Liverpool, England, is taking a stand (or, er, a stroll?) on the issue by creating separate lanes for fast walkers.
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The lanes are open now in the St. Johns Street shopping area in downtown Liverpool, the Independent reports.
Fast walkers everywhere, rejoice.
The English city of Liverpool is trying out dedicated fast lanes on sidewalks for speedy pedestrians.
The idea of separating dawdling pedestrians from those who are in a hurry came after a new research found nearly half (47%) of the nation’s shoppers said the slow pace of high streets was their biggest shopping bugbear.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those aged 16 to 24 were most enthusiastic about fast lanes – 69% supported them being brought in.
The move comes after the Chinese city of Chongqing introduced “cell phone lanes” in 2014, to combat the problem of phone users running into fellow pedestrians. Unfortunately all that happened was that passers by stopped and took photos of the markings – yes, using their mobile phones – rather than actually following the guidelines.
The Liverpool trial started on Monday and continues until this Sunday, and it’s not clear whether it’ll have any more success than earlier attempts.
The poll also revealed shoppers hate battling through crowds, people chatting in the middle of the street and pavement hoggers.
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With 28.8m Britons saying they would like a pavement fast lane installed on their local high street to ensure less time is spent dodging the masses, Argos has launched the UK’s first ever crowd-bypassing pavement lane.
