Can't stand slow walkers? Britain gets its first fast lane for pedestrians
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- Anna Pollitt
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Speedy walkers have been pining for a pedestrian fast lane for years - usually while muttering impatiently from behind a map-reading tourist - and now it has finally become reality.
Britain's first ever 'fast track' pavement is being trialled in Liverpool this week after research found that almost 29 million Brits would like a lane dedicated to people in a hurry on their local high street.
The study by Argos discovered that 47% of people get annoyed by tortoise-pace pedestrians.
Fast-footed shoppers are zipping from A to B in the Liverpool One shopping centre without getting stuck behind maddening dawdlers, amblers, phone-checkers, tourists, pram pushers or the elderly. Those pesky elderly.
Dr Alastair Moore, an independent retail expert, says: “I do have my own shopping bugbears, from middle of the street chattering to battling through the crowds.
“As the research demonstrates, a faster high street could vastly improve the overall shopping experience for British shoppers across the UK.”
Andy Brown, central operations director at Argos, adds: "Shoppers have also told us that speed is critical when simply getting around the high street or town centre, so we want to test consumer reaction to a dedicated pavement fast lane.”