As a shared thoroughfare, the city sidewalk works best when its users maintain an acute awareness of their surroundings. This should involve recognition of fellow flaneurs, nearby vehicles, and the general pace of pedestrian traffic. There is an iffy yielding system. While it seems like organized chaos, there are rules

Remember that Improv Everywhere "sidewalk tourist lane" prank? London is taking it to heart, with an actual proposal to divide its busy Oxford Street sidewalks into slow and fast lanes. Cute. But their plan has two prominent flaws.