Frogger Takes New York
Living in a pedestrian city like New York presents a variety of challenges to the work commute. In my case, the commute to work is a 3-stop subway ride or a 25-minute walk. So by comparison, my travel to work is fairly minimal and admittedly much easier than most. However, the longer I live here, the more I realize the hazards of a simple walk down the street and think that Milton Bradley should introduce a New York variation on the board/video game, Frogger.
You have the usual throngs of tourists to contend with, who take up the entire sidewalk at a painstakingly slow pace only to come to an abrupt, warningless stop. And you have the sickeningly obnoxious couples who can't seem to cross a street or walk one block without holding hands or hogging the sidwalk, thereby making it impossible for you to pass them. (I often find myself resisting the urge to take a running start and red rover right between them). You also have the people who cut you off - I believe that there is such a thing as pedestrian-rage - and the people who you encounter head-on and wind up playing a game of chicken with to negotiate who has to move.
Then, you have the usual pedestrian-unfriendly car traffic that seems to operate on a pedestrian-has-the-right-of-way-unless-you-run-him/her over philosophy. And depending on which part of town you're in, there are a few other factors to bring into the mix:
1. Midtown/Grand-Central - DHL delivery people with their gray trolleys. I suppose the price of on-time delivery is a few flattened pedestrians. Those gray trolleys can gather surprising speeds.
2. UWS -Baby strollers. Baby and nanny have places to go, people to see.
3. Downtown- Cyclists. They don't follow normal traffic rules or pedestrian conventions -they answer to no one. I would steer clear.
This brings me to a few hazards I hadn't thought of until recently - air conditioning units and scaffolding. I had recently helped a friend install her AC unit; and by help, I'm using the term very loosely here. (It involved me holding the AC unit while she tried to position it in place.) I had no idea that the only thing generally securing an AC unit is the window, which now has me paranoid about getting knocked out by a projectile AC unit. And due to a recent newscast of a building/scaffolding collapsing on 100th/Broadway, I now realize the potential danger of being crushed underneath construction.
So given all of the potential risk in walking to work, I think that I'll be improving my skills at Frogger and considering some headgear. Thanks for checking in!
-E
You have the usual throngs of tourists to contend with, who take up the entire sidewalk at a painstakingly slow pace only to come to an abrupt, warningless stop. And you have the sickeningly obnoxious couples who can't seem to cross a street or walk one block without holding hands or hogging the sidwalk, thereby making it impossible for you to pass them. (I often find myself resisting the urge to take a running start and red rover right between them). You also have the people who cut you off - I believe that there is such a thing as pedestrian-rage - and the people who you encounter head-on and wind up playing a game of chicken with to negotiate who has to move.
Then, you have the usual pedestrian-unfriendly car traffic that seems to operate on a pedestrian-has-the-right-of-way-unless-you-run-him/her over philosophy. And depending on which part of town you're in, there are a few other factors to bring into the mix:
1. Midtown/Grand-Central - DHL delivery people with their gray trolleys. I suppose the price of on-time delivery is a few flattened pedestrians. Those gray trolleys can gather surprising speeds.
2. UWS -Baby strollers. Baby and nanny have places to go, people to see.
3. Downtown- Cyclists. They don't follow normal traffic rules or pedestrian conventions -they answer to no one. I would steer clear.
This brings me to a few hazards I hadn't thought of until recently - air conditioning units and scaffolding. I had recently helped a friend install her AC unit; and by help, I'm using the term very loosely here. (It involved me holding the AC unit while she tried to position it in place.) I had no idea that the only thing generally securing an AC unit is the window, which now has me paranoid about getting knocked out by a projectile AC unit. And due to a recent newscast of a building/scaffolding collapsing on 100th/Broadway, I now realize the potential danger of being crushed underneath construction.
So given all of the potential risk in walking to work, I think that I'll be improving my skills at Frogger and considering some headgear. Thanks for checking in!
-E
posted by edna mode at 1:50 PM
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