Sidewalk courtesy in the city

This does not mix well...

Right here is one of my very first blog ideas ever.  Originally I never got around to it, and then I kind of forgot because it only becomes a big deal when there is snow.  Last winter we never had any real significant snow that stuck in Boston, but now that there are giant piles of it everywhere I am again reminded of this:

It irritates me when people casually stroll down the sidewalk blocking the entire thing.  When it's just one person, that's fine, do whatever you want.  When it's more than one person (or a person with a dog on a leash) I think you have to be aware of the pace you are moving at, as well as all the other people around you.  If somebody behind you would like to go faster, it's up to you to walk single file for a brief period of time so that others can pass.

with this.

While I feel that this is just common sense and a level of personal etiquette that should always be true, it doesn't bother me too much when I am capable of stepping off into the street in order to move past the slow sidewalk occupiers.  But at the moment that is not an option.  For the next month (or maybe even longer; whenever these massive snowbanks finally melt away) I will now have to leave my apartment ten minutes earlier since my walk to work takes twice as long because of sidewalk doddlers.  It's just like being stuck in a traffic jam, which is the #1 thing I am glad to always avoid by not driving to work in the first place.