Mall Walking

Here's what I think.  We need to adopt rules of the highway for walking the concourses of any mall. Especially during sale times and holidays.  It's a simply concept really.

Pretend you are still in your car.  Pretend you are on a freeway.  Just as cars, trucks, and buses, all stay on 'their side' of the road going in one direction, pedestrians walking the mall concourses should do the same, with planters, benches and mall decorations acting as meridians.  All the pedestrians going one direction on one side of the concourse, with all pedestrians going in the other direction staying in their lanes (so to speak).
 
Imagine, not having to confront a child/package laden stroller charging you doing 10 miles an hour...also, wheel chairs and motorized chairs as well.  I for one have on numerous occasions had a lovely conversation with a shopping companion interrupted by pedestrians walking on the wrong side of the road. It seems to me it would not be too difficult to educate pedestrians to the 'one way street' (aisle) concept. Arrows painted or glued/taped to the floors might just do the trick.  Plus at each entrance there could be a nice size easel with a message on how pedestrians are to maneuver along the concourses.

Okay, U-turns are required.  Suppose the store/boutique you wish to browse/shop is midway down the concourse.  This is where the 'median strip' comes in handy and allows for you to make the turn, waiting for a break in traffic and making for the entrance to your particular place of business.

Frankly, I can't believe, with all the thousands, and thousands, and thousands of drivers, someone...including the folks who construct the malls to begin with have not figured this simple concept of directing traffic through the malls.  Am I the only one who has ever given this any thought?  Don't you think this makes sense?

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately...and have been thinking about how I walk through the concourses it has occurred to me I always, always walk as though I were in a vehicle. Whether going north, south, east or west as I walk a concourse the median is always to my left. Imagine how nicely the traffic would flow if everybody followed this concept.

Of course, this is a 'better late than never' kind of blog, because recently the news, informational TV shows, newspapers and word of mouth have started reporting that malls are....on their way out.  And that smaller 'strip malls', on-line shopping and catalog purchases report constant sales and seem to be on the rise.  Don't get me wrong, the malls are not going to 'close their doors' anytime in the immediate future...but think about the anchor stores that have already 'jumped' ship.  Mervyns comes to mind, and I've heard in some places Macy's and Nordstroms have closed as well as some Sears and JCPenney's stores.  If they can't afford to keep their doors open, what chance does 'the little guy' have.

However, regardless where you shop, I think keeping to the right side of any aisle is a good rule of thumb. Think about it.