"Traffic rules" for the sidewalk - yes or no?

[Annie]

@Cat_Whisperer

I come to a complete halt if I have to - I’m on the correct side, you’re not, you move.

Me too- this also applies to couples/groups of people strolling together across the full width of the sidewalk like some human Panzer division. I’m not going on the street/grass/dogshit zone so your little group can continue your 4 abreast conversation. Stopping 5 feet before them gives them time to move around me and me time to fiddle with the ipod

There was an old woman killed here in Calgary last week on one of the multi-use paths - a roller-blader knocked her down and she died a day or two later. One or both of those path users was on the wrong side, and she died because of it. Since our city sidewalks have become home to all bike-riders, I consider it my civic duty to try to teach people the right side to walk on.

Cyclist keep telling me that they are no threat to pedestrian safety if they ride on the sidewalk/crosswalk. They think that a cyclist has never killed a pedestrian, apparently. I’ll lump this rollerblade collision in with any leg-powered wheeled movement (i.e: not wheelchairs or strollers) and call bullshit,bullshit,bullshit, bullshit, bullshit and bullshit.

Back to the topic- are there actual ‘traffic rules’ for which side of the sidewalk walkers should use, or are we just codifying our customs here?

[Lust4Life]

The people who really piss me off are the ones who walk in a long slow zig zag, decide to stand still in an entrance or decide that they really, really can’t walk without holding hands and thus make a moving road block on the sidewalk.

[amarone]

@Runs_With_Scissors

When I was London, I was chastised by an oncoming pedestrian who curtly informed me, “Over here, we walk on the left.”

And stand on the right (on escalators). I wish there was similar generally accepted escalator etiquette in the US. It bugs me that when I am in a hurry and want to walk up I cannot because other pedestrians are blocking the escalator entirely.

I avoid the sidewalk dance, though - I trained myself such that after one simultaneous move with my opposite number, I just freeze and see where they go next.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Annie

Me too- this also applies to couples/groups of people strolling together across the full width of the sidewalk like some human Panzer division. I’m not going on the street/grass/dogshit zone so your little group can continue your 4 abreast conversation. Stopping 5 feet before them gives them time to move around me and me time to fiddle with the ipod

Cyclist keep telling me that they are no threat to pedestrian safety if they ride on the sidewalk/crosswalk. They think that a cyclist has never killed a pedestrian, apparently. I’ll lump this rollerblade collision in with any leg-powered wheeled movement (i.e: not wheelchairs or strollers) and call bullshit,bullshit,bullshit, bullshit, bullshit and bullshit.

Back to the topic- are there actual ‘traffic rules’ for which side of the sidewalk walkers should use, or are we just codifying our customs here?

I was walking yesterday (on the correct side) and a dad was biking with his kid in the double-wide trailer on the sidewalk towards me; since I refused to get off the sidewalk for a vehicle that had no business being on it, he came within about six inches of me. The kicker - there was a multi-use path across the street from us that he was supposed to be on.

[Annie]

@Cat_Whisperer

I was walking yesterday (on the correct side) and a dad was biking with his kid in the double-wide trailer on the sidewalk towards me; since I refused to get off the sidewalk for a vehicle that had no business being on it, he came within about six inches of me. The kicker - there was a multi-use path across the street from us that he was supposed to be on.

You should see what happens when those baby-haulers (and people hauling groceries and personal freight in similar carts) take to the bike lanes! A line of cyclists turning purple waiting for a chance to pass YupDad, who poddles along like a retired Sask. guy driving a maxi Winnebago through a 2 lane highway mountain pass about 25km/hr below the speed limit. Bonus points if the baby in the back start pulling off his shoes and socks and starts tossing crap out of the wagon

[Cat_Whisperer]

Hah! You do paint a picture!

[Acantha]

@PSXer

You should always go in the right side of doors.

Wal-Mart here has two automatic doors. The one on the left says “entrance” and the one on the right says “exit”. That is the silliest thing I have ever heard. I purposely disobey the signs and enter the right side. Because you should always go in the right door, no matter what signs say.

Those piss me off beyond all reason. Keep right, dammit.

I often purposely enter the exit door in these places as well. Screw 'em for being backward.

[BigT]

You know what I do? I pay attention to where other people are walking, and pick the other side. I’m not going to give in to my OCD and create some artificial rule that everyone else has to follow. And I’m definitely not going to cause more problems by blocking other people due to some artificial claim of superiority. We’re not cars–we have ample ability to maneuver around obstacles.

In my opinion, intentionally blocking someone because they are on the “wrong” side is worse than accidentally walking the wrong way. Only one is willful malfeasance.

Finally, I’ve never gotten the claim “If that makes me a dick, so what?” The answer is always: because there are other, dickier people out there, and they may not stop at just blocking your way. This one has the extra of “What if you meet someone else that is similarly stubborn? Do you really think you’ll just stand there indefinitely?”

Stop creating problems for yourselves.