As long as there have been sidewalks, New Yorkers have prayed for ways to move faster on them, free from amblers, saunterers, gawkers, and the masses of tourists.
And a British retailer has taken that idea one step further by making a fast-walking pedestrian lane in front of its shop in Liverpool.
Granted, this appears to be a marketing gimmick from the company, but when we heard about it, we wondered why it couldn't be made real here? The New York Times, in fact, is also asking why New Yorkers couldn't adapt this for some of the more clogged pedestrian arteries in the city.
Just this morning, one Brick contributor had to dodge and weave my way along the major thoroughfare (or Instagram hotspot) of 34th Street and 5th Avenue, prime territory from tourists the world over to take photo after photo of the Empire State Building.
In the process, she was bumped by someone simultaneously glued to their smartphone, jostled in a bottleneck, blocked by a delivery truck, and consequently didn’t make a light because she was trapped behind a family of slow movers.
Fast lane sidewalks could be a godsend for fuming city dwellers who, let’s face it, really don’t need another factor to raise their stress levels or blood pressure. And if there were a way to corral out-of-towners in tourist-heavy arteries in the city like Times Square and 34th Street, we’d all be the happier—and more punctual for it.
We asked the Department of Transportation if there were any plans to implement a "fast lane" but sadly, have not heard back. Looks like for now, these sidewalks are nothing more than wishful thinking.
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