This article laments the decline of walking etiquette, particularly people walking on the right side of the footpath and blocking pedestrian pathways. The author recounts personal experiences and discusses the implications for vulnerable groups like the elderly and disabled.
But when I’m walking along the footpath, I’m a firm lefty. Keep to the left as best as you can unless you’re overtaking or there is some impediment.
A day earlier in my local swimming pool, I steadfastly stuck to the left lane and stifled the urge to remind a woman of the etiquette when she headed menacingly towards me on the wrong side of the black line like it was a watery game of chicken. I didn’t want to sound churlish. It was the slow lane, so we weren’t vying for last-minute selection into the Olympics. But if it were the fast lane, there may have been cross words – they’re very serious over there.
It’s easy as we age to dismiss ourselves as “invisible”, but people of all ages with dodgy knees and less obvious ailments can’t so easily accommodate sudden directional changes as people weave in and out. Spare a thought for the elderly, people living with disabilities, the pregnant and the sight-impaired amid this free for all.I asked one of my kids who goes to university in the city if she thinks it’s a generational thing.
It’s only gotten worse as people meander around with noise-cancelling headphones, eyes glued to phones. Is it bad manners, plain ignorance or a lack of spatial awareness?Britz Campervans tells its renters, coming from countries where they drive on the right, to keep left. “In Australia, we drive on the left, but we also walk on the left. Avoid running into oncoming foot traffic and stick left,” it says on its website.
WALKING ETIQUETTE PUBLIC SPACE SAFETY CONSIDERATION ELDERLY
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