Some Annoying Things

A few things have annoyed me lately. They are not huge things that have any meaningful impact on my life, but they are annoying none-the-less.

One thing that makes me shake my head in resignation is the people in Nichada who walk on the bike path instead of on the sidewalk. From our house to school, there is a bike path and a sidewalk along the road. It looks something like this:

| S | B |
| i | i |
| d | k | Road
| e | e |
| w | P |
| a | a |
| l | t |
| k | h |

There is actually a bike path on both sides the entire way, but Nichada closed one side for construction parking. I'll ride on that side when I'm traveling towards school by myself, but when I'm with the kids, I ride in the roped off designated bike lane. The sidewalk runs the entire length on one side, but only about half-way to school on the other.

Because they have one side closed, this means that you can get traffic from two directions in the bike lane. The lane is wide enough for passing, but its close. Given the fact that kids, boys in particular, aren't always safety conscious, you have to be a bit more careful. If you are walking on the sidewalk, it is very easy and safe to cross to the other side. I wouldn't let Aleena do it by herself, but Jacob and Nalin are more than capable. The traffic is fairly light, and their are speed bumps which help inforce the 20 mph speed limit (its actually 30 kph, which is very close to 20 mph).

So despite the fact there there are sidewalks lining the entire way, some people feel the need to walk in the bike lane. Often, they do it side by side, talking the entire lane. I do not undertand it. Well, I do. They are lazy, and I guess it is just easier to walk on the path. While sidewalks are generally in good shape and clear of obstacles, there occassionally might be a plant that protrudes a bit. When that happens, the person would have to step on the bike path for a few feet to get around it.

I understand why some people on foot are on the path. If you are a runner, I completely understand. The sidewalk is fine for walking, but I wouldn't run on it. The same goes for someone with a stroller. They could use the sidewalk, and probably should, but walking on the bike path prevents them from having to go over curbs at the driveways.

Its one thing if I see kids doing it. Its still annoying, but I understand that kids aren't always considerate. They often just don't think about what they are doing. Adults, on the other hand, should know better.

So one might ask why I care about this? One of the reasons is safety. With two-way bike traffic and people walking, the bike lane can get crowded. Tim told me how one day on the way to school, Nalin bumped into one of the women walking in the bike path. Tim stopped to ask the woman if she was okay, and the woman said that she was, but said that she didn't know about her phone because it had been knocked out of her hand. Tim was polite, but really didn't care a whole lot about the woman's phone. I'm glad I wasn't there, because I might have told the lady that she just paid the stupid tax. Sometimes it cost you to be stupid. Had she just walked on the sidewalk, she would have no worries about her phone.