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The agony of pedestrian walking patterns


zelticgar

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5 hours ago, The BlackBear said:

Edinburgh during the festival is a nightmare for walking anywhere. Everyone's walking interminably slowly, people veer from side to side for no discernible reason, families form dams from side to side, and then there are the people who will just stop dead. I usually cycle everywhere, but for some reason it's seen as acceptable to just step into the road, and expect me to have to veer around you.

Like London every day of the year then ;) 

Actually I'm surprised how good Edinburgh's streets are usually, considering it is a tourist hotspot. I get annoyed with other pedestrians pretty easily but whenever I've gone to Edinburgh it's been fine.

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6 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

A sidewalk is the raised section of concrete (usually) that is for pedestrians only, and runs parallel to traffic on the edges of the street.  The street itself is for vehicular traffic.

Yeah, that's what I thought. But it seemed as if people were saying that streets and sidewalks were two different kinds of paths that pedestrians could walk on. 

I live in London and I'm used to people behaving with zero awareness or consideration for others when in public spaces.

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4 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Like London every day of the year then ;) 

Actually I'm surprised how good Edinburgh's streets are usually, considering it is a tourist hotspot. I get annoyed with other pedestrians pretty easily but whenever I've gone to Edinburgh it's been fine.

Most of the year it's fine. Princes Street and most of the main touristy bits are quite wide and spacious. But the Mile during the Fringe is a nightmare, it's like Dawn of the Dead, but with more smartphones.

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On 4/15/2017 at 9:12 PM, larrytheimp said:

Is this a thing?  Ive always passed on whatever side was opposite the path of least resistance. In other words, let the person I'm passing tread the easy path, while the passer takes the path over boulders or through the mud to get ahead.  However, I always give uphill hikers right of way unless they move over on their own

Uphill hikers have the right of way. No real rules on which side to pass but I always treat it like a road, stay to the right or be shot into the sun. 

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On 4/16/2017 at 11:37 PM, The BlackBear said:

Most of the year it's fine. Princes Street and most of the main touristy bits are quite wide and spacious. But the Mile during the Fringe is a nightmare, it's like Dawn of the Dead, but with more smartphones.

Actually, Edinburgh always makes me angrier than London to be honest. It genuinely feels like people there have no concept of personal space and actually try to walk into you/don't mind if they literally brush against you when passing. I MIND THOUGH.

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6 hours ago, A True Kaniggit said:

I believe these rules should also apply in grocery stores. Anyone who is pushing their cart down the center or on the wrong side of the aisle is evil and should be banished. 

I would add that in a grocery store environment you need to be responsible for 360 degree self awareness at all times. People who stop their cart parallel to an oncoming cart to block the whole aisle should be immediately escorted out of the store. Wake up! There are people behind you!  

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Being raised in a rural county in Pennsylvania USA we were taught to walk facing traffic so the oncoming cars could see you and move over and cars on the other side wouldn't need to worry about at all.  We were also taught to walk as close the edge as safely possible and not in the fucking middle!  I generally step off the road when I see a car coming (if I can).  Bikes are to go with traffic and defer to the larger vehicles (Although in the boonies that doesn't happen-they act they fucking own the road).

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That's the rule for walking on the road, I agree. Sidewalks are a different matter.

Speaking of bikes, what drives me nutty is when they don't follow basic traffic rules. The one I see most often is not respecting 4 way stops - they weave wherever they want which I don't get because ... it's a 4 way stop. It seems dangerous to the cyclist but damned if I don't see it happen all the time.

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I think the general rule would be to follow local customs when it comes to walking.  These things are regional.

But definitely cyclists suck everywhere.  Was walking on a path this morning with my dog and a cyclist came out of nowhere behind me and then gave me attitude because I didn't move fast enough to get myself and my dog off the trail.  Asshole shouldn't be using a skinny trail for biking anyway.  

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Obviously dog owners shouldn't be letting their dog poop on pavements unless stated they can.  But there isn't much that can be done about dogs walking next to their owners.  

