I have written before in this blog and elsewhere about civility and the importance of working together to make Vancouver a more liveable community, yet I still have many observations and impressions bottled up. I need to share them with you. They are not in a particular order of importance or significance, rather they are just issues and opportunities for us to do better.
Scattered trash on streets and sideways and private property is a product of thoughtless people. It is hard to imagine that such individuals can be so careless and in disregard for our community’s cleanliness that they would leave empty cardboard pop containers, coffee cups, pieces of paper from notebooks, receipts, plastic lids, etc., strewn around any neighbourhood in which one looks. There are tax-payer supported trash cans on the corner of nearly all street corners in the city. There are trash receptacles in many convenience stores and other establishments. We have many, many different vendors coming around every street and alley to collect the recycling, be it paper, plastic or cardboard, and the organic materials. We are a true wellspring of garbage. We need to do our part to keep this effluent in its place. It is not just an eyesore, it is the likely attraction of rodents and other creatures that are looking for a small meal or smell the aromas of admixed tidbits.
The noise of vehicles is unavoidable in a big city. Engines, typically internal combustion engines, make noise, the way they are built into cars, trucks, buses, tractors, motorcycles, and others. Not many electric cars are out there yet…….they are coming, but not fast. The tires have their own noises, from low tone murmurs to rough rumbles, depending on the size of these rubber belts. The screeching of tires, the squeaking of brakes, the honking of horns – these are largely unnecessary. Drivers are impatient, in too big a hurry, too inconsiderate and rude. Far too many drivers are running full-on orange and red lights…….deaths arise from this behaviour. This does not include the naive and poor drivers who wander around the streets without signaling lane changes or turns, who are unaware of people ahead, beside or behind them. They are a ever-present danger. They would be much better riding the bus or walking more of the time. Or taking additional lessons.
There is much written about cell phones and driving. There is not enough written about people walking or riding bikes on streets, sideways and byways while texting or talking on their phones. Many people are so absorbed that if they were run over in a crosswalk, they would not know what hit them……heads are down, in the phone, completely oblivious. It is such a feature of self-absorption, it is so in keeping with a few observations I want to make about sidewalk sharing.
The sidewalk, a place of relative peace where all sorts of humans and pets meander and scurry to reach a range of destinations. The sidewalks of the city are extraordinarily varied in width and surfaces. There are the old neighbourhood sidewalks and the more recent broad sidewalks in redone or brand new areas of the city. There are many sidewalk blocks that are raised or have been cut out to allow for tree roots to own the ground as they seek water and nutrients. This is all fine. But what is not fine is the relentless droves of spatially unaware that there are many other people or pets on the same sidewalk trying to get somewhere equally important. I call these people sidewalk hogs. They are hogs whether they are couples holding hands, mothers with their strollers, or gaggles of fun-seekers heading towards the beach. Please make room for everyone that needs to use our tax-supported sidewalks. Look up, give way, be polite. Have more fun being a civil human being.
Am I perfect…..no. These issues are not about perfection. They are about civility in tight places and spaces. Give a little more and get a lot back in terms of comfort and respect!