USE THE SIDEWALKS!!

[Doug]

I'm getting sick and tired of people not using sidewalks. Just the other day, I saw a young mother ON HER CELL PHONE pushing her kid in some huge stroller barely 2 feet from the sidewalk. Use the sidewalk, you IDIOT!! That's why they're there.

And it's NOT just parents walking with little brats doing this. I've seen plenty of kids walking alone in the street, senior citizens powerwalking, crap like that.

I DON'T CARE HOW QUIET YOUR STREET IS!! Use the damn sidewalks. I shouldn't have to drive through some human obstacle course and get mean looks from people just because I happen to be on 'their' road. It just seems like an entitlement issue that's gotten way out of hand, at least in my town. People think that because they live on a road, they OWN the road. But of course, they don't, and EVERYONE but them knows that. Let's not forget, however, that this is also a public safety issue.

I am just so tired of paying taxes for things that people don't even use!! I don't understand why they plan roads WITHOUT including a sidewalk, at least on one side, but as I now plainly see, just because people are fortunate enough to have them doesn't mean they'll use them. IDIOTS....and just think, most of em have children to teach this bad lesson. WONDERFUL.

[truckerswife]

doug said:

I'm getting sick and tired of people not using sidewalks. Just the other day, I saw a young mother ON HER CELL PHONE pushing her kid in some huge stroller barely 2 feet from the sidewalk. Use the sidewalk, you IDIOT!! That's why they're there.

And it's NOT just parents walking with little brats doing this. I've seen plenty of kids walking alone in the street, senior citizens powerwalking, crap like that.

I DON'T CARE HOW QUIET YOUR STREET IS!! Use the damn sidewalks. I shouldn't have to drive through some human obstacle course and get mean looks from people just because I happen to be on 'their' road. It just seems like an entitlement issue that's gotten way out of hand, at least in my town. People think that because they live on a road, they OWN the road. But of course, they don't, and EVERYONE but them knows that. Let's not forget, however, that this is also a public safety issue.

I am just so tired of paying taxes for things that people don't even use!! I don't understand why they plan roads WITHOUT including a sidewalk, at least on one side, but as I now plainly see, just because people are fortunate enough to have them doesn't mean they'll use them. IDIOTS....and just think, most of em have children to teach this bad lesson. WONDERFUL.

I am so happy to see someone else has equally frustrated with this issue as I am doug.. I too live on a street where mostly teens refuse to use the sidewalks.
DH & I make jokes about how many points can we rack up if we hit one of them. ;D

And of course if G*D forbid an accident like that ever happened it would be the drivers fault. Not that darling Billy was in the middle of the damn road nooooooo its the drivers fault.
So I hear you doug, it sucks!!!!!

But on the other hand I recently took a walk up our whole street on the sidewalk of course. And I found out why people here walk in the street.

The sidewalks on our street are in horrible condition.
Cracks and ridges so deep one can really trip and really hurt themselves big time.
And this is in the summer time.

In the winter time, forget it even old people are in the street.
due to the high mounds of snow cause people never shovel their walks.

And I recently found out from an insurance company that if a person falls on your property after you shoveled they can sue you.
But if you did not shovel its called an "act of god" and they cannot sue you. That explained to me big time why no one on our street shoveled their walkways but me last year.
When I found that FACT out I stopped shoveling.
We only shovel the driveway so we can get the car in.
And that is it!

But YES doug that is a very good gripe and I feel your pain.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
But just for your own curiosity you might want to check out the sidewalks on your street. Who knows they may be in bad condition too. Which would explain why people walk in the street.

Don't get me wrong. I don't condone walking in the middle of the street. But on the side of the street is OK, as long as your aware of traffic, and not bobbing your head to headphones on your skull & totally oblivious to the outside world, as these teens do here all the time.
GRRRRR @ That vision as well, lol

And only if your sidewalk conditions are as nasty as ours is here in
Cleve. OH. I know I don't want to trip and fall
My knee's have seen enough injuries for one lifetime, lol

[preraph]

I'm with you. Here, I live about 50 yards from a long greenbelt, perfect for walking, though the greenbelt itself is blissfully without sidewalks, but there are sidewalks on the other side of the street from it, and then the belt itself, to me, is the logical place to walk or run, since concrete is damaging to your joints. But people clog the streets instead. Related to the walking on grass thing, I have a friend who was afraid to let her toddler walk on grass, thinking it would somehow mess up his walking development! How insane is that? There's only BEEN concrete for the last 70 years or so and everyone managed just fine getting their kids to walk before that! Walking on nothing but even surfaces is HORRIBLE for your body. You NEED to walk on uneven ones to keep from having so much wear focused in one place. The bad thing about people walking in the street is the blanket law that makes it ultimately the driver's fault if they hit a pedestrian. I understand there are folks who are mean enough to actually take aim at someone if this law didn't exist, but I think the negligence of the pedestrians has to be heavily weighed before making it the driver's fault. God, I've had two kids run right out in front of me before, not a parent anywhere around.

