Ken and I have long noticed that the US is more attentive than many other countries to matters of what might be called "public safety"--some might say overly attentive. (Does every pump at the gas station need to be plastered with the warming that inhaling the fumes isn't all that healthy? Really?! No!! Who would have thought?!)
On the other hand, when we were in New Zealand, we were aghast at the absence of greater protections in a place called the Devil's Palette...hot springs coursing through mineral-rich rocks created deep boiling-hot pools of amazing colors (if I remember correctly, arsenic is chartreuse; copper is blue), with nothing but a small split-rail "fence" to keep people from falling in--and a child could have gone through it in an instant!
Here in Athens we find some interesting pedestrian challenges--not quite at the level of instant death, but worthy of note. For example, in the picture below, Ken's standing in a nearly 10-inch step that takes up about one-quarter of the entire width of the sidewalk! Imagine walking along with packages, deep in conversation with a friend. Ooops!
Here's another example:
These are steps in the sidewalk close to our house. The closeup on the right shows more clearly that the final rise (count the tiles) is a couple of inches taller than the others. Lemme tell ya', your brain is a simple organ--it quickly develops expectations based on identified patterns. Having walked up three steps and without anything to suggest otherwise, your body "knows" the last one will be the same as the others. OOOOPS. Even Ken, who is much quicker on his feet than I, has stumbled over that last step more than once.
And below are steps that cut across the sidewalk. If you are on the downhill side, as Ken is, good luck carrying packages up even that first step (notice how high it is, compared to Ken's knee). And as you can see, with a car parked right at the curb, it's quite awkward getting around it from either direction.
One also finds that the trees that line most of the streets in residential areas are also a pedestrian hazard. Either the level of the ground is several inches lower than the sidewalk or there is a small concrete barrier around the edge--just high enough not to notice until you have tripped over it.
All of which may account for the fact that on the small residential side-streets, a lot of people (especially geezers like me--note that the guy in front of Ken is walking with a cane) don't use the sidewalks most of the time--they walk down the street, itself. There are not infrequently potholes there--you can see places where the street has been patched--but you have a better chance of seeing them coming.
On the other hand, when we were in New Zealand, we were aghast at the absence of greater protections in a place called the Devil's Palette...hot springs coursing through mineral-rich rocks created deep boiling-hot pools of amazing colors (if I remember correctly, arsenic is chartreuse; copper is blue), with nothing but a small split-rail "fence" to keep people from falling in--and a child could have gone through it in an instant!
Here in Athens we find some interesting pedestrian challenges--not quite at the level of instant death, but worthy of note. For example, in the picture below, Ken's standing in a nearly 10-inch step that takes up about one-quarter of the entire width of the sidewalk! Imagine walking along with packages, deep in conversation with a friend. Ooops!
Here's another example:
These are steps in the sidewalk close to our house. The closeup on the right shows more clearly that the final rise (count the tiles) is a couple of inches taller than the others. Lemme tell ya', your brain is a simple organ--it quickly develops expectations based on identified patterns. Having walked up three steps and without anything to suggest otherwise, your body "knows" the last one will be the same as the others. OOOOPS. Even Ken, who is much quicker on his feet than I, has stumbled over that last step more than once. And below are steps that cut across the sidewalk. If you are on the downhill side, as Ken is, good luck carrying packages up even that first step (notice how high it is, compared to Ken's knee). And as you can see, with a car parked right at the curb, it's quite awkward getting around it from either direction.
All of which may account for the fact that on the small residential side-streets, a lot of people (especially geezers like me--note that the guy in front of Ken is walking with a cane) don't use the sidewalks most of the time--they walk down the street, itself. There are not infrequently potholes there--you can see places where the street has been patched--but you have a better chance of seeing them coming.
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