Sidewalks are like Two Way Streets for People

With spring approaching, or at least I believe its approaching, I’ve returned to walking more to and from the office. It saves money, it's healthy and most of the time I really enjoy being outside and taking in the city.

I tend to walk against the general flow of work traffic, I head towards the train stations on my way to work and vice versa when heading home, and I often find that I am practically run off the road or into buildings trying to squeeze past the tidal wave of office workers heading the opposite direction. I can accept that if most of the people are heading one way that they’ll take up most of the sidewalk, but it's ridiculous for there to be less than a one-person width for those of us heading the other direction.

Lately I’ve been playing a little bit of chicken in the morning, seeing whether people on my side of the sidewalk will move back over or not, and if not I usually let them run into my bag. It’s a little childish but it helps to stem the bubbling frustration I should not be having less than half way through my coffee.

It isn't just people heading to/from the offices that take up the whole sidewalk, though. As soon as the weather gets warmer flocks of tourists will descend upon the city and they will walk five people across, stand in the middle of the sidewalk to look at buildings or figure out directions and in general wreak havoc on the normal traffic flow. Tourism is part of living in Chicago and I acknowledge that non-city folks won’t be as good at navigating city sidewalks as the natives. It's still rude to visit somewhere and stand in the way, no matter how unfamiliar you are with the territory.

SIDEWALKS ARE LIKE TWO WAY STREETS FOR PEOPLE. They aren't required by law of course, but I think basic driving rules would work wonders on a sidewalk: walk on the right, pass on the left (and by left, I mean the left part of the right half of the sidewalk, if you can help it).

All you have to do is pretend there is a dotted yellow line right down the middle. Most sidewalk circumstances can already be explained in familiar terms:

• Puddles are like construction. Traffic will need to slow down, often to a single lane in each direction to maneuver around them.
• Families and tourists are like snowplows and over-sized trucks with houses on them. They’re annoying and absolutely slow you down but you still have to wait until oncoming traffic is clear to pass them.
• Walking with an umbrella requires checking your blind spots, and the bigger the umbrella the bigger the blind spot. Golf umbrellas do provide the most rain coverage but they take up a lot of room. Watch where you’re going.
• Rush hour is still rush hour. More people on the same route at the same time results in everyone going slower. If you can’t change the time you are out or the route you take you’re stuck snaking along with everyone else.

Not everyone walks at the same speed or with the same purpose but there isn’t any reason why some people should drive the traffic flow for the whole sidewalk. Sidewalks are two-way shared spaces and should be respected as such.

The next time you’re running errands at lunch trying to get back to work on time and you find yourself behind a family of four eating ice cream cones and holding hands wait the extra thirty seconds until you can clear them without running anyone else off the sidewalk. If you’re part of the family with the ice cream and yours gets knocked off when someone blows by you on the left re-think the amount of space you’re taking up and maybe move to a two-by-two formation. Sharing is caring, folks.

Life Lesson: It's None Of Your Business

A few years ago a close coworker of mine was in a serious accident. I ended up being the first person the hospital was able to reach while sifting through her cell phone, looking to contact a family member. Fortunately I was able to get in touch with folks who had direct access to her family in short order, but due to the bizarre twist of events I ended up as one of the people with the most information about the accident and her condition in the days afterward.

• Sidenote Safety Tip! Identify at least a few contacts in your cell phone by starting the name with ICE, In Case of Emergency, so that these contacts are easily identified.

I am used to having the latest and greatest information on just about everything – people like to tell me things – but I felt uncomfortable knowing very personal details about a very private coworker when she probably wouldn’t have told me that information herself. I felt people were prying into her life, digging for details and asking me questions they would never have asked her directly. I became very protective of the information, not wanting to share anything I thought my coworker wouldn’t have told them herself.

I wasn’t always that considerate, in fact I used to be a really serious gossip. I don’t mean the kind that spreads unflattering rumors about people I don’t like, I was always careful to selectively share information so that the people I told didn’t have any likely overlap with the people I was talking about. Gossip extends to any talk about the private affairs of others, though, and I was definitely sharing information that wasn’t mine to share. I think I did it mostly because I felt important knowing what I knew, and quite honestly I didn’t have anything more interesting to talk about, which brings us to today’s life lesson.

Stop thinking that having information about what is happening in the lives of other people makes you a better friend of those people or more popular or more interesting. It doesn’t. AND IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

I know people were asking me about my coworker mostly because they were concerned about her health, but they also wanted the gruesome details of the accident. Just as I’m sure that when people “out” pregnant women they are in part excited for the pregnancy but that they also want to be the one to figure out the mystery and know they’re pregnant first. Getting information isn’t a contest, and chances are if someone hasn’t shared information with you it’s for a good reason.

There is so much our society feels entitled to, extending to all sorts of personal details about anyone and everyone. Too often we discuss and pass along information without any regard for the person the information is about. Everyone wants people to respect their personal boundaries, and no one wants to be judged by someone with information they have no business knowing.

Be the kind of person people want to share information with, whose opinion they value and who they trust can keep sensitive information contained. In fact, once people know they can trust you you’ll probably the one of the first ones they’ll tell. And isn’t that what you wanted all along?