Sunday afternoon walk in a residential neighbourhood in Auckland, NZ. I feel lonely as a sole pedestrian in this beautiful yet car-dominated neighborhood. It's rare to see people walking here, even on a day without rain. I feel unsafe while crossing those side roads because they are very wide at the intersection, with kerb corners cut and turning radii so wide that cars rarely slow down while turning. Furthermore, i feel unconfident choosing the best safe moment to cross as the distance to cross for me as a pedestrian is so long that I'm exposed to car traffic for much longer than I would wish. A car may come from any direction at high speed with full confidence and no anticipation of a pedestrian due to very low pedestrian volumes. The side streets I need to cross are wide enough to accommodate four vehicle lanes (I.e. one vehicle parked on each side and one each for traffic) and they get even wider effectively up to the width of eight lanes!
I feel angry to realise car drivers are by default not anticipating me here when they suddenly appear at high speed from around the corner. I feel unwelcome in my own neighbourhood.
I feel alienated in my desire to explore the area I live in on foot.
#emotionalawareness #trafficsafety #urbandesign #roaddesign #emotionalurbanist #urbanemotionalism #urbanemotionalspill #pedestrian #walker #newzealand #letstalkemotions
7 сен 2024