[sage]

This neighborhood seems to consider the street to be their child's playground first and a driving surface second. People have yelled at me for just being in a car on the road when their little greasy munchkins are playing. They even erect their own roadsigns telling people to slow down because their kids are playing!

What I'm going to do is see if this is legal in our county (to raise one's own roadsigns so one's kids can play in the street). Try to see if there's something you can legally do about it. A lot of times kids are barred from being in the street in some neighborhoods.

[preraph]

I'm in U.S., and if you report kids playing in the street on a regular basis to Child Protective Services, they will come out. Police won't typically do anything though.

[ras1980]

The BEST part about jaywalkers is there absolute and brainless sense of fearlessness, even the most treacherous of situations. I LOVE ::dripping sarcasm:: when jaywalkers will cross in the DEAD middle of a street where there are FOUR lanes of *HEAVY* traffic (two lanes going east, and two lanes heading westbound) and then they have the NERVE to stand in the middle of the street, just twiddling their thumbs, oh so patiently waiting for cars to pass, before they can merrily make it to the other side of the street. . . GRRRRRRRRRRR That is SO dangerous

[eoraptor]

Then there's the opposite side where it's a tiny two-lane street crossing at a lighted intersection. One side is red light, the other is green with a solid orange hand and there's a vehicle at the red light but no other traffic around anywhere. Oh god forbid I cross the street if the hand is solid. You would have thought that I just stabbed an old lady in the street the way the guy was talking. He was probably just mad that he had to sit at the light.

But yeah, it drives me crazy when there's a perfectly good sidewalk and people use the street. That happens way too often here too. It especially drives me crazy on the streets out here because there's so many college kids driving 50 mph down the road. And they do it at night! Even better, too many families will go on a family bike trip, four abreast in the lane I'm driving in and I have to wait behind them until there's a safe place to pass. And of course they glare at me when I do pass. Yes, I'm going to drive three miles an hour behind your family because your little boy can't ride fast on the training wheels. There's a park nearby with bike lanes! And even worse!! The street has bike lanes!!

[Karlita]

sage said:

This neighborhood seems to consider the street to be their child's playground first and a driving surface second. People have yelled at me for just being in a car on the road when their little greasy munchkins are playing. They even erect their own roadsigns telling people to slow down because their kids are playing!

I always take those signs and throw them in the yard when I see them out. The street is not maintained by the city because it's a playground, it's a place for cars. My SIL wanted us to buy her one for her birthday and we refused out of principle. What ever happened to playing in one's backyard anyway?

[preraph]

THANK YOU!! What DID happen to kids playing in the backyard instead of the street? They're so concerned for their kids' safety that they want to put a sign out so their kids can play in the street??? Kids need to play in the back yard for any number of reasons.

Also, why when there are sidewalks, do people have to walk their carriage in the street? I had to wait and make a very wide turn to avoid hitting one the other day and she looked at me like her having to pause was an imposition. If she had been on the sidewalk, SO much safer for everyone concerned. These people are idiots, and then they have children.

[gothique]

I have another complaint that goes along with the sidewalk topic.

STOP WALKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARKING LOTS WITH YOUR STROLLERS AND KIDS!!!

Several years ago I was going to the mall with my fiance on a busy Saturday evening. So we're going up and down the aisles trying to find a parking space. Well I am heading down one aisle and right smack in the middle of it is this mom pushing her huge stroller and taking her jolly old time.

So I'm inching my car closer and closer because I'm thinking maybe she'll get the hint and move her butt over so I can pass. Well it's just not happening. So I squeeze my car by her and pull into a space. As I'm getting out she has the nerve to approach me and asked me if I enjoyed driving like a maniac. I made a nasty comment back that just because she was pushing a stroller doesn't mean the world had to cater to her. She then shot back about how I should learn to love my children (what?).

My fiance cursed her out and I replied that if she would have had an abortion then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Her jaw dropped and she just pushed her stroller away in a huff.

I know that sounds a little cruel but, it was a terrible day and just the way she was walking so slooowly like nothing else existed really ticked me off.

