Toronto had a white christmas this year. Nummy. 🙂
Sidewalk etiquette gets funny (to me) when there’s snow and ice on the ground. Take, for instance, the parable of the narrow sidewalk:
Sidewalks in Toronto get cleared after the roads. Like, a distant 17th on the priority list. Which means that at best there is a footpath carved out by the pedestrians before you. This footpath is irregular, narrow, and very likely covered in ice. And yet – it’s better than the snowdrift (well, not to me, I look for snowdrifts like I look for piles of leaves in the fall, but I digress….).
So there are some interesting games of chicken that happen on Toronto’s sidewalk after a heavy snowfall. It can be unpleasant – some tool who makes you stand in a bank of snow as they barrel past – but 9 times out of 10, something much nicer happens. That something nicer is the overchivalry of cold Canadians. Two people, coming from opposite directions, leave the footpath free for the other person by moving to the side and trudging through the snowbank instead. So the footpath goes unused, and both of you wind up with aching quads and wet pant cuffs. I am *shocked* by how often this happens. Especially since I usually leave the footpath first. So they *see* that the path is open. And they leave it to walk in the snowbank *as well*. As a strange form of courtesy, they show their appreciation to you for offering up the path, by not taking it. It’s sort of like offering your seat to an elderly person, them thanking you, and then standing beside the now-empty seat. Overkill? Perhaps. But I think it’s cute, and it makes me laugh on my way home…