Ooo I love venting!

I work near the Children's Museum in Boston. On a regular basis I'll be leaving work to catch the train only to have to walk in the street because mobs of moms pushing their kids down the sidewalk in Ford F350 duellies will actually run me over before moving to the right. More than once I've had to flatten myself against a building to avoid having my feet run over. I'm almost 6 feet tall so I'm hard to miss...

To be fair, every now and then the mother will look at me with exasperation and say "sorry" as she is trying to corral her kids and their 50 best friends into a manageable two-kid-wide line. But it's those with an utter lack of self-awareness, are talking on their phone and ignoring their kids running amok - or worst of all, those who nearly mow me with a look of determined self-importance - that make me stop, turn around in her direction and say "Excuse you!".

Correcting strangers' bad behavior is itself a rudeness but I try to argue it's self-defense.

Another thing that isn't sidewalk related, but close: When I hold the door for someone and s/he walks through without even murmuring a "thanks". I give them a loud "YOU'RE WELCOME".

It really burns me how people just expect you to yield to them.

Posted by: Gretchen at August 30, 2010 7:52 PM

Spitting anywhere I'm about to walk. GROSS. Now I have some random guy's slimy DNA on the bottom of my shoes, and then my gas pedal, then in my house...

Posted by: Lesley at August 30, 2010 10:02 PM

Walking on the Minuteman Rail Trail (it runs from Cambridge to Bedford, Mass.), being nearly run down by bicyclists who fail to ring a bell or call out "On your left!"

Posted by: Nancy at August 30, 2010 10:27 PM

Thanks - these are great. Keep 'em coming!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2010 10:39 PM

I'm riding my bike on a paved trail. There's actually a white line down the middle so there are two 'sides'.

A woman is walking - dog NOT on a leash (illegal) - approaching me from the other direction.

The dog comes completely over into my path, won't move and I'm forced to come to a complete stop.

Of course she copped an attitude when I sarcastically thanked her for controlling her dog.

I wasn't tempted to run over the dog. It's not the dog's fault. But the human? Yep.

Posted by: jimg at August 30, 2010 10:48 PM

I walk a pedestrian/bike trial every weekend (sidewalk?) with my dog - Anyway, I am a little jumpy to begin with, which is my issue not everyone else's. But what I can say, is how great it is when bikers when coming up behind a pedestrian will (not SHOUT) but loudly state "On your left..." or "On your right" because I don't typically hear them coming and either my dog or I could easily step into their path on accident. This helps quite a bit in avoiding an ugly cyclist/pedestrian/canine tangle. It is especially helpful since dogs usually are at their owner's left-hand side (that's how I was taught to walk dogs anyway).

Some bikers will whiz past me (a la "buzzing the towers"), so close and scare the snot out of me. I think it's good manners for cyclists to announce their approach to pedestrians, especially if they have some speed going. I always wave and say "thank you" when they do. They should probably also maintain a bit of caution with their speed when sharing a path with pedestrians.

And if it were a perfect world, people should be particularly conscious of stomping behind or closely tailing someone in front of them. When this happens, I don't ever get angry (because I know most people aren't aware of it) I just move quickly out of the way and let them pass. It just feels like an invasion of personal space when someone is nipping at your heels like that instead of trying to pass you. I can understand if there is no room for a pass...it's when the sidewalk is WIDE open but they are on the verge of peeling off the back of your sneaker with their hastened gate. Super annoying.

Posted by: Feebie at August 30, 2010 11:33 PM

"gate" should have been gait in this context.

Posted by: Feebie at August 30, 2010 11:36 PM

Speaking of the few mentions of walking dogs above.. how about the general attitude of too many dog owners that don't properly leash their dogs. I walk my dog twice every day and I keep her on her leash at all times. In the 8-1/2 years I've had her, she's been attacked by dogs off-leash 5 times, 2 ended up requiring stitches (one required minor surgery to repair the tear underneath the surface).

