Pedestrian "road rage" when walking to and from work

[sweedetobee]

I work in NYC and I do a lot of walking to and from the subway in order to get to my office/home. I've been finding that I have pedestrian road rage lately (if anyone has a better term for it please let me know). I love walking and am happy that it is part of my commute, but I get soooo annoyed at other people.

There are the rude people that push past everyone else - um, we're all going to work most likely and there are only so many stairs out of the subway station so we have to merge like cars do in some places. Also, I do not have eyes in the back of my head, so I don't know you're there. A simple "excuse me" will actually cause me to move over and let you past if I'm walking too slow for you or in your way. But if I can't see you adn you don't say anything then don't get annoyed with me. 

There are the people who are overly slow - Obvious tourists or anyone that has difficulty walking in do not bother me, but it is the people who READ - yes read! - the paper or a book while walking down a NYC street. Are you kidding me?

And the people who walk in groups - where you have 2 or more people walking next to each other such that you have to get into the street itself to get around them. Again, tourist groups are a regular occurance so they don't annoy me really, and anyone with kids I am ok with, but it is the so called professionals that do this that grates on me.  Please don't take up the entire sidewalk during commuting hours. If you see people coming in the opposite direction mayeb you could move behind your friends in order to let other person pass?

So I've been listening to my MP3 player to just relax when I commute because in the scheme of life none of the above is even really important. But does anyone else get pedestrian road rage?

[Chocolate Cake]

I get "pedestrian road rage" a bit in the mall and at my son's preschool.   

At the mall, the hallways are easily 20' wide (each way) but, invariably, I get stuck behind a group of shopping friends who must believe that the only way to be together at the mall is to walk side by side....slowly, while they chat.   Or a group of teens who hop, skip, jump, and shove each other all the way down the hall, oblivious to anyone who might wish to pass.  The only way to get around either of these groups is to dart past if they happen to pause for a micro-second to look in a store window.

At my son's preschool, the hallways are about 10' wide.   It's amazing to me how one standard size mother pushing one standard size stroller (holding the younger sibling of the student) can manage to take up the entire hallway, forcing everyone behind her to bunch up in exasperation.   Whenever I've tried to get past these women, they suddenly weave and veer with the stroller to block my "escape route".   OR, they see someone coming they want to talk to and just stop.  OR, they stroll so leisurely (I have plenty of time in the world, doesn't everyone?), that people behind them can't even take a normal sized stride.  My blood pressue shoots through the roof totally when two stroller pushers walk side by side all the way up the hall. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to scream, "Move to the right!  The RIGHT!  Don't be such a hallway hog!" 

[Another Liz]

I get "sidewalk rage" all the time; between gaggles of teenagers, SUV strollers, the mess of construction on my way to work, clueless window shoppers (especially now. If you stop dead in front of me to look in a store window, I will crash into you, it's just physics! ) and don't even get me started on the drivers!  I got soaked from head to toe this morning because some lead-foot just had to make it to the red light faster and drove through the parking lane, with puddle, to get around another car. 

Now, any advice on how to deal with it?  The MP3 player is a bad idea for me because then I can't hear the (expletive) cars coming.

[Pixie]

I've had those things happen to me, too.  I TRY to remember to take a deep breath and ask myself, "In 20 years is this going to matter?"   But I am human, and not perfect, so of course I do lose my temper at times,  silently.  But it is so annoying, and many times I have just been a knot of stress when I get to my car.  The most usual one for me is that main aise in Walmart going from the front to the back of the store. Almost every time I'm in there, no matter what day or time, there is usually a "family reunion" taking up the whole aisle.   So I have to move my cart through the clothing section to get past them, so I can go pick up a gallon of milk.

Another thing I have noticed since moving here, that I have never seen in any other area of the country is the cluster at the entrance of every store or building.  No matter if you're going to the bank, grocery store, post office, or mall, there is always a cluster of people gathered at the entrance, neither going in or coming out... but they all gather right in the entry and often, the doors are permanently open as the "cluster" won't move to let people in or out of the building.   Very strange, and I have never seen that anywhere else.   I've seen crowded entries where a lot of people are coming and going.... but these are large groups of people gathered in the entrance visiting and chatting, not trying to enter or leave.

And some people wonder why I hate to shop and rarely leave my house.  I'm afraid of being sucked into "The Cluster" and not being able to get back out..... LOL!

[Chocolate Cake]

the doors are permanently open as the "cluster" won't move to let people in or out of the building.   

That's the time to say, in a loud firm voice, "Pardon me!  May I get through please?"

[kingsrings]

I'm shopping at Wal-Mart this weekend, and boy am I dreading it just because it is so darn crowded this time of year and it takes forever to get anywhere in the store due to people taking up whole aisles and such. I don't know why they just didn't make the aisles wider so that all those big families who just must shop all together, all the time and cram into one whole aisle won't take up so much space. I hate having to maneuver around to other aisles because some family is blocking up the place. And of course there are ten thousand strollers taking up even more space. It's not the waiting in lines that takes up so much time, it's trying to maneuver around the crowded store that does.
I don't like it either when two or more people must walk side-by-side in a crowded place instead of single file. Please be considerate of the lack of space for everyone and don't take up even more room.

