Dear Urban Diplomat: can’t sidewalk-hogging joggers save it for the side streets?
Dear Urban Diplomat, I was window-shopping on Queen West last weekend, when a neon-clad sprinter came bounding along and bumped my daughter into my stroller, nearly spilling hot coffee on my newborn baby. The guy was incredibly apologetic, until I said, “Why the hell are you running on a busy sidewalk in the first place?” He snarled that the street was as much his as mine, then re-inserted his earbuds and jaunted off. Shouldn’t runners be banned from using busy main streets?
—Street Fighter, Little Portugal
It’s a mystery why some joggers insist on plying their hobby amid heavy weekend foot traffic. Are they checking out hotties on their way to yoga class? Do they like making the people in line at the cupcake bakery feel ashamed? Or maybe being chased by hostile pedestrians is how they motivate themselves to keep running. Whatever the reason, if they’re unwilling to slow down when the going gets crowded, they should take to a side street. While it’s true that runners have as much right to a busy Queen Street sidewalk as anyone, they don’t have the right to put the safety of all those babies, shoppers and hipsters at risk.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com
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