DC vs Durham difference #7: congestion on the sidewalk

Durham, and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Raleigh Triangle is a driving place, pure and simple. Bicyclists endure Bubba's erratic pickup driving and YooHoo bottle flung from windows. The white lines are painted right on the side of the road, with no shoulder. Walking? There are many places you just can't walk. No kidding. Two teenagers were killed several years ago while trying to cross 15/501. The city's response to this safety issue? Ban walking. Again, not kidding. The "public safety" office moved to prohibit crossing that intersection on foot. About the only time I walked in Durham was with Toby (the dog). The only people I saw walking also had dogs.

So I'm unfamiliar with appropriate sidwalk congestion behavior. Do you treat it like a car on the road: walk on the right, pass on the left? Like a pedestrian on the road: walk left, pass right? Is it okay to walk the same speed as someone else, or is that stalker-ish and weird? Is it okay to say "excuse me" to make people move out of the way when they're in a group that completely blocks the sidewalk? If someone is slow, is it okay to tailgate until you can pass?

Only one walking rule is clear: on the Metro escalators, you stand on the right, and walk on the left. Period. Any tourists that don't know this (and really, how would they?) run the risk of being bowled over by late-for-work hordes.

Comments

[paige]

I never thought that to be a pedestrian rule unique to the Metro. It is followed to the letter, though!

While you're chatting about pedestrian infractions, I'd like to cover one in greater detail. I'm in Chicago this week and I am FLOORED by the number of slow-moving groups who feel it is acceptable to block the flow of traffic. Three nicely dressed ladies need not take up the entire sidewalk on Michigan Ave--that's all I'm saying. Walk sensibly, pay attention, and for heaven's sake, yield the curb cuts to those of us who need them (the disabled and those with strollers). Oh, I guess I have more to add, because I'd like to say that people who ignore my stroller-rider's right to take up space on the sidewalk are pretty awful too. People walk right over the stroller, and one woman almost burned Meklit with her poorly placed cigarette. I actually had to yell at her to get her to notice the toddler she was ready to ignite.

Thank you for allowing me space to air my grievances

[Marc Luoma]

Paige: go, girl: tell it all!