Every time the owners claim things like: "s/he never behaves like this." "I was only walking a short distance to the car (or similar)" Or they just blame the dog for getting out of the yard.. once or twice I can see as a problem dog (or the dog is just too smart), but I have at least one neighbor who's dog gets out nearly daily. It's a little yip-yip barking dog too.. the only dog mine seems intent on killing if she could get a hold of it (she's otherwise a wuss). Sometimes, if the people are there, they'll get the dog and sort of apologize, but it's gone so far beyond the occasional mishap and well into complete neglect by now that the words are meaningless. I feel sorry for their little daughter who loves the dog, because it's a tiny black dog that gets out at all hours and is going to get run over (or killed by another animal) one of these days.

As a dog owner, I not only always leash my dog but always err on the side of caution and shorten the leash while moving aside when we come upon people while walking. I also always pick up after my dog.

Posted by: Miguelito at August 31, 2010 12:08 AM

People who text and walk drive me batty. They are so focused on their phone, they have absolutely no awareness people behind, cars traveling on the street, etc. They tend to walk slowly and without direction ruining the flow of people walking and are also likely to walk into something. Not only are they rude, but they are putting themselves in danger if they are in a busy area.

If I need to text, I make sure I'm seated somewhere or that my back is against a wall.

Posted by: Janet C at August 31, 2010 12:24 AM

Not really sure where to put this one, as it happened on public transportation....

Eight years ago, I was pregnant with my first child, and riding the DC Metro to work. When I say pregnant, I mean 10 days away from delivery. Huge. And it was the end of May, so I was in a short sleaved dress. Long and the short of it, there was no mistaking I was pregnant.

Each Metro car has two sets of seats in the middle that are clearly marked "Please reserve for the handicapped and elderly". Sitting in two of those seats were two able-bodied 20 something staff assistants from the Hill (I could see their Hill ID cards on their neck lanyards). So I got on, huge and pregnant, and they didn't move. Whatever. I'm pregnant, not disabled.

But at the next stop, an elderly woman with a CANE got on, and still these little brats didn't move. Even as this woman shuffled over...nothing.

The doors close, and I look at these two girls and say "Really? You're going to sit there and trade office gossip, completely oblivious to the fact that there is someone here who is allowed BY LAW to have that seat?"

I kid you not, one of the girls looks at me and the old lady and says "We were here first, bitch."

I damn near slapped her, but the old lady gently put her hand on my arm and said "Honey, she's just not worth it."

I spent the rest of the ride praying that my water would break all over them. That would have been awesome.

Posted by: UW Girl at August 31, 2010 12:30 AM

@UW Girl, I lived in DC, too, and I once saw a guy taking up BOTH handicapped seats-- he was sitting on one and had his legs draped out over the other one--and taking up two seats on the Metro is rude no matter where you're sitting!

My story is related.

To be fair, those handicapped seats could be better labled. Unless you happen to look up, you won't see the sign (which looks much like any other advertisement on the Metro), and, to the uninitiated, they might look like just any other seat.

I, too, was once new to the DC Metro. And I sat in one of those seats without realizing it (I was frazzled and still concentrating more on finding my way around the system than on where I was sitting).

A 60-something-old woman comes up to me and says (in a sarcastic tone), "Excuse me. You're probably busy Tweeting or something (I was texting), so that means you can read, right?"

I nod.

And she goes, "Well, clearly the words on that sign are too big for you."

I look up, see the sign, apologize profusely, and vacate the seat.

...but I still would have done so, had she simply pointed out the sign in a civil, rather than insulting, way.

So, I hereby submit HER as a rude person for this post. :)

Posted by: sofar at August 31, 2010 2:11 AM

Lunch Break

Begin exodus from the building by elevator going down.
Each floor as we descend, others board to fill the small space sardine-style.
Finally at street level, everyone disgorges.
Ah, the great outdoors! Fresh air!

Sixty minutes to eat lunch, run errands, or take a walk.
The first several minutes spent in the elevator with people-I-don’t-know.
We all flow out to the sidewalk together.
So far, so good.

