Walking in Traffic

Recently I started working in downtown Toronto. I take the train into the city every morning. This has proven to be quite a learning experience.

It is like we are salmon running a river. We all pour off the trains and get funneled into troughs that lead to the subway or flow out onto the sidewalk.

A veritable sea of humanity.

It turns out that people walk just like they drive. They don’t look before they cut into your path.  Or they are texting and walking. That happened to me the other day. This suit was walking in front of me at a nice pace, suddenly pulled out his phone and not only started walking slower but also with his head down. Honestly, I could have decked him.

The other thing you have to watch for is people with lace-up shoes. They seem to think nothing of stopping I’m the middle of traffic to tie their shoes. If I stop, the person behind me walks into me and so on and so on. Sure, we don’t have to file accident reports but it sure gets you off your flow. It also makes people sigh at you and no Canadian likes that.

Lastly, I have learned to watch for ladies with rolling bags. You know: the briefcases with long handles and wheels. I hate to be gender specific but men seem to handle them just fine. Ladies invariably either trip themselves or the person behind them. Maybe if you have that much stuff, you should take a cab.

All this and I have not even mentioned people who snore on the train….

So whether you are walking, driving or networking, keep your eyes up and pay attention.  We’ll all be grateful.