It's the Little Things
#10 - Zebras
What's black and white and walked all over?
Zebras, of course!
No, not these black and white striped animals ...
But these black and white striped animals ...
... you're probably saying to yourself, "that's just a crosswalk. I even have crosswalks in my town!"
You may have crosswalks, but here, in Sydney at least, crosswalks are called zebras (pronounced "zeb-ra," which rhymes with "Debra." And starts with a "zed.").
Zebras are the king of the urban jungle.
Sydney is a big walking city, so adherence to crosswalk etiquette is important for maitaining order of the entire civilization (that's civilisation to you, Australians). When you want to cross a street corner here in Sydney, you'll meet a few choices:
-Traffic light with a non-striped crosswalk: Tourist, you know what to do. Press the button and, good heavens whatever you do, wait until you have a little green man signalling your safe passage.
-Non-marked intersection: You have no rights here. Look right, look left, look right again. And probably look left again because the car is king in this intersection, and they'll mow you right down if you cross their path. A lot of these have medians for pedestrians in the middle appropriately called "refuge islands." If you can make it to there without getting hit by a car, you throw up your hands, yell "SANCTUARY!" and then say a little prayer before you try to make it the rest of the way across like a character in Frogger.
-Zebras, on the other hand, are the pedestrians best friend. Cars, motorcycles, Vespas, and toddlers on tricycles must stop in your presence. And drivers here are serious about stopping at zebras. Walker, you are the boss. Proceed as slowly as you want because that car is not gonna budge until you are securely out of the way. Step your toe into the zebra as a car is coming? Car will come to a screeching halt, and probably even give you a little embarrassed wave to show how sorry he is that he didn't see you there, friend. Theoretically, this is the way it should work anywhere in the world there is a crosswalk, but I've never seen it so reverentially deferred to as here.
So, pedestrian ... this zebra is all yours. Grab your partner's hand and skip across like you're meandering through a daisy field! Do cartwheels across the way! Recreate the Beatles Abbey Road cover with three of your most stylish friends. Those wheeled vehicles can do nothing but wait for you and your zebra.
Love this post! All good to know!
ReplyDeleteMandy
When we first got here, I would be waiting for my little green man while Sydneysiders strode up to the intersection, looked at some variety of signals, and crossed on red. I always felt a bit like a boob; but was too afraid of screeching cabs.
ReplyDeleteNow that I know the light system, I find myself doing the same thing - coming up to a cross walk, judging the light, looking at the lanes and then sailing on through. I can feel the tourists eyes on my back as they think - I want to do that too (but not get hit by a taxi)... Funny, waht you can get used to....
Haha, Mimi - yes, I must admit that I do that with the lights, too! I always feel a little guilty - I think because one time when I lived in Sarasota, this cop actually stopped me for crossing on a red light (even though there were no cars for a mile!). He scolded me, so now I always get the feeling that I'm being watched. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe current debate between P-i-C and I is crossing in the middle of the street in our neighborhood. He loves to do it and I hate it - I think we're never that far from an intersection for proper crossing. He now does it just to make me crazy!
Lol. You know so much more than I do! I am gonna keep my eyes peeled for some "zebras."
ReplyDeleteSamantha - I'm sure you must cross zebras everyday. Tell those cars who is boss! ;-)
ReplyDelete