We approach the twenty-feet-from-the-doorway mark.
Many aforementioned people-I-don’t-know have been waiting to do one thing.
They all light up.
I can’t breathe.

Posted by: Lauren at August 31, 2010 3:01 AM

It's 11:11 pm, 8/30 on the East Coast. Are Lauren et al in Europe?

UW Girl, your story reminds me of a joke:

A gentleman is riding the bus when an attractive young woman boards. The bus is full, and she walks up to him and says "Sir, would you mind giving your seat to a pregnant woman?"

As he's a gentleman, he immediately surrenders his seat and grabs an overhead strap. He regards the woman for a moment and notices she is quite slender, so he says "May I ask how long you've been pregnant?"

"About 10 minutes, and boy am I tired!"

Posted by: DaveG at August 31, 2010 4:16 AM

Seems we're on London time.

Posted by: DaveG at August 31, 2010 4:19 AM

UW Girl - Your story is oh so typical. I live in the bay area, and BART is the public transit out here.

BART riders infuriate me. And it's typically only the women- 30-somethings to 50-somethings (in heels no less) who give their seats to elderly or disabled people because there are able bodied men (and some young women) from 20-50's who won't do it. And this includes those seats that "Federal Law requires these seats be made available to seniors and those with disabilities". Just infuriating.

There was one elderly woman who got on a crowded car and no one got up - not even people in the other seats. (I've noticed, all the men will take their newspapers and use it as an excuse shield as if to say "If I don't see you, I won't have to give up my seat". Every once an a while you'll see them peak out and then throw the corner back up and continue reading...total. assholes). So this lady is standing for about 10 minutes before she took a nose dive, and I mean "TIIIMMMBBBEEERRR" nose dive into the aisle way. FINALLY, some jerk gave her his seat.

There was a blind man that use to get on the same car as me at the same time every morning. I use to offer my arm to him to help him into the train, almost every morning. When we got on, if no one got up, which was about half the time - I would just start reading; "Federal Law requires...." loudly. I figured if they weren't going to be decent, I would make sure everyone on that car knew it. And they always got up - reluctantly, but they did.

My favorite was the time when a WWII veteran (he had one of those hats) got on the train (by this time, I was purposely sitting in the senior/disabled seats - saving them because I WOULD get up for someone who needed it) and I went to get up and he held his hand out and shook his head. I was perplexed. He then walked straight over to a man in his early twenties and gave him "the look". I nearly DIED watching this 20 year old scamper out of the seat so fast you would have thought the thing had caught fire. When the vet sat down he kinda looked at me and gave me a nod and a tip of his had with this grin on his face. I grinned back. Damn, I love those men!

Posted by: Feebie at August 31, 2010 6:03 AM

Miguelito: a suggestion? How about bringing along a small squirt bottle? Usually effective against most dogs, and not actually injuring an animal. If an owner were to get pissy with you about it, they're just posturing; there's no harm. Then you can squirt them for behaving like an aggressive yappy dog as well.

Posted by: Juliana at August 31, 2010 11:40 AM

I started working as a crossing guard at the kids school last week. WOW. Parents honking at me when I stop them to let kids cross. Parents blowing right past me and my stopsign, nearly hitting me and a kid who was on the crosswalk. Parents blithly hauling their kid across the street when I'm NOT stopping traffic. Parents ignoring me when I smile and say "good morning".

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller (it's an in-line one, takes up no more width than a thin person) and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard. Those things are heavy!

There are also the people who put their garbage cans on the sidewalk on trash day, instead of on the side of the street, so everyone has to walk in the street to get around them.

And the people who park their cars covering the sidewalk, so you have to walk in the street to get around them. Hello, you HAVE a 2 car garage, feel free to use it!

Posted by: momof4 at August 31, 2010 2:15 PM

Just great, momof4, and everybody. And the person with the most ability to move should. It's amazing that they don't. How rude!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 31, 2010 2:33 PM

Okay, I'm not talking about a rough neighborhood. St. Charles, Mo. is considered to be a pretty nice area in fact. But it's not much for the pedestrian. I used to walk the mile and a half to work. I was nineteen years old, wearing my hostess uniform which consisted of jeans and a t-shirt.

