Just what do you have against the sidewalk?

[Magpie]

So hubby and I are walking to his church this morning, and there's a woman ahead of us, walking along and talking on her cellphone. She actually seemed to be checking for traffic and watching around her, so that's not the suck. What bugs me is the amount of effort that she was putting into walking on people's front lawns. After passing the construction site, she almost immediately veered a metre or two away from the sidewalk. We get to a cross street, she walked on the far side of the bollards (so pretty much directly over the stop line).

Drives me crazy, because you get a lot of students here who are still in the "mommy and daddy aren't around to tell me what to do, so I'm not going to be considerate" stage (yes, I went through it myself). People like this are why I can't have a garden. And really don't help with the garbage all over front lawns, random garbage stuck to cars, etc. (I rented houses a couple of times, and the junkier it looks the more likely passers-by are to make it look even worse.)

[Pagan]

I have two guesses.

1. The grass is softer than the concrete.

2. She didn't want the "extra" strain of stepping up and down when she walked across driveways. This is the excuse as to why certain people would walk, not on lawns, but in the middle of the damn street in the neighborhood I grew up in.

[ShadowTiger]

Grass really is softer than pavement. :| It's less of a strain on .. .. .. .. actually, I don't know. Some unspecified part of the body. But it is less of a strain, really. It's a softer landing with each step. Depends on your shoes, I suppose.

But if they're littering, well, that just sucks for everyone. Sometimes I wish that every piece of litter you deposit would stick to you like static cling for a full day.

[Magpie]

2. She didn't want the "extra" strain of stepping up and down when she walked across driveways. This is the excuse as to why certain people would walk, not on lawns, but in the middle of the damn street in the neighborhood I grew up in.

Do you have some sort of schematic? I'm confused as to how this works. Here the sidewalk is level (unless it slopes to the outside, but that's different). The lawn is normally slightly (like 1-2 cm) above the driveway. Except for my inlaws' house, where they have chipped the front lawn and it's more like 5 cm above the driveway. (And yes, they have had people walk across the woodchips and through their garden before).

And as for the grass being softer - she was wearing shoes, so I doubt she'd have noticed, even if the ground was softer. I don't think that applies until the ground thaws.

[Sparky]

And as for the grass being softer - she was wearing shoes, so I doubt she'd have noticed, even if the ground was softer. I don't think that applies until the ground thaws.

Wait, the ground is frozen? Was there the possibility of ice on the sidewalk? Maybe she thought she'd have better traction on the grass.

[Magpie]

Nah, no possibility of ice. It's been really warm here recently (15 or higher Thursday and Friday), but it was maple syrup weather before that, and had been dropping to near zero at night, and was below zero on Saturday. The ground was firm, but the sidewalks are dry.

[Andara Bledin]

Grass really is softer than pavement. :| It's less of a strain on .. .. .. .. actually, I don't know. Some unspecified part of the body. But it is less of a strain, really. It's a softer landing with each step. Depends on your shoes, I suppose..

The joints in your ankles, knees, and hips. And asphalt is softer than concrete, which is why runners often run just next to the gutter rather than the sidewalk.

Although, if you're just walking, you should be rolling your feet, anyway, which negates more than the surface possibly could.

^-.-^

[mikoyan29]

Don't get me started on litterers. I went to the park yesterday and somebody left two water bottles on the pavement. It's bad enough they are drinking bottled water but sheesh. And then all the crap in the river. And then I don't how many people I see that think Michigan is their personal ashtray. I'd like to see some deer leave a pile of crap in their living room....

[Pagan]

Do you have some sort of schematic? I'm confused as to how this works. Here the sidewalk is level

Here's a picture: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/...53ecf43daf.jpg Look just to the right of hte "1208". See how it slopes down and continues at an angle across the driveway? That's what most of the streets/sidewalks are around here.

The joints in your ankles, knees, and hips. And asphalt is softer than concrete, which is why runners often run just next to the gutter rather than the sidewalk.

These are people that walk in the middle of the street, manage not to notice a car coming up behind them, or, one time, almost walked into my mom's car after she had come to a complete stop. And no, they weren't wearing anything that impaired their hearing, just simply not paying attention.

[Magpie]

Here's a picture: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/...53ecf43daf.jpg Look just to the right of hte "1208". See how it slopes down and continues at an angle across the driveway? That's what most of the streets/sidewalks are around here.

Ok, generally when the sidewalk is that close to the road here it will end up sloping more than just by the driveways. (i.e. the sidewalk is old enough that it slopes everywhere).

[Andara Bledin]

That driveway slope is pretty much standard everywhere I've been in LA. More than once, I've taken to walking along the gutter, instead, to avoid it, when my ankle or foot has decided it wants to be irritated.

However, I've honked at more than on person who thought the absolute middle of the road was a good place to take a liesurely stroll.

I've nearly walked into poles while walking and reading, before, but I never go near a place where cars might be without keeping a good eye on my surroundings. In any battle between car and pedestrian, the car has way too much of an advantage.

^-.-^