And now for your random post of the day.

Perhaps you can help me answer this because I don’t understand it.

Why do people walk on the street vs a sidewalk?

sidewalk (Photo credit: nicolasnova)

Now before all you runners tell me about asphalt is better for your knees than concrete, I’m merely talking about just plain walking. Not running, jogging, bicycling, skateboarding, etc. Just plain walking.

There are so many times when I see a perfectly good sidewalk that isn’t going to end for a LONG time, isn’t cracked or damaged, or covered in puddles or snow and I see people choose to walk in traffic on the actual street.

What is the reasoning for this? This isn’t like I’ll see a random person do this, this seems pretty universal in all types of neighborhoods and cities. Is there some aversion to sidewalks that I am not aware of? Aren’t you worried about getting hit by a car? I can’t tell you the number of times at night I’ve nearly hit someone who was walking on the street instead of the sidewalk because I couldn’t see them until the very last second (and really, they should have seen me coming).

I even had a weird moment when I was sitting in my car waiting for a friend, and a group of walkers all chose to walk around on the street instead of the sidewalk on the other side. So for a few seconds it felt like I was surrounded as they all had to walk AROUND the car instead of just walking straight ahead on the sidewalk.

If anyone can answer this question, I would gladly appreciate it.