On more than one occasion, I was solicited for sex. I was followed by leering old men going very slow in their vehicles. It really got so bad that I felt like I had to carry bear mace, in the on position, in my pocket at all times. Taxi drivers stopping and asking, "do you wanna make some money?" and a wink. Or that one woman...what kind of mother solicits sex from a complete stranger for her son?

Posted by: Cat at August 31, 2010 3:10 PM

People who are walking, and then ABRUPTLY STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK. Tourist destinations are notoriously terrible for this. I was recently in San Francisco, and encountered a number of couples and families sauntering (not even strolling, sauntering) down the street. It was hard enough to get around these people because they usually walked in one giant mass, but the most fun was then they decided to stop (saw something interesting in the window, needed to tie a shoelace, felt like checking the cell phone) and came to a very sudden and unexpected stop without moving to the side. More than once this caused me to plow into the person, who then scowled at me like I was some kamikaze pedestrian who was out to knock them over. I still apologize out of reflex when I do this (I am Canadian, after all), and the best part is that the person doesn't even say anything to me, like an apology is the least I can offer. Needless to say I am trying to remember to say something rude next time, Canadian or not.

Posted by: Kraven at August 31, 2010 3:54 PM

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller ... and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard.
--------
momof4,
do not get out of their way. I come to a complete stop and make them walk around me. Works every time.

Posted by: Ingrid at August 31, 2010 4:21 PM

Actually, a psychological secret I've discovered: whether you're walking or walking with a stroller, if you don't appear to be noticing that there are people coming at you (i.e., you're not making eye contact/looking at them), they'll walk around you. Ingrained crash aversion psychology, perhaps. Some might say this is rude, but it's really just encouraging others to behave the way they should have in the first place -- moving out of the way for the elderly person or the person who has the hardest time getting out of the way.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 31, 2010 4:28 PM

I have four kids under 5 so to walk anywhere is a hassle. i have a stroller for my youngest and a wagon for my other 3 so you can only imagine what thats like. I try to make a point, when i am driving to stop, regardless of who it is (old, young, with or with out child, ect.)not only for the fact in my state of CO, it is the law to yeild for pedestrians at crosswalks, but out of courtesy. many times i have come to an intersection marked as so, and i had to waited for what seemed like 10 min, for traffic to clear. people. remember that you will get to where your going faster than someone on foot, so take the 2 minutes to stop and let them cross. and if your the person whos walking, give the driver a nod, in apreciation.

Posted by: louisa at August 31, 2010 5:46 PM

"Just great, momof4, and everybody. And the person with the most ability to move should."

Agree completely. Kinda like the 'rules of the road' for watercraft. The most maneuverable boat must keep clear.

At any rate - a story about how, IMO, it *should* work on public transportation.

Portland OR city streetcar, mid day on a Saturday. The car is about two thirds full, with about half those on board standing and the other half sitting. This leaves about 6 or 7 seats open. Some are designated for the disabled and elderly with the usual signage. I and 4 of my friends get on board, note the distribution of passengers, and all of us grab hand straps.

Next stop: An elderly couple and several other younger folks get on board. One or two folks sit down, but most grab hand straps. The more mobile of the two elderly folks (the wife in this case) heads toward an empty pair of seats, but while on the way to her target, kinda looks around at all the standees, and is clearly perplexed as to why nobody is sitting in the half dozen empties. As she gets closer to the seats, she slows down, evidently changes her mind, and hesitantly grabs a hand strap.

Her husband, clearly looking forward to the relief that the empty seat is going to provide for his somewhat stooped frame, makes a bee-line for the pair of seats, and sits down. At this point, and noticing the unoccupied seat next to him, he looks up to see where his wife is. She is about 10' away, by this point looking rather pleased with herself, and they make eye contact.

