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Musings of a pedestrian
31 October 2005
I've been walking a lot these days. Walking to work, walking to the mall, walking downtown, along street, sidewalks and trails, going shopping, sometimes just strolling. Saturday alone we walked to the mall and back, and then downtown and back, with a little meandering up and down the streets in between.
In the past month, I've walked to work every day except those in which I needed a car to go to a meeting - council usually. In the past 28 days, I've walked 24, at least to work, sometimes further.
Walking is nice. I do it a multiplicity of reasons - health, exercise, environmental consciousness, to have some time with Susan, to see the community in which I live, to enjoy a few minutes reading before I get to work.
When our dogs were alive, we had reasons to walk daily. When we had two or three dogs, we went out with them every day, usually twice. Katy, our last dog, didn't really like the walking, and it became a "drag" very quickly, so we stopped doing it as often. Now she's gone, we have to compelling ulterior motive to walk - so we have to make our own.
Walking gives me a chance to see the community in a different way. In a car or on a bicycle, we seldom stop to consider things. I do when I walk.
You also gain a different perspective on drivers, and come to realize just how truly terrible, inconsiderate and disagreeable most people become when they get behind the wheel of a car. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the jerk. SUV drivers aren't necessarily at the apex of ignorance: they seem to share that spot with pick-up truck drivers. The main difference between the two is that SUVs generally cost more and when they carry dogs, they aren't stuck in the back where they can fall out.
Almost every day I barely miss being hit by a car rushing to get into a coffee shop or mall, caring nought for the pedestrians they cut off, with only a few inches to spare. It's a common experience for me - the pedestrian who has the right of way - to have to stop to avoid being hit by a car whose driver is ignoring any biological forms nearby. Most of these near-brushed with death occur at mini-mall entrances along First Street.
The idea of politeness and consideration is obviously outdated, and along with it went the crazy idea that pedestrians have some sort of right to walk in safety. I seriously believe that, sometime within the next year if I continue walking to and from work, one of these drives will run me over.
I also notice how inconsiderate people are when they park. Many, many, many people in this town park on the sidewalk, blocking the path and forcing pedestrians to either walk over their lawn or onto the street. Quite obviously this is a serious impediment to those in wheelchairs or with a physical disability. but the vehicle owners don't give a damn about how difficult they make it for others, as long as they can park where they want. Self-comfort is, apparently, more important than consideration for others.
I think it's time to record the addresses and licence plate numbers of cars parking on the sidewalk and calling them in to the local bylaw officers or police for ticketing. Starting tomorrow...
Handicapped spots in the mall or downtown are also targets for the inconsiderate, petty drivers who obviously believe being disrespectful, impolite and nasty qualifies them as "handicapped." Perhaps it does, but the reward should not be a free parking spot, but rather the revoking of their licence. At the very least they deserve one of those fun $300 tickets the town can hand out.
I've seen vans full of kids going to play hockey pull into the handicapped spot near the arena and occupy it until the kids are all out and in the arena - sometimes occupying the space for 15-30 minutes. Their response when confronted by their lack of respect? "I'm only hear for a few minutes. F**k off." I guess they think it's okay to be disrespectful for a few minutes and force people who really need the spots go elsewhere.
It's a little ironic that parents taking their kids to exercise for an hour or two, but refuses to park a two-minute walk away in the lot beside the arena. They have to grab the handicapped spot in front, no matter how much it inconveniences others.
I also see a lot of cars idling, parked and spewing pollution into our air while one or more passengers go shopping, or the passengers just want to stay warm or cool at the expense of our air quality. We have an anti-idling bylaw, but what is the response when you ask them to turn it off? "F**k off. I'm only here for a few minutes."
I've seen trucks and SUVs idling in front of my store for 20-30 minutes while the drivers are getting lunch or finding a video to watch. No exaggeration - my staff and I have timed these idiots several times and it's not really an uncommon occurrence. I've gone into neighbouring stores and asked their patrons to come out and turn their cars off on many occasions. These owners always seem startled that anyone actually cares about how much garbage they dump into our air. After all, why would you own an SUV if not to pollute, so idling merely makes it better.
I doubt these people will really give the environment anything approximating serious thought until the price of gas gets up to the $5 a litre or more. They're too busy talking on their cell phones in their SUVs to think about others.
