May 23, 2008

Indiscipline on the road
By: Otmaro Rodríguez

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann.
 

Street: Public way or thoroughfare in a city or town intended for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Sidewalk: Part of a public way intended for pedestrian traffic. Both definitions are clearly stated in our Traffic Regulations. But where one ends and the other begins is usually hard to establish.

Cars parked on the sidewalks, people casually walking down the middle of the street, children using their tricycles like they would a car –as if they were paying for a license plate– while others stop their bikes by the yellow line to strike a conversation with a friend; sidewalks seized by rubble: a breeding ground for accidents. (L.P.)

Here on the web you don't get a sense of how
this looked in the print edition. Below you can:

Facsimile of original full-page feature article:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/granma-05-23-2008-indisciplina.pdf

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/05/23/nacional/artic05.html
Indisciplina en la vía

Calle: Vía destinada al tránsito de vehículos y peatones dentro de zonas urbanizadas o núcleos urbanos. Acera: Parte de la vía destinada a la circulación de peatones. Una y otra aparecen claramente definidas en el Código de Vialidad y Tránsito. Pero en la práctica pierden los límites.

Vehículos parqueados en las aceras, personas que transitan tranquilamente por el medio de la calle, niños que ponen sus velocípedos al nivel de un automóvil —como si pagaran chapa—, "bicicleteros" en plena charla junto a la línea amarilla, escombros que se apoderan del pavimento. Caldo de cultivo para los accidentes. (L.P.)