He looks at the empty seat next to him, and then begins to look around the cabin of the train, with his eyes going from person to person. By now the train is in motion. For the next minute or two, he looks around the car, clearly wrestling with some internal struggle.

As the car slows down for the next stop, he evidently makes up his mind. To smiles from everybody in the car (not a word had been spoken by anybody, but many of the riders were closely following this small story) the old man rises to his feet, shuffles over to a handle about 15' feet from his wife, grabs on, and stands a little straighter.

As the train slowed to a stop, the next batch of folks climbed aboard.

Not one of them sat down.

I love Portland.

Posted by: railmeat at August 31, 2010 6:08 PM

Posted in the wrong blog. My bad.

Apologies.

Posted by: railmeat at August 31, 2010 6:26 PM

For some reason, many people don't understand the purpose of a door. It is a narrow entryway big enough for 1-2 people. You are supposed to walk through it, not stop in it. This is even more important when we're talking about subways or buses that are only open for a limited period of time.

Similarly, when crossing the street, don't step onto the curb and just stop--get out of the way of the other people who are walking there! I want to body-check tourists who stretch out along the sidewalk width to converse about 10 times a day in New York.

Posted by: Brian at August 31, 2010 7:48 PM

Similarly, when crossing the street, don't step onto the curb and just stop--get out of the way of the other people who are walking there!

This makes me nuts. I have some sympathy for tourists, especially ones from smaller towns. I'm sure they're not used to having to be aware of so many people. But I hate having to make sudden course corrections to avoid plowing into people.

Posted by: MonicaP at September 1, 2010 2:40 PM

I am a religious dog-poop-picker-upper. I ALWAYS carry poop bags and I ALWAYS use them. To do otherwise would be rude, inconsiderate, and gross.

So, I'm walking down the sidewalk with my dog in my(usually) very friendly neighborhood in DC. I am carrying one of my specially designed tiny little dog poop bags that easily tuck into my pockets. My dog has not even made the appearance of doing his business yet - no squats, no pro-longed sniffings, nothing. I pass a woman and give her a big, cheery, "Good Morning!" which is par for the course in my strange, 1950s-esque 'hood. She puts on her snootiest voice possible and says, "I guess your dog doesn't have bowel movements." I say, "I'm sorry?" She says it again and adds, "because I don't see your plastic bag."

Because it's in my pocket, you nosey b**ch! Apparently I have to carry a 2 foot wide, fluorescent orange bag clearly labeled, "DOG POOP" around my neck or I'm going to get into trouble with the dog poop police.

I was also shouted at from a car window for the same reason a month before that.

I am all for correcting rude people, but to correct them before they've actually done something is just as rude.

Posted by: Rozzy at September 2, 2010 10:21 PM

Dog walking: right after I got my 4-month-old rescue puppy I was walking him early enough in the morning that it was still dark. A man and a snarling, shrieking, lunging Jack Russell approached. They did not cross the street. Not knowing how my new puppy would react to an aggressive (if tiny) dog, I pulled him out of reach, had him sit, and fed him treats to reward his calm behavior. (He was very good!) The man, sounding exactly like his dog, snarled "Just move on!," as though I had less right to the sidewalk. I said "You know, you could be a little nicer." He hissed back "I don't need your shit!"

What blew my mind is that he was my neighbor. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood, one where it's surprising to encounter such forceful hostility. I very much doubt he would have been so bold in broad daylight, but since we couldn't see each others' faces it was as anonymous as the Internet to him. I see him and his freaknut nasty dog all the time, but he now crosses the street when he sees me coming. Tee hee. I do believe he did need my shit.

Posted by: L at September 2, 2010 11:01 PM

A few years ago, there was some construction being done to a building on the corner of a very busy (for my city) downtown intersection. As a result of the construction, a metal frame had been built over the sidewalk (entrances at the intersection and at the end of the building), so people could still get through, but it was much narrower. There was room for 3 people across, at most. Comfortably, you could have a single-file stream of people in each direction.

