Navigating sidewalks really shouldn't evoke the same discomfort as getting to your seats in a sold-out sporting event.
Sadly, due to problematic driver behavior, pedestrians are having to either go out on the street or tiptoe through increasingly less space just to navigate parked cars. A Redditor shared a blatant example of this in a photo they say was taken in Germany.
In the photo posted to the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, a roughly four-foot wide path is sharply reduced to about a foot wide as cars' bumpers extend well past the curb on both sides and onto the sidewalk.
While it's hard to tell, the Redditor clarified, "no this is no parking lot but a sidewalk - no there is no 2nd sidewalk or safe alternative but the street."
The situation is frustrating beyond the inconvenience for walkers who are forced to go horizontal and uncomfortably weave through the path.
For one thing, it presents a safety hazard for pedestrians who can't make that work and will have to contend with car traffic on the street. The situation also isn't workable for those with crutches, walkers, strollers, or wheelchairs.
It's far from an isolated problem. Many cities are borderline unwalkable, despite the benefits for residents in the form of cleaner air, greater convenience, increased exercise opportunities, transit savings, and reduced traffic congestion.
Increased vehicle size, in particular, can rear its ugly head in eliminating areas meant for walkers to go through.
In this particular scenario, it seems the problem could be solved by drivers simply not taking liberties with how far back they park. A van with a tow cable extends a little over the curb, which isn't great, but it demonstrates that there's no reason much smaller vehicles need to have their tires all but parked on the sidewalk.
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Redditors were disillusioned by the scene and offered some solutions.
One user joked it was a "true footpath," remarking, "it's enough to put your foot, but maybe not necessarily the rest of your body."
Another Redditor claimed that, in Germany, "parking even a cm on the sidewalk is illegal," while lamenting that "it's rarely enforced" and "drivers just don't care about pedestrians."
Users, meanwhile, offered wheel bumpers and metal poles as remedies to drivers pulling too far back and impeding pedestrians.
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