[preraph]

I know. I pet peeve of mine is people taking up the whole aisle in the store AND in the parking lot. These people are idiots and wouldn't last an hour in the wild with that faulty survival deficit. So many people are just either stupid or arrogant, and it's not just people with kids. They just think the world revolves around them and don't have any sense of courtesy. I really think they're bordering on sociopathic when they do this stuff, because they have no sense of treating people the way they'd like to be treated. But I also get a sense that many of them are bullies, and I think that goes hand in hand with them also being sociopaths. I know someday I'm going to get my life threatened for it, but in the parking lot, I often roll down the window and say "one side or the other please" or simply "I'm coming through." And really, there is no one more arrogant than people already leaning that way who then have kids, and they think that gives them a free pass. I tell you, there is no one more careful than me about going slow in parking lots because I know occasionally a little one can get away from you while you're loading the car, and the last thing I'd ever want to do is inadvertently hit a child with my car, but those people need to meet me halfway. If they're putting their child at risk by using zero caution and zero courtesy, I think someone ought to let them know it. Sometimes I'm tempted to carry a camer and get their tag number and report them to CPS for child endangerment.

[susan811]

Which brings me to another pet peeve...WHY do people insist on bringing that SUV-size strollers into stores with narrow aisles? It's possible that I've been known to "accidently" back up into one of these monstrosities just to make a point. It's nearly impossible to browse through the books at say, Borders or B&N, without mommy pushing her Ford Challenger wannabe vehicle into the some really tight spaces. This includes the little cafe areas. Take the brats to Mickey D's or Burger King, please, and let us grown-ups enjoy ourselves!!!

Thank you for allowing me to rant.

[happy2bchildfree]

susan811 said:

Which brings me to another pet peeve...WHY do people insist on bringing that SUV-size strollers into stores with narrow aisles?

I watched a woman at the mall try to wrestle one of those huge strollers off a crowded elevator. As she maneuvered it off the elevator, she rammed it into a man waiting to get on the elevator--and gave HIM a dirty look, rather than saying "excuse me".

[preraph]

I've had stroller mommies in department store frown at me for using the elevator, like they think it's reserved for them or something. What cheek.

[ana]

Okay, I had to out myself!

I walked on the road today because the sidewalks were not shovelled and I didn't want to wade through the snow.

Sorry....the street was clean and it was much easier to walk without risking falling down, so I just did it.

Please don't be too mad. ;D

[preraph]

That's different, silly!

[Karlita]

It's okay - when your only option is to fall on your butt, walking in the street is fine.

[ana]

I know, I was just being facetious!

[happy2bchildfree]

I was out walking my dog this morning on a residential street. As I turned onto the street, I see a stupid woman pushing a double stroller and walking a dog--right down the middle of the street! It isn't like there are no sidewalks available--this street has wide sidewalks on both sides of the street. Not to mention that even though it's a residential street vehicles often drive through way too fast.

As I walked past her--on the sidewalk, where pedestrians are supposed to walk--she had the audacity to give me a dirty look because my dog's presence was causing her dog to pull and strain at its leash.

Helloooo! This is a public street. I have every right to walk my leashed dog there on the sidewalk. What an idiot!

[tinroofer]

There is a house around the corner from me that likes to put out one of those bright yellow plastic flag-men things that they use at the elementary school. They act like they are blocking off 'thier' side of the street even though there is a car parked at the opposite curb, making it very narrow. I do the speedlimit if no kids are on the sidewalks and they yell at me to slow down. (Yeah, whatever) They even yell at me when i DO slow down because someone is to close to the street. Sometimes I see the kids outside when the flag-thing is up and sometimes not. It's not my fault a family with young kids bought a house with a steep driveway. Duh!
Block it with your car, for crying out loud.

Once, there was a whole group of adults sitting in a circle in the driveway, not a kid in sight, and the flag-man was still in the middle of the road. That REALLY pissed me off.

They have NO right to block the street for any reason. So, I clip it with my truck and knock it down every single time I go by now. It's the principle of the issue.

And yes we have plenty of people who won't use the perfectly good sidewalks. Triple-wide-stroller lady likes to power walk with her 2 dogs in the middle of the road.

We've also got the litter of kids from the family accross the street who put up a portable basketball hoop every day and play for hours. The ball has hit my truck and our garage door on a few occassions.

Once, another neighborhood ruffian refused to stop playing as I went by and tried to pass the ball over my moving truck to his friend. He missed my truck barely, I slammed on the brakes, the smart kids scattered, and I took the ball. Told him to send his parents over to get it back. LOL! No one ever showed so I got a new basketball.

~TR