Hold on folks - can we be a bit careful about criticising those walking dogs.
Why when there's such good reason I hear you ask? Well because this gets perilously close to all those 'bloody cyclists' conversations we hate so much.
I know why people are angry and irritated. Trust me I get incredibly irritated at inconsiderate dog owners and I'm not averse to having a go at someone who has behaved particularly selfishly or stupidly (a simple 'sorry it bit you' would be better than pretending it didn't happen) BUT the fact that I have to interact with people walking dogs is because we've both been pushed off the roads and into an old railway cutting together.
And to a great extent it would be quite reasonable for those wanting to walk dogs to be angry at the space that's been lost for this over the last 10 years.
I heard a more elderly woman talking the other day about how her friends had been forced off the canal towpath - they don't walk there any more.
Of course that's not the fault of