I enjoy walking. I like the time alone, the exercise, the chance to read a bit and think. It would just be so much more enjoyable if it weren't for all the idiots and their cars out there.
In the past month, I've walked to work every day except those in which I needed a car to go to a meeting - council usually. In the past 28 days, I've walked 24, at least to work, sometimes further.
Walking is nice. I do it a multiplicity of reasons - health, exercise, environmental consciousness, to have some time with Susan, to see the community in which I live, to enjoy a few minutes reading before I get to work.
When our dogs were alive, we had reasons to walk daily. When we had two or three dogs, we went out with them every day, usually twice. Katy, our last dog, didn't really like the walking, and it became a "drag" very quickly, so we stopped doing it as often. Now she's gone, we have to compelling ulterior motive to walk - so we have to make our own.
Walking gives me a chance to see the community in a different way. In a car or on a bicycle, we seldom stop to consider things. I do when I walk.
You also gain a different perspective on drivers, and come to realize just how truly terrible, inconsiderate and disagreeable most people become when they get behind the wheel of a car. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the jerk. SUV drivers aren't necessarily at the apex of ignorance: they seem to share that spot with pick-up truck drivers. The main difference between the two is that SUVs generally cost more and when they carry dogs, they aren't stuck in the back where they can fall out.
Almost every day I barely miss being hit by a car rushing to get into a coffee shop or mall, caring nought for the pedestrians they cut off, with only a few inches to spare. It's a common experience for me - the pedestrian who has the right of way - to have to stop to avoid being hit by a car whose driver is ignoring any biological forms nearby. Most of these near-brushed with death occur at mini-mall entrances along First Street.
The idea of politeness and consideration is obviously outdated, and along with it went the crazy idea that pedestrians have some sort of right to walk in safety. I seriously believe that, sometime within the next year if I continue walking to and from work, one of these drives will run me over.
I also notice how inconsiderate people are when they park. Many, many, many people in this town park on the sidewalk, blocking the path and forcing pedestrians to either walk over their lawn or onto the street. Quite obviously this is a serious impediment to those in wheelchairs or with a physical disability. but the vehicle owners don't give a damn about how difficult they make it for others, as long as they can park where they want. Self-comfort is, apparently, more important than consideration for others.
I think it's time to record the addresses and licence plate numbers of cars parking on the sidewalk and calling them in to the local bylaw officers or police for ticketing. Starting tomorrow...
Handicapped spots in the mall or downtown are also targets for the inconsiderate, petty drivers who obviously believe being disrespectful, impolite and nasty qualifies them as "handicapped." Perhaps it does, but the reward should not be a free parking spot, but rather the revoking of their licence. At the very least they deserve one of those fun $300 tickets the town can hand out.
I've seen vans full of kids going to play hockey pull into the handicapped spot near the arena and occupy it until the kids are all out and in the arena - sometimes occupying the space for 15-30 minutes. Their response when confronted by their lack of respect? "I'm only hear for a few minutes. F**k off." I guess they think it's okay to be disrespectful for a few minutes and force people who really need the spots go elsewhere.
It's a little ironic that parents taking their kids to exercise for an hour or two, but refuses to park a two-minute walk away in the lot beside the arena. They have to grab the handicapped spot in front, no matter how much it inconveniences others.
I also see a lot of cars idling, parked and spewing pollution into our air while one or more passengers go shopping, or the passengers just want to stay warm or cool at the expense of our air quality. We have an anti-idling bylaw, but what is the response when you ask them to turn it off? "F**k off. I'm only here for a few minutes."
I've seen trucks and SUVs idling in front of my store for 20-30 minutes while the drivers are getting lunch or finding a video to watch. No exaggeration - my staff and I have timed these idiots several times and it's not really an uncommon occurrence. I've gone into neighbouring stores and asked their patrons to come out and turn their cars off on many occasions. These owners always seem startled that anyone actually cares about how much garbage they dump into our air. After all, why would you own an SUV if not to pollute, so idling merely makes it better.
I doubt these people will really give the environment anything approximating serious thought until the price of gas gets up to the $5 a litre or more. They're too busy talking on their cell phones in their SUVs to think about others.
I enjoy walking. I like the time alone, the exercise, the chance to read a bit and think. It would just be so much more enjoyable if it weren't for all the idiots and their cars out there.