So one day at lunch, people are streaming through in each direction. At the intersection, there's a guy who is trying to get signatures - or maybe sell something. All I know for sure is that he had a clipboard and some papers and a pen.

He gets the attention of the guy in front of me, and they stop to talk. INSIDE the walkway. Blocking the path thoroughly enough that the folks coming from the other direction are having to squeeze around them. I can't move, because they're standing right in front of me.

I wait 30 seconds or so. They're still absorbed in conversation.

So I said (loudly, but not yelling) "Excuse me!" They look at me like they're surprised to find I'm there. Then they move over a bit so I can get through.

As I'm passing them, the guy with the clipboard says either "rude much?" or "rude bitch". Whichever. I don't care. It was the final straw. I turned around and (walking backward) said "not as rude as BLOCKING THE WALKWAY".

The guy looked genuinely shocked. He couldn't believe that I'd reacted rather than just accepting his assertion that I was rude.

Posted by: jen at September 3, 2010 1:48 PM

"I just move quickly out of the way and let them pass. It just feels like an invasion of personal space when someone is nipping at your heels like that instead of trying to pass you. I can understand if there is no room for a pass...it's when the sidewalk is WIDE open but they are on the verge of peeling"

I totally agree with that & everything else you said! Thanks.
I hate being closely followed whether on foot or car.

Posted by: siobhan at September 4, 2010 1:19 PM

Smokers in the public right of way who have no consideration for others can be pretty rude. Our family went to a street fair yesterday- a supposedly family-friendly event. Extremely crowded, but the worst was all the smokers dangling their lit cigars and cigarettes as they pushed through the crowd. One oblivious smoker's cigar hit my arm as he passed us. Ouch! The clouds of smoke did not enhance the experience either.

Posted by: quikaa at September 5, 2010 2:49 PM

"I started working as a crossing guard at the kids school last week. WOW. Parents honking at me when I stop them to let kids cross. Parents blowing right past me and my stopsign, nearly hitting me and a kid who was on the crosswalk. Parents blithly hauling their kid across the street when I'm NOT stopping traffic. Parents ignoring me when I smile and say "good morning".

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller (it's an in-line one, takes up no more width than a thin person) and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard. Those things are heavy!

There are also the people who put their garbage cans on the sidewalk on trash day, instead of on the side of the street, so everyone has to walk in the street to get around them.

And the people who park their cars covering the sidewalk, so you have to walk in the street to get around them. Hello, you HAVE a 2 car garage, feel free to use it!"
Posted by: momof4 at August 31, 2010 2:15 PM

Excuse me...why does no one mention that this cute little dig "and they're ALWAYS FAT" is, itself, a flagrant display of rudeness?

Has no one taught you that calling people FAT is RUDE?

Make sure your own nose is clean before you go handing out tissues to others.

Posted by: AAK at September 6, 2010 6:20 AM

Excuse me...why does no one mention that this cute little dig "and they're ALWAYS FAT" is, itself, a flagrant display of rudeness? Has no one taught you that calling people FAT is RUDE? Make sure your own nose is clean before you go handing out tissues to others.

A question:

Why is it rude?

Would it be rude if she said "and they're ALWAYS SKINNY"?

I've posted a blog item on momof4's comment and your response here:

http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/09/06/chunk.html

Posted by: Amy Alkon at September 6, 2010 7:58 AM

What gets me in rudeness and walking is grocery stores. And Costco. In some grocery stores, people mostly seem to be oblivious, taking up the entire aisle with 1 body and a shopping cart, which drives me *crazy* (especially the 3rd time in 10 minutes it happens). I say excuse me or squeeze past, and to be fair, people are always reasonably nice about it, but you have to wonder what they were thinking.

In Costco, there have been days when I walked in a reasonably normal person and walked out thinking that if one more person acted like they'd run me over with their shopping cart if I didn't get out of their way *this* second, I was going to scream. I don't know why, I've found this seems to happen much more in Costco (full of yuppies?) than in Wal-Mart or Target.

