Strangers are Strange: Footpath Hoggers

Footpath Hoggers:

(This is just an image from Google Images.)

Public areas are meant to be shared by everyone because everyone is a member of the general public.

The subject of today's post is Footpath Sharing, particularly of narrow ones like these with people traveling as couples or groups. The oncoming traffic is walking together on the same path as me and I am either alone, with one of my girls, or with my family. The group or couple (or grouple I will call them to save typing) are coming closer and I look to see if they will be passing on my left or right. The grouple is close and neither one of them make an effort to move to side, go single file for a second, or separate to allow everyone to be on the path or share it and someone (usually myself) ends up walking in the grass/mud/gutter/gravel on the edge. Not even a smile, look or thank you as I pass.

This used to happen a lot more often when the girls were younger and I had them in my pram, it wasn't a large cumbersome thing but a standard compact one that served me so well. When out with this thing that was carrying my daughter I would be pushing along a footpath and there would be an oncoming grouple. They would look at me coming and go back to what they would be doing then most of the time make no effort to shift left or right to share the path when the time came. It isn't easy pushing a pram on the grass, dirt, mud combo of path edge.

There were also times when I was alone (FREEDOM! LOL) and an oncoming parent with a pram would come down the path and make no attempt to share the area or even attempt to try to shift over, but anyway I always moved of the path fully because I knew the difficulty of pushing those darn things.

What I would like is ANYONE at least make an attempt, effort, subtle gestural offer of making room for all if possible. Is it too much to ask?