Well, that 'three strikes law' rule is a biatch.

jaywalking is not a crime in the u.k.

Elderly woman afraid to get hit by car has to take 14 miles bus ride subby.

FTA: the grandmother-of-five takes four bus rides and travels a total of 14 miles just to visit the shops and post office across the street from her home because the traffic is too heavy for her to walk across.

That's not 'afraid of jaywalking' that's 'afraid of being hit by a car'.

Jaywalking is not a crime in Britain, tardmitter

But does she work behind the counter in a small town?

I seem to recognise her face....

/you have the right to bear arms....but not to walk across the street in the US

One word:

Caltrops.

I guess that's why it's called the Boy Scouts of America. Fricking limeys don't know how to walk old ladies across streets.

What happened to people helping the elderly across the road?

What happened to being a considerate driver/biker/bicyclist and slowing down to let somebody cross as a matter of common courtesy?

The street might have a bunch of lanes of fast-moving traffic, so stopping for one pedestrian might not work. Good thing they are putting in the walkway.

When I lived in Memphis, I offered a ride across the street to an elderly resident in my apartment building, and he was happy to have it. Crossing five lanes of traffic midtown was scary for him, even with the lights on his side.

Here's a picture of when she was younger, spring chicken

Ready to offer help:



// hot
// surely not obscure?

Granny State indeed.

I found it amusing they had to specify it wasn't an Onion article.

FTFAThis is not from an Onion article.

The Daily Mail reports that the grandmother-of-five takes four bus rides and travels a total of 14 miles just to visit the shops and post office across the street from her home because the traffic is too heavy for her to walk across. She's been doing it since moving there in 2005.

I lol'd.

That's not cute, that's disgusting. This is a prime example of the asinine, post-WWII urban planning "principles" which cater directly to the needs of the automobile and ignore, or are hostile to, the needs of human beings who are unable to drive them. The lack of accessibility to, or absence of, public transportation, and the discontinuous, dangerous pedestrian "walk ways" are some of the biggest reasons why old people are now corralled together like animals in nursing homes, instead of living in the city center where they used to be able to meet all of their needs within a one mile radius. By building massive highways and complex, unnavigable roadways, increasing the utilities setback and increasing city speed limits, we have destroyed almost all of the reasons people originally congregated in cities in the first place. And we have bankrupted our coffers from the cost of maintaining and repairing unnecessary infrastructure.
Most of us don't live in true cities anymore-we dwell in small towns near our suburban "neighborhood" composed of ugly strip malls mocking themselves by imitating great period of architecture which have no cultural relevance to us. We need to rebuild our cities with thoughtful, practical design principles which don't rely on the automobile to connect distant spaces.
Google new urbanism or the genius architect, Christopher Alexander, if you'd like to learn more about how to re-build American cities

Isn't there a group of young men who are supposed to ask the elderly in such situations as this?

FTFA:
. You can find it in Connecticut, New York, California, Texas, and dozens of other states.


Nice! Dorset is now one of the United States!


/We'll be building a walmart there next week

Xenolith: That's not cute, that's disgusting. This is a prime example of the asinine, post-WWII urban planning "principles" which cater directly to the needs of the automobile and ignore, or are hostile to, the needs of human beings who are unable to drive them. The lack of accessibility to, or absence of, public transportation, and the discontinuous, dangerous pedestrian "walk ways" are some of the biggest reasons why old people are now corralled together like animals in nursing homes, instead of living in the city center where they used to be able to meet all of their needs within a one mile radius. By building massive highways and complex, unnavigable roadways, increasing the utilities setback and increasing city speed limits, we have destroyed almost all of the reasons people originally congregated in cities in the first place. And we have bankrupted our coffers from the cost of maintaining and repairing unnecessary infrastructure.
Most of us don't live in true cities anymore-we dwell in small towns near our suburban "neighborhood" composed of ugly strip malls mocking themselves by imitating great period of architecture which have no cultural relevance to us. We need to rebuild our cities with thoughtful, practical design principles which don't rely on the automobile to connect distant spaces.
Google new urbanism or the genius architect, Christopher Alexander, if you'd like to learn more about how to re-build American cities

I live in a hellhole for pedestrians so I'm really getting a kick out of this.

Yeah, I learned about New Urbanism a few years back in college when one of my professors encouraged us to look into it and other modern solutions to post WWII environmental conditions.

Rehoboth Beach, DE - same way. The built the roads to handle weekend traffic created by tourists and totally screwed the locals*. Now they are proposing a casino at Indian River Inlet so they can make it even worse.

/* the ones who were smart enough to profit did so and got out
/the rest were too stupid to realize what happened until it was too late
/it's too late

Barfmaker: Amnestic: That's not 'afraid of jaywalking' that's 'afraid of being hit by a car'.

That's a bit pedantic isn't it? Do you correct people who say they're scared of flying and tell them, "No, you're scared of crashing"?

Not really, no. Saying she's afraid of jaywalking implies that her fear is breaking the law and being criminalised by a petty, over-zealous nanny state, rather than her actual fear of being smeared all over the tarmac by a truck.