Posted by: KrisL at September 7, 2010 1:18 AM

Gum. Anyplace really but on the sidewalk especially. And dog poop on the sidewalk.

If escalators can be considered sidewalks for the purpose of this post, why would anyone stop at the very bottom of an escalator, with all their luggage, kids, grandparents, etc. and start looking for her keys or coins or whatever? I see this at the airport all the time. Similarly, how hard is "stand right, walk left" to figure out on those moving sidewalks?

Posted by: Tom S at September 8, 2010 4:40 AM

People anywhere, anywhen who stand in large groups chatting away while others have to squeeze past them. This particularly annoys me in shopping centres where there are stalls in the centre of the walkways...

Posted by: Sonja at September 8, 2010 8:36 AM

Here's one that always annoys me:

People who get to the bottom (or top) of an escalator, step off the escalator, and STOP to look around and get their bearings.

The people behind you on an escalator cannot stop. It's like Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory. We ain't stopping.

Move to the side before you stop.

Posted by: Conan the Grammarian at September 8, 2010 8:49 PM

I'm with Feebie on this one! I'm so sick of rude cyclists on the sidewalk who have no bell on the bike and/or give no warning that the are coming. They come up on pedestrians so fast and so close one of them nicked my hand once and also nearly ran over my dog on another occasion. It's got so bad where I live that I don't go walking anymore because of it. I used to take my dog for a long walk everyday, but there is nowhere to walk where I'm (and my dog) not in danger of being run down by a cyclist on the sidewalk. There's a reason it's called a sideWALK, it's for WALKING NOT BIKING! I don't mind people riding on the sidewalk, though, because I know the rude drivers in the street make it too dangerous for cyclists. I just think cyclists need to be more courteous, pedestrians should always have the right of way on the sidewalk. Cyclists should ring a bell or yell or make some sort of noise and if not heard (I'm sure deaf people like to take walks too) they need to slow down and give a wide berth. What if someone turns around suddenly not knowing a bike is bearing down on them? That's how my hand got hit.

Posted by: TheOneFive at September 15, 2010 11:56 PM

This isn't about people on sidewalks but a story of me getting robbed on a sidewalk in New Orleans 10 days ago at night.

I was taking a picture with my iPhone when some guy came up behind me and grabbed it out of my hand and ran off with it. I took off after him yelling God only knows what trying to get someone to stop him or hoping that he would trip and fall and I could have a chance of catching him and getting my phone back. Unfortunately no one helped me and he got away. Also, my sweater had fallen off my purse (my purse was across my chest and it was draped over it) and within 1 minute someone had stolen it off the dirty street. I returned to my friend (who didn't know where I went and thought I got abducted!) and told her what happened. It sucked that my phone got stolen but I immediately called and canceled the service so I didn't have to worry about random charges. It could have been worse. It could have been my wallet or car instead of a simple cell phone. What surprised me was when I told people I chased a guy through the streets of New Orleans, they didn't say "wow" or "good for you" they said "that wasn't safe!" and "what were you thinking!?". Honestly I didn't think at all. My instinct was to chase the bastard, hopefully get him to the ground, disable him, get my phone back, take his picture, and make an example out of him. I heard about your book yesterday, bought it on my way home and have made it through about half of it. I'm glad there's people out there that are willing to be Costly Punishers! I should make a shirt to warn people. haha. Thanks for writing the book and doing your part to take down the rude people!

Posted by: Whitney at November 3, 2010 8:12 PM

Thank you so much, Whitney...and I love your spirit as a fellow CP!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at November 3, 2010 8:24 PM

I've heard that in NYC at some intersections you will see an old brick sitting on the curb. It is used by pedestrians wishing to cross at the crosswalk without being menaced by drivers. They hold it high, brandishing the brick openly. Any driver threatening their space gets the brick. At the end of the crosswalk, they put down the brick on the other curb, ready for use by another pedestrian headed in the other direction.