[Pixie]

the doors are permanently open as the "cluster" won't move to let people in or out of the building.   

That's the time to say, in a loud firm voice, "Pardon me!  May I get through please?"

Oh, I have done that, and its not a problem..... I was just observing that this behavier seems odd to me, as I have never seen it before.    There is a whole nuther story, but I won't hijack this thread.

[supotco]

And the cyclists zooming down the pavement! Cyclists belong in the cycle lane or on the road, where they should travel in the same direction as the cars and obey the same traffic signals.

The next person who stops right at the top of the escalator will be shot.

[behindbj]

I don't work, but I have similar experiences as you and DH whenever I'm out and about.  I mean, it's like a game of chicken on the sidewalk...once, neither I nor the other person budged from walking our same intended path and crashed into each other.  I tried it as a social experiment.  I think she did it all the time. 

See - I usually win this game of chicken.  

But then again, I am 6'1" tall and weigh over 300 pounds.  And I usually have a large gym bag slung over my shoulder.

Incidentally, I usually read while walking down the street on the way to work - but I don't slow down to do so.  In fact, I often pass people who are strolling.  I do put the reading material down in a crowd, though.

One thing that does irk me a bit (and for no real reason) are the people walking on the "wrong" side of the sidewalk. screwing up pedestrian traffic.  If it's crowded, I don't move - they need to learn to move with the flow.  If it's just me, I get over to the other side.  If that's how they score their one big victory for the day and it makes them feel good to make someone move two feet to the left to pass, I say CELEBRATE AWAY!  Because if that's their only daily victory, they are very sad people with tiny little lives.

behindbj

[behindbj]

And the cyclists zooming down the pavement! Cyclists belong in the cycle lane or on the road, where they should travel in the same direction as the cars and obey the same traffic signals.

The next person who stops right at the top of the escalator will be shot.

I have inadvertantly clotheslined more than one cyclist (seriously - didn't do it on purpose.  It's a very dangerous thing to have happen) pedaling away on the sidewalk.  I have never been found at fault.

People who stop in front of me on an escalator will get their rears run over (see above post).

behindbj

[sweedetobee]

The comment about people stopping at the top of the escalator made me think of another thing -

You know how there are wider and narrower escalators? Like in my old office building there was a narrow one - so two people couldn't stand next to each other - you could only stand in single file. Well the transit station I use for my daily commute has a wide escalator - where two people can easily stand side by side. There is the "unwritten escalator law" where the right hand side just rides and the left hand side walks. I get very irritated when someone stands in the left hand side so all the walkers get stopped.

There are several, maybe 5 or 6?, escalators at this station so you can't miss that whether you go up or down everyone on the right stands and everyone on the left walks - so even if you were new to the city and a tourist you could easily see. Unless you're not paying attention or just don't care I guess!

Is that technically bad etiquette when they stop? Is it bad etiquette to point out that "they're doing it wrong" (said much more politely than that....)?  

As an aside, I would like to give out "Commuting Tickets" to people. Like a citizens on patrol program where I can ticket nail clippers on the subway, sidewalk hogs and poeple who think Stop signs are only to check for other cars not for pedestrians (yes I had a friend who got yelled at by a driver who didn't stop at a stop sign / crosswalk and almost ran my friend over).

[HogwartsAlum]

The next person who stops right at the top of the escalator will be shot.

I'm chicken that my shoe will get caught in the escalator and it will eat my leg, so I'm usually looking at my feet...if someone stopped at the top, I'd probably knock them over and fall on top of them.

That'd teach 'em!

[supotco]

Is that technically bad etiquette when they stop? Is it bad etiquette to point out that "they're doing it wrong" (said much more politely than that....)?  

The London Underground has announcements and signs to the effect that people should stand to the right to allow passing on the left.

[melodrama]

I'm shopping at Wal-Mart this weekend, and boy am I dreading it just because it is so darn crowded this time of year and it takes forever to get anywhere in the store due to people taking up whole aisles and such. I don't know why they just didn't make the aisles wider so that all those big families who just must shop all together, all the time and cram into one whole aisle won't take up so much space. I hate having to maneuver around to other aisles because some family is blocking up the place.

Hee.  I'm at my Wal Mart so much, I have secret escape routes throughout the store, so when the main aisle gets clogged, I can dart down a side aisle to get where I'm going.  Paper products is always busy, but there's usually some room in office supplies or bedding to cut through!

[supernova]

I used to take the bus to my old job.  My office complex was across the street from a shopping mall, and the bus let me off in the middle of the mall parking lot.

Shopping malls have biiig parking lots.  When I look at a parking lot, I see "parking lot."  Lots of cars parked, lots of empty spaces, a few cars putting around at 5mph looking for the "perfect spot," a few people strolling between their cars and the shops.

Unfortunately, many folks driving through that lot looked at it and saw "Indy 500."  I can't even begin to count the number of times I came inches away from getting hit by someone roaring through the parking lot at 30mph or more, cutting and weaving across the empty spaces in order to make it to Starbucks 15 seconds faster.  And they would glare at and yell at me for being in the way!

How on Earth do they get from their car to the mall, if they don't believe people should walk in parking lots?  Do they levitate or something?   

     - saphie