To use your flying analogy, it's like saying that someone is scared of flying in case they get arrested at security by the TSA.

Also, I live in Miami, which officially holds two 2009 national titles:
1. Least friendly to pedestrians/least navigable
2. Highest percentage of overweight or obese citizens

Hmm, coincidence?!

(It's also simultaneously one of the richest and poorest US cities, but I'll save that rant for later.)

/Traffic engineers and urban planners are brainwashed idiots who masturbate to Corbusier and art deco architecture

Okay, but is she hot?

BobbyCash: Isn't there a group of young men who are supposed to ask the elderly in such situations as this?

The boy scouts just aren't the same since the UK government confiscated all of their pocket knives.

Xenolith: why old people are now corralled together like animals in nursing homes




There's a reason to corral them...

I'm landlocked so I am getting a kick etc.

Fixing the cities and roads to make them more pedestrian, bike and golf cart friendly would be an ideal use of govt. spending. People can't dump their cars if there is no method to use alternate transit.

ThunderChild:
Saying she's afraid of jaywalking implies that her fear is breaking the law and being criminalised by a petty, over-zealous nanny state, rather than her actual fear of being smeared all over the tarmac by a truck.

To use your flying analogy, it's like saying that someone is scared of flying in case they get arrested at security by the TSA.


I'd agree, but the headline reads "afraid to jaywalk", not "afraid of jaywalking". That first is ambiguous in its meaning, where the latter seems to be less open to interpretation.

Unless, of course, the headline has been changed since the beginning of the thread, in which case my point is moot.

James Howard Kunstler also writes eloquently about new urbanism. I think it's a great idea but not likely to be untilized until gas goes to $8 a gallon.

(lives in a "cabin in the woods")

It's not "sad" or "cute," it's just really really considerate. Y'know, like she gives a damn about other people? Ever try that, subby?

If everyone in New Jersey didn't already drive, I could see the same thing playing out along the many highways there. Instead people just drive the 14 miles.

mister aj: What happened to being a considerate driver/biker/bicyclist and slowing down to let somebody cross as a matter of common courtesy?

What happened to common courtesy, period. I work with the public and swear that courtesy and respectfulness has died a long time ago

Stupid ain't cute, grandma.

FFS - there's not a single traffic light to regulate the flow at all??

At the same time I have some difficulty believing this is the only option.

I had a simular issue with my mother when she goes to the doctor's office. 4 way intersection 4 lanes in each direction. The crossing signals are very fast and she cant make it all the way across the street before the light changes.

She got stranded in the middle of the street on the island. A police officer finally came to her rescue and helped her to the other side.

I got her a cell phone now just in case.

for anyone interested here is the Street View.


http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=Chideock,+Dorset&oq=&um=1&ie=UT F -8&hq=&hnear=Chideock,+Bridport,+Dorset&gl=uk&ei=CUuaS6L-G82TjAeF-YCZDA&sa=X&oi= geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA (new window)

Having used that road I can believe it. Its one of the main roads of the area and if there hadn't been roadworks the day of the camera trip it would be packed.

Evilmogwai: for anyone interested here is the Street View.


Having used that road I can believe it. Its one of the main roads of the area and if there hadn't been roadworks the day of the camera trip it would be packed.

oops...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=Chideock,+Dorset&oq=&um=1&ie=UT F -8&hq=&hnear=Chideock,+Bridport,+Dorset&gl=uk&ei=CUuaS6L-G82TjAeF-YCZDA&sa=X&oi= geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA

Xenolith: That's not cute, that's disgusting. This is a prime example of the asinine, post-WWII urban planning "principles" which cater directly to the needs of the automobile and ignore, or are hostile to, the needs of human beings who are unable to drive them. The lack of accessibility to, or absence of, public transportation, and the discontinuous, dangerous pedestrian "walk ways" are some of the biggest reasons why old people are now corralled together like animals in nursing homes, instead of living in the city center where they used to be able to meet all of their needs within a one mile radius. By building massive highways and complex, unnavigable roadways, increasing the utilities setback and increasing city speed limits, we have destroyed almost all of the reasons people originally congregated in cities in the first place. And we have bankrupted our coffers from the cost of maintaining and repairing unnecessary infrastructure.
Most of us don't live in true cities anymore-we dwell in small towns near our suburban "neighborhood" composed of ugly strip malls mocking themselves by imitating great period of architecture which have no cultural relevance to us. We need to rebuild our cities with thoughtful, practical design principles which don't rely on the automobile to connect distant spaces.
Google new urbanism or the genius architect, Christopher Alexander, if you'd like to learn more about how to re-build American cities

Given that whites are on course to become a minority in America within 40 years we can sadly expect only the opposite to happen. Expect more far flung gated communities with pseudo-cultural facades while the hulking shells of American cities and old surburbs rot away into Detroit-like decay and Latin-American style slums.

Why doesn't she just go to the shops in the town three miles away from her house?