Walking our streets: some notes
Félix from the amusing Quebec French blog makes a list of what he feels is distinctive about walking in the streets of Montreal. I agree with some, but don’t think we’re especially slow walkers (#4), although I suppose if you come here direct from Manhattan it might look that way. Not sure either about #5, but then as a woman I probably get doors held for me more often. But the others all seem pretty well observed.
Félix 06:50 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
You’re probably right about getting doors held open for you more often if you’re a woman. Funny, I hadn’t considered that (I’ll hold the door open for anybody). I do think that many of us are slow walkers, though. This is a good thing; it makes for a nicer walk along Sainte-Catherine.
Ian 07:27 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
Having only moved here in ’91, I find these observations fairly accurate. One thing though, it’s not so much that people walk slow but that they have a tendency to dawdle and drift, and no, they don’t particularly care whose way they might be in.
Kate 08:34 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
Now that I think about it, as a fast walker myself I often get irritated by slow walkers ahead of me – not if it’s an old or disabled person, which is perfectly understandable, but dawdling lovers or heedless teenagers blocking the way can be so annoying.
ant6n 09:04 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
Montrealers are very efficient at blocking a whole sidewalk with only one or two people. Or stand at bottle necks. Maybe the side walks are too narrow?
Stefan 11:43 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
i find that it is mostly (groups of) suburbans that completely unawarely block the sidewalk, i.e. downtown just having exited from their cars – they are not used to dense crowds. on the other extreme, it is virtually impossible to walk into people from south/east asia, as most of they come from very densely populated areas and have a sort of sixth sense of crowd movement.
what i find amusing is how people downtown before a red light, will just go out in the street until the invisible line where the cars pass, to wait for green.
Tamu 16:41 on 2011/06/18 Permalink
In general, not a lot of people hold the door open for me. In the last few months, I have been visibly pregnant, and many will still not do it even if I am holding something cumbersome. I hold doors open for men and women, and will continue to do so, but I also notice this gets a thank you, merci or nod of acknowledgment about 30% of the time.
dewolf 02:29 on 2011/06/19 Permalink
Montreal pedestrians are slower than those in New York, especially in the business districts, but I’ve never found them to be slower than other Canadian cities.
Most Asian cities are full of slow walkers, which is surprising given that they’re generally quite fast-paced. Here in Hong Kong I’m always having to dodge around slowpoke schoolkids and see lai (housewives) who aren’t in much of a hurry to go anywhere. And the sidewalks here aren’t any wider than in Montreal… just more crowded.
Kevin 12:15 on 2011/06/20 Permalink
If you think people walk slowly here, go to Toronna or Vancouver, where they may as well have lead weights in their shoes.