(no subject)

I remember walking through Vienna when the odd loud and irritated bell would jar me, just as a cyclist wihzzed past: usually with an unhappy face. Dawn tourists.

I took my bike out again: this time down to the sea wall (thank god for it, or the sea would overwhelm us) and back. Barring construction (which regularly obstructs footways and cycle paths but not cars?) and hazardous intersections of foot and bicyle this is an excellent ride. Now by "hazardous intersections of foot and bicycle," I include not only the idiot decision to put a vendor with one end on the sidewalk and the other on the cycleway, but also the tendancy for people on foot or cycle to meander back across either lane..

Foot: brown, stonework, "pedestrian sign," rarely a "no bicycle sign,
Cycle: usually grey, smooth, "bicycle" sign, sometimes a "no pedestrian sign,

There's no shame in the error: it's understandable, and I've made it myself. Dividing non-car travel ways into bike and foot is new. It will take us time to get this, likely accelerated by accidents and clearer labelling.

I wonder about the old foot/horse/horse-and-wagon dynamic. I know one of the Ceasars declared most of the city of Rome off-limits to horsedrawn carts for most of the day. Smart.

What was it like when automobiles were introduced?