The misery of the urban pedestrian :)
Discussion
Despite driving the ultimate school run accessory
I use my own two feet for the vast majority of my journeys in townWe live pretty centrally and most places are walkable, even with the kids
However, I have recently come to the conclusion that no one gives a toss about pedestrians
My main example is walking the kids to school
There are a number of junctions to cross, some so wide that you can start safely with no signs of traffic yet some t
t hurtles down the priority road to make a left turn and gets angry that we are still in the middle of crossing it on footIf you dont get my point this may help:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Hig...
Zebras and light controlled crossings are also few and far between
Certainly on the route I need to use, to a school dont forget, I have at least one A-road to cross without a crossing for ages either side
The kids want to walk to school on their own but this road just scares me in peak hours
The irony is that most of the local traffic crawls and its actually faster to walk in the rush hour most of the time but as long as walking is a miserable experience then most people just wont
Sigh - I never thought Id moan about making journeys on foot, however I guess until recently never had the chance
Go on then hurt me plenty
I sympathise, you are bang on and just using the right tool for the job rather than feeling the need to use the car for jobs it isnt warranted for. If more of us thought and acted like this and made a considered choice rather than the default we would have much nicer towns, I cant be arsed parking half the time, going to the post office is a nightmare, much better by bike, park next to the door, nearer than even the disabled or P and C spaces. I dont get arsey with peds, however int he wrong they may be, I am in control of a tonne plus of metal, they arent, the burden of most of the responsibility is with me, however wrong or stupid a pedestrian is, you would still feel awful if you hurt or killed someone, I killed a Dog once and still think about it 23 years later.
I walk our dog every day and cycle a lot and you do tend to get treated like crap, people will aim cars at you when crossing as they will come off ok, and you wont, my pet hate is crossing an exit on a roundabout on foot when people coming off dont indicate.
Otherwise decent people seem to get really selfish and ignorant when protected by their metal box all snug and safe, sometimes its like when a dog feels like he cant be seen because his head is hidden.
Some little twerp flew in font of me last night as I was walking past the petrol station, I checked and it was clear apart from Mini Cooper boy and he wasnt indicating but he flew in regardless without slowing, about six feet in front of me and the hound, ok, he missed but I prefer the margin of error to be on my side not by someone who is under the influence of the smell of the hair products he uses to maintain that junior estate agent look.
I walk our dog every day and cycle a lot and you do tend to get treated like crap, people will aim cars at you when crossing as they will come off ok, and you wont, my pet hate is crossing an exit on a roundabout on foot when people coming off dont indicate.
Otherwise decent people seem to get really selfish and ignorant when protected by their metal box all snug and safe, sometimes its like when a dog feels like he cant be seen because his head is hidden.
Some little twerp flew in font of me last night as I was walking past the petrol station, I checked and it was clear apart from Mini Cooper boy and he wasnt indicating but he flew in regardless without slowing, about six feet in front of me and the hound, ok, he missed but I prefer the margin of error to be on my side not by someone who is under the influence of the smell of the hair products he uses to maintain that junior estate agent look.
RRS_Staffs said:
Despite driving the ultimate school run accessory I use my own two feet for the vast majority of my journeys in town
We live pretty centrally and most places are walkable, even with the kids
However, I have recently come to the conclusion that no one gives a toss about pedestrians
My main example is walking the kids to school
There are a number of junctions to cross, some so wide that you can start safely with no signs of traffic yet some tt hurtles down the priority road to make a left turn and gets angry that we are still in the middle of crossing it on foot
If you dont get my point this may help:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Hig...
Zebras and light controlled crossings are also few and far between
Certainly on the route I need to use, to a school dont forget, I have at least one A-road to cross without a crossing for ages either side
The kids want to walk to school on their own but this road just scares me in peak hours
The irony is that most of the local traffic crawls and its actually faster to walk in the rush hour most of the time but as long as walking is a miserable experience then most people just wont
Sigh - I never thought Id moan about making journeys on foot, however I guess until recently never had the chance
Go on then hurt me plenty
Put you concerns in writing and get them sent off to your local council, councillor and mp. I use my own two feet for the vast majority of my journeys in townWe live pretty centrally and most places are walkable, even with the kids
However, I have recently come to the conclusion that no one gives a toss about pedestrians
My main example is walking the kids to school
There are a number of junctions to cross, some so wide that you can start safely with no signs of traffic yet some t
t hurtles down the priority road to make a left turn and gets angry that we are still in the middle of crossing it on footIf you dont get my point this may help:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Hig...
Zebras and light controlled crossings are also few and far between
Certainly on the route I need to use, to a school dont forget, I have at least one A-road to cross without a crossing for ages either side
The kids want to walk to school on their own but this road just scares me in peak hours
The irony is that most of the local traffic crawls and its actually faster to walk in the rush hour most of the time but as long as walking is a miserable experience then most people just wont
Sigh - I never thought Id moan about making journeys on foot, however I guess until recently never had the chance
Go on then hurt me plenty
In my experience there is a very clear hierachy.
Cars and buses must give way to cyclists.
Pedestrians must give way to cyclists.
Wheelchair users must give way to cyclists.
If a runway is nearby, aircraft must give way to cyclists.
Admittedly sometimes trains inject a dose of reality into the hierachy
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/0...
Cars and buses must give way to cyclists.
Pedestrians must give way to cyclists.
Wheelchair users must give way to cyclists.
If a runway is nearby, aircraft must give way to cyclists.
Admittedly sometimes trains inject a dose of reality into the hierachy
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/0...
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