What Side of the Sidewalk Do You Walk On?
I realised yesterday as I was walking downtown that I have a new pet peeve. Trying to dodge people on the sidewalk, whether it is crowded or not, seems to be quite complicated for some....
Now you are probably saying to yourself, "well if the sidewalk is busy it is hard to navigate!"
Well that logic did not seem to come into play at all yesterday.
So here is my logic and how I tried to apply it yesterday.
As I am living in North America it is customary for persons travelling to walk on the right side, just like we drive our vehicles on the right side of the road.
So using that I always think that when you are heading towards someone you would 'veer' to the right and they would do the same, so you could merrily pass each other and be on your way.
Not a SINGLE time yesterday did this work. When I dodged to my right, the other person dodged to their left and we were left standing there face to face.
Sure I tried to make light of the situation, smile at the person and ask them, "do you want to dance?" and of course offer a 
wink but inside I was screaming, "you moron you were supposed to go to YOUR right not MY right".
turnipHed Recommends Visiting...
Loading ...
Seems I am not the only one that is annoyed with this....I invite you to visit http://patrickgibson.com/news/andsuch/000182.php
How about the group of 4 or 5 people just ambling down the sidewalk, all abreast, blocking the whole thing?
I agree with you...to the right, to the right.
Most people here say you should walk on the right. Does your opinion change in the case of sidewalks that are shared with bicycles (a shared walkway and bike path?)
In that situation, I follow the rule that pedestrians walk on the left hand side, facing traffic. In this case, the traffic is the cyclists who normally are riding on the right-hand side of the sidewalk / bike path.
Bicycles are deadly. Especially on some of the routes I walk where there are long hills where bikes can gain a lot of speed. They are heavier, faster, and also silent (especially for someone wearing headphones).
In my opinion it is VITAL for a pedestrian to be vigilant and watch for danger. I don't have eyes in the back of my head. So the safest option for me is to walk on the left side, facing the oncoming bicycles so I can see them and get out of the way of danger, and out of the way of the bicycles sneaking up from behind.
In case anyone thinks I'm overreacting, I was hit by a bicycle from behind and put in the hospital with a shattered eye socket, requiring reconstructive surgery with wires holding my face together and my mouth wired shut for a month and a half. So don't tell me that cyclists aren't dangerous. I have no idea which cyclists are safe and which are not, so I just want a good safe place to keep an eye on them all when they pass me.