18 May 2010

Stroller Rage

The fight over space with bulky strollers!!!! An amusing article:

Washington Post May 16, 2010

....Politicians and planners have heralded the return of young families to such areas as Washington, Boston and New York as a sign of resurgence. But as the ranks of parents and their tykes have swelled, so, too, has resentment over having to accommodate them in public places. Skirmishes have erupted on buses, in parks, on playing fields and in bars. Often, the conflicts pit parents against childless adults who, after decades of middle-class flight, have gotten used to the sense that they have the city to themselves.

..."Why do people with children always think that they should be catered to?" commented one poster. "Fold your damn giant stroller (which seem to be getting larger and larger these days) and shut up."

..."I remember really hating people with kids before I had kids," Hill resident Tim Krepp said. "I grossly underestimated at the time how difficult it is to get two kids around the city without cars."

...Many complaints about parents revolve around strollers, especially high-end models with large rubber tires ...

...the rules have provoked testy exchanges. ... some parents balk at having to leave their strollers outside. "People said, 'These things cost $500. I don't want it stolen,' " ... "I said, 'If you buy something that costs that much, why don't you get a bike lock?' "

...as strollers have gotten bigger, it has gotten harder to keep entrances and exits clear. ...

6 comments:

VisuaLingual said...

This amuses me to no end. I read a lot of NYC blogs, where rants against strollers and parents in general are a recurring theme.

Dave said...

The sky is falling

5chw4r7z said...

WOW, how about the rants on blogs here in Cincinnati after Taste and Oktoberfest?
What goes through peoples heads, "theres gonna be half a million people downtown, lets bust out the stroller limo"
I just want to drink a beer in peace without get rammed by one of those land yachts.
But thats me, carry on.

VisuaLingual said...

I'm with you, Schwartz...

Quimbob said...

Think there might be a market for stroller mounted holsters or scabbards?
Strollers on the bus are a real pain. The streetcar should make using a stroller a lot more comfortable for everyone around here.

Unknown said...

As the owner of more strollers than I care to admit, including a single-wide, a double-wide, and a double-long, but also as a former childless resident of NYC, I understand both sides of this. While I think the land yacht captains need to be conscious of their potential to annoy, the childless urban dwellers need to understand that if they want a diverse, vibrant downtown, they need families to feel welcome. If they prefer to wall off the city and make it exclusively for the childless, it wouldn't be any different than the suburban gated community.

Related street art from NYC:
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/05/19/new-york-sidewalks-now-divided-for-tourists-and-commuters/
Maybe sidewalk stroller lanes are the answer...