What side of the pavement (not road) do you run/walk on?

mrcheez

First world problems I know, but find this quite interesting. I always run on the left side of the path, basically because I also cycle and drive and that's just ingrained in my head that "traffic sticks to the left".

But 9/10 people I encounter stick to the right, which obviously makes it a big dangerous if I'm turning a corner... perhaps it's the same country-wide.

Obviously it's different if you are running on a road side, where you want to see oncoming traffic, this is more about pavement or paths in parks etc.

Some who are walking on the left side actually move into the right side when they see someone approaching as if to give way, so it's definitely a conscious decision to "stick to the right side"

I notice this also on the S2S cycleway too where there is a pedestrian path to the side of the cycle lane. The idea is that you should walk on the left side so that you can see oncoming cyclists, but 9/10 are sticking to the right side and thus make dangerous manoeuvres into the cycle lane without looking behind them when they want to bypass other people.

I'm curious if this is a conscious decision and some people just assume you should walk on the right side of the path?

It's not a major issue as I could just run on the right side, but it feels wrong given that all other traffic sticks to the left 🤣

zell12

You walk on the right.

It comes from rural area, where you walk facing the oncoming traffic. And it has transferred to urban areas. Obviously, there are no pavements in Hiberno-english, it is the more descriptive footpath or footway 😉

mrcheez

Strange that it happens in Dublin though.. I can understand the rural aspect from walking on the roads

macchoille

If I’m running where there’s footpaths I’ll go whichever side involves the least/easiest crossings for the route (or whatever makes sense), I don’t really care which side I’m on so long as I can minimise the amount of times I need to stop etc.

If there’s no footpath’s 99% of the time it will be on the right,; there’s one blind junction (building obscuring car’s turning left onto the road) on one running route which i switch over to the left as cars treat their stop sign/line as imaginary so it’s a bit of common sense/self preservation.

mrcheez

yeah I was kinda trying to avoid the discussion of roads... I'm purely looking at paths (or pavements or whatever you want to call them)

like perfect example here

just find it interesting how people are almost always walking on the right side of the path as in this photo... clearly I'm the first to notice this 🤣

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121057178#Comment_121057178

The side furthest from the road.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121057178#Comment_121057178

Well in that case then, probably closest to the wall if there is one or my right - a lot of pathways now have cycle lanes to your left so you’re nearly forced into it- where there’s none, I keep closest to the inside to allow people pass me

mrcheez

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121057311#Comment_121057311

there isn't always a road and same pattern I've noticed... like walking on pathways in middle of a large park, people tend to stick to the right.

Perhaps it's something to do with the dominant hand *shrug*

Mellor

In most big cities with busy pavements, there tends to be a side. But only really catches on if there is decent foot traffic. A working subway/underground/metro system seeks to trigger it also.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121057340#Comment_121057340

If the bike lane is to your left, it’s to the right of a guy walking the other way. That’s the situation OP is asking about, people meeting head on, who goes which way.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067930#Comment_121067930

Well if we’re both walking closest to the wall, I play a game of chicken to see who gives way first 😛- it’s usually me. 😀

Mellor

On quiet pathways, I'll do whatever is convenient, move out of the way for elderly, buggies etc

But in large city crowds, I think what OP is suggesting is right and people should by default walk on one side. The left makes most sense to me.

In NYC people walk mostly on the right, in Sydney and London it's the left. Especially noticeable with escalators and crowded stairs in and out of subways o or shopping centres. (although London underground you stand on the right on escalators). Definitely not a thing in Dublin and it's really notifiable that people are in the way a lot more.

Peregrinus

When you're running, as opposed to walking, the issue is mostly not people coming towards you, but people travelling in the same direction as you, that you wish to overtake.

I prefer to run on relatively uncrowded paths, for obvious reasons, so the issue of which side to stick to doesn't constantly arise. I'll run pretty much in the middle. If come up to overtake someone, I'll generally take my cue from them — if they're walking to the left of the path, I'll overtake on their right, and vice versa. If they too are more or less in the middle, when they become aware of my approach they will often pull to one side or other to let me past and nine times out of ten it's to the left, just as if we were in cars on the highway.

If I meet someone coming towards me, we can both see each other and take appropriate evasive action. Again, nine times out of ten we'll both veer towards our respective left sides, as we would if we were in cars.

Victor

I think with a road people should face traffic, whether there is a footway or not. The problem is when people are on the 'wrong' footway - then the people facing traffic should be at the kerb, as they can see when it is safe / unsafe to step off the kerb if necessary. People with their backs to traffic shouldn't have to step off the kerb and should keep to the wall / boundary. If there are children, a person with a buggy, dog walker, etc. I would try to go between them and the kerb.

Away from a road, I don't pay much attention to what side to be on. If overtaking at speed, I'd often use the grass.

I once ran over a walker when I was running and she did a sudden left turn. :(

mrcheez

An odd thing I notice many times when running in the park:

• I'm running on the left side and someone is approaching from the opposite direction who is on their left (as per traffic rules)
• They see me coming they move into their right side as if they assume that's where they should be when people pass each other
• Now I need to move into the right side to pass them 😆

rubadub

Some might consider slants, many paths are slanted for drainage. In a local park it slants on both sides, so the centre position is most neutral.

https://recoverathletics.com/does-running-on-a-slanted-road-cause-injury/

Victor

I think the word is 'cambered'.

Separately, many surfaces may have a cross-slope for drainage or super-elevated so vehicles can go faster around corners.

CR 7

Most greenways/parks near me have signs telling pedestrians to keep left and pass on the right. And of course the majority of people ignore them. I usually try to keep left on footpaths for the reasons given above, the person closest to the traffic should be facing it.