And when it comes to cyclists, they just need their own areas.  Because if their coming through requires everyone to quickly get off a thin trail, then they need to fuck off somewhere else.  Not even going to lie, I often consider not moving at all for these assholes and then suing them if they hit me, my kids, or my dog.  Most small walking paths (I'm talking off pavement paths through wooded areas) are not at all meant for cyclists.  I hate those people with a passion. Just stay on roads where you belong, or keep to bike only paths where indicated.  

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On 4/7/2017 at 7:07 PM, Fragile Bird said:

Hey , if you live in the city there are no discernable walking patterns. I'm always veering from right to left because people are plowing down the sidewalk as if no one else was there, wherever the hell they want. And don't even get me going about mothers with their baby carriages. They'd just as soon as a kill you, using their babies as WMDs, rather than share the walkway.

And let's not even think about escalators...

And umbrellas.  Do NOT get me started on people in cities using umbrellas on crowded sidewalks.

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50 minutes ago, Dr. Pepper said:

Obviously dog owners shouldn't be letting their dog poop on pavements unless stated they can.  But there isn't much that can be done about dogs walking next to their owners.   

Walking next to their owners would be fine.  Wandering across the sidewalk with the long leash acting as a barrier to everyone else is a problem and we can do a lot about it: mandating short leashes seems like the easiest place to start.

Dog owners are required to pick up feces from the pavement.   Even if most do so, it doesn't remove the problem of the dog and owner stopping and blocking the pavement while the dog excretes waste in full view.  And there seems to be no prohibition on dogs urinating anywhere on the sidewalk.  High density urban areas have high concentrations of dog ownership* now and the streets are an obstacle course of dog waste and leashes.

I love dogs.  I am getting heartily sick of dog owners.

*because they have become a substitute for kids, and families with kids largely move to the burbs for better public schools.

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1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Walking next to their owners would be fine.  Wandering across the sidewalk with the long leash acting as a barrier to everyone else is a problem and we can do a lot about it: mandating short leashes seems like the easiest place to start.

Dog owners are required to pick up feces from the pavement.   Even if most do so, it doesn't remove the problem of the dog and owner stopping and blocking the pavement while the dog excretes waste in full view.  And there seems to be no prohibition on dogs urinating anywhere on the sidewalk.  High density urban areas have high concentrations of dog ownership* now and the streets are an obstacle course of dog waste and leashes.

I love dogs.  I am getting heartily sick of dog owners.

*because they have become a substitute for kids, and families with kids largely move to the burbs for better public schools.

Sounds like your city needs to create some sidewalks instead of forcing walkers -human and dog alike - to use the streets. 

Young families are increasingly staying in high density urban areas.  High rise apartment construction is increasing while suburban McMansion construction is decreasing.  Unfortunately some cities aren't keeping pace with the need for more green spaces, forcing humans big and small and their animals into undesirable situations.  Of course I'm sure you realize that dogs will need to be escorted by their humans.  Most cities and towns have ordinances that require the dog be on a leash which will necessitate them walking next to their owners.  

Cyclists still need to stay in their own areas.  

 

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16 hours ago, Dr. Pepper said:

And when it comes to cyclists, they just need their own areas.  Because if their coming through requires everyone to quickly get off a thin trail, then they need to fuck off somewhere else.  Not even going to lie, I often consider not moving at all for these assholes and then suing them if they hit me, my kids, or my dog.  Most small walking paths (I'm talking off pavement paths through wooded areas) are not at all meant for cyclists.  I hate those people with a passion. Just stay on roads where you belong, or keep to bike only paths where indicated.  

What we get in London is cyclists thinking it is their right to cycle along narrow canal paths in areas of central London, which are so narrow that you can only get two people walking in one direction and two people walking in the other direction. And they think that ringing their bell means you're going to jump out of their way. Don't fucking cycle along canals on hot sunny days when the paths are filled with people and there is no room for your bike (and it's not a cycle path). Just use the road instead or push your fucking bike and walk.

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