Pedestrian Hazards In The Shipping Lane
Pedestrians. Pavement. Bus stops. Human traffic. Such a simple collection of objects. And yet nearly always arranged in such a fashion as to cause a hazard to shipping. Can somebody please tell me – Why oh why oh why oh WHY – do people INSIST upon standing in the very middle of the allocated one metre of pavement whilst waiting for a bus? Why do people INSIST upon standing RIGHT in the middle of the pedestrian walkway, which is heaving with frustrated pedestrian traffic moving in both directions, apparently completely oblivious to the way in which they are impeding progress?
Do they think that because they’re taking public transport – how very green! – then they somehow have a divine right to hog all the pavement space in the immediate vicinity of the perspex shelter? I walk everywhere – and FAST – and never wait for buses, so I cannot understand this.
“Huhhh Betty, that’s yer 23 comin alonnng nooo!….here it’s. Numbur 23. S’comin noo, 23, OK?”
“Huhhh, Ah’v been waitin lonnng enough for thaat yin Wulma. See – is that a 12 comin alonng noo?”
“Hhhhhhh…nooo, that’s no ma bus. Can ye see the 34? Thaht’s whit Ah’m after. The 34. 34….”
[Shuffle, shuffle. A walking stick or umbrella lunges upwards. An eye is nearly poked out. A fast-walking pedestrian is nearly impaled. OWCH!]
Can’t this banter be had from the privacy and comfort of the allocated bus shelter? To me it seems downright stupid (not to mention rude) that old Betty and Maisie and Jummy and Sharon with her 4 perambulators and 10 bags of BhS shopping should be hogging the WHOLE pavement, for the spectator sport of bus watching. Cannot they SEE that people are flying into them at a rate of knots and that they’re causing untold amounts of violent rage?
It’s discourteous. You wouldn’t park your car in the middle of the highway if you wanted to stop and check the map, or to see where you were (or would you??) – so why is it that people feel the need to “park” themselves at a point which is equidistant from both the kerb and the wall/fence/railings/shop front? – i.e. slap BANG in the middle! For every pedestrian to wallop into. The pavement traffic then comes to a complete standstill, and it’s all the fault of a few old lazybones who cannot be bothered to get out the way.
Many’s the time I’ve nearly stacked a bus-ditherer in this manner. Frail old ladies, iPodin’ students, besuited businessmen – they’re all to blame. And do you know what? – These discourteous bus stop attendees seem entirely oblivious to the fact that I’m even there! I growl usually and mutter ‘k’Sake!’ – like they’re even listening. It’s like all they can focus on is one thing – the next NUMBER 32 BUS – and they are blinkered to the existence of anything moving or stationary that doesn’t resemble that bus.
So, bus-stop-waiting people of our shared pavements – please do us rushed pedestrians a favour and stand out of the way of the human traffic!
ANNIE