Posted by: Luke Smith at January 20, 2011 8:46 AM

This is utterly ridiculous. I lived in New York for years. You've perhaps also heard the one about the alligators in the sewers?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at January 20, 2011 8:50 AM

Was in Chicago this weekend and encountered so many rude Pedestrians that I couldn't believe it! The one that got me the most was a couple with a stroller at the Lincoln Park zoo Sunday afternoon walking toward me on the left side of the sidewalk 2 wide, dad pushing the stroller like a steam roller!! If I had not moved he would have plowed into me with it!! I did brush his shoulder as we passed and I looked back at him and he never turned around!

Posted by: Dan at April 11, 2011 6:19 PM

This is how I knew I was starting menopause. My husband and I were in San Francisco and staying at a hotel where the line to get a taxi was very long. We thought we would walk up the street and around the corner and maybe we could find a cab there. We saw a cab, my husband waved him over, he stopped, my husband opened the door for me, and some woman runs over and tries to jump in the cab! I didn't even think before I reached over, grabbed her arm, yanked her out of the cab, and said sorry, this is our cab! We got in the cab and my husband said wow, I have never seen you act like that! I said I guess I was a bit upset, and the cab driver says gee lady, I wouldn't want you mad at me, and we all laughed. I hope she fell down in the gutter where she belongs.

Posted by: sarah brown at April 19, 2011 1:36 AM

When a big mob of friends / acquaintances walking together side by side, taking up the whole sidewalk, won't break their front-line formation for someone walking in the other direction. I weigh 120 pounds, you can't give me the SLIVER of sidewalk space I need to pass by you sideways instead of stepping off into the rain-flooded street?

Posted by: gaba at August 3, 2011 9:37 AM

I encounter rude pedestrians too, the ones who walk in pairs and take up the room without leaving me space to pass. A question: should I just walk on the road for two seconds and pass without bumping, or should I be "assertive" and stand my ground, risk having my personal space invaded and getting mad? Some days, I feel like a doormat for often moving for others.

Any advice/feedback is most appreciated, thank-you!

Posted by: terri at August 22, 2011 4:07 AM

A trick, which also helps get cars to stop for you in Rome (instead of running you down): If you don't appear to be looking ahead (ie, if you don't appear to see them), they'll avoid you instead of expecting you to avoid them.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 22, 2011 4:33 AM

"A question: should I just walk on the road for two seconds and pass without bumping, or should I be "assertive" and stand my ground, risk having my personal space invaded and getting mad?"

I just stop. They either have to run into me or move around me. I get to glare at them while they figure out what they're going to do.

Posted by: Steve Daniels at September 11, 2011 6:02 PM

I work on a college campus and sometimes leave to go home about the time the football team is breaking up afternoon practice. As they cross the road from the practice field to the locker room they string themselves out so that for minute after minute there's always SOMEONE in the cross-walk (where there is no traffic light) and vehicular traffic in both directions just stops and backs up further and further. Couldn't these pedestrians stop and wait on the sidewalk and let the cars go by, then cross when there's a whole bunch of them to cross together?
Other students are similarly inconsiderate. There are some streets you just don't want to try to get through when classes change.

Posted by: Lucy at October 8, 2011 3:43 AM

I'm on the downside of 50 now. While waiting for Mrs. Teflon to get her hair done, I was sitting in the waiting area. An older (than me - maybe 60?) couple came in, so I got up and offered my seat as only one other seat was open. Mr. Older thanked me graciously but declined. I was stunned when the teenage lad with them sat down in the seat Mrs. Older should have had. Oy.

Posted by: Mr Teflon at June 30, 2012 5:50 AM

Late to the table, but hopefully this is still relevant:

I am constantly surprised, as I navigate Minneapolis's beautiful skyway system, at how many people forget the basic "keep to the right" rule we all learned in the halls in kindergarten. It's a two-way street, pal, and YOU'RE IN MY LANE. This isn't even necessarily a transgression limited to the oblivious cellphone users. Do they not teach basic traffic patterns in schools anymore?

Posted by: Grey Ghost at April 5, 2013 9:36 PM