The London Traveler

No, I’m not talking about strollers that you use to push your child around, I’m talking about the people that just stroll along on the sidewalk, taking up space without thinking of others. Specifically, those people that walk at the pace of a snail on small London sidewalks.

I mention this so that those of you that come into London to visit are aware of a common concern of native Londoners.

Let’s face it, London is an old city with streets that were not made for lots of people and lots of cars at the same time. Some areas, like Oxford Street, have been “optimised” for shopping by limiting the number of lanes in the road and creating very wide sidewalks. Elsewhere, such as most of the City of London, have very narrow sidewalks. People who decide walk/stroll side-by-side slowly in these areas (taking up the entire sidewalk) can be very irritating, indeed! Avoiding them generally involves going into the street and around them.

So what can you do? Please just be aware of where you’re at and what you’re doing! If you’re walking with friends and family, just make sure there’s enough room for someone (in a hurry, late to a meeting, etc.) to get by. You’ll appreciate it if you’re the one trying to get to the theatre in time!

I’d like to point out that both native Londoners and visitors to the city are guilty of this; even I have been at times! But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of a bit of a rant.