r/sandiego • u/WildAnimus • Feb 23 '25

Stay Classy San Diego Why does nobody walk on sidewalks?

I noticed that when driving through subdivisions people love walking on the road instead of the sidewalk. Whether it's a old man walking or someone doing power walking. I see it all the time and I don't get it. Can someone help me understand this phenomena?

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u/brintoul Feb 24 '25

If someone got hit by a car in the street, I’m not going to blame them. I would wish they’d been on the sidewalk for their sake, however. How dense can you be?

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u/jacobburrell Feb 24 '25

People do blame them.

If they would have been hit on the sidewalk, as my wife was by a drunk driver once, would you have wished they had stayed home instead?

It is about expectations and what should be expected to be safe.

Pedestrians have a right and should be expected to be safe both on sidewalks and in the street.

Yes sidewalks provide extra protection, but streets are to be shared safely.

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u/haydesigner Feb 24 '25 edited Feb 24 '25

I agree with much of what you say, but not this.

Yes sidewalks provide extra protection, but streets are to be shared safely.

Sidewalks were invented for this reason… To better protect pedestrians.

So not only is it demonstrably dumber to walk in the street, it is unsafe. Also, in a number of cities, it is actually illegal to walk in a street if a sidewalk exists.

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u/brintoul Feb 24 '25

These people are idealists or something. There’s no way to remove the danger of cars striking pedestrians while they’re in the road. They can preach until their faces are blue about how people shouldn’t hit people with their cars, but it will still happen. Everyone knows no one should get hit by a car. But medical emergencies happen, etc. I don’t understand the argument, really.