrians. | |
| Posted by: | Malcolm Peltu | |
| Date/Time: | 27/02/18 16:58:00 |
| An comment in The Guardian today by Stuart Jeffries under the above title articulated some of my anger about the way pedestrians are being muscled out of the once safe walking spaces on pavements. He starts with an anecdote familiar enough to forum readers: against cyclists on pavements. He then says: 'If only I’d had a speed camera: I’m sure the lady was going faster than the street’s 20mph speed limit. Then I edged between a tree and a discarded orange rental bike. A few seconds after that, a smiling kidult on a scooter barrelled towards me. I stepped aside and – what’s wrong with me? – apologised again. Later, I propped up two rental bikes lying across my path. Finally, I stepped into the gutter to get around a couple who were appreciating a hedge cut into the silhouette of an elephant. The hedge alone took up a third of the pavement.' From my experience as an ageing pedestrians, I would add children on scooters (and their parents who thank you if you avoid being run into rather than instructing the children on safe pavement use where priority should be for pedestrians (and hurl abuse at you if you dare criticise their precious one's behaviour). Adults pushing prams aggressively (sometimes one handed while looking at their mobile, as in today's snow), people blocking slippery pavements to take pictures of snow, people running fast without verbal warnings in places where they can't see what is coming across their path.....I'm sure you can add your own if you do much walking on pavements. As I have got older and less steady on my feet, I am becoming really worried about walking on pavements. I have seen other elderly, disabled or just unaggressive and polite people also being put at risk by people who act as if the pavement is their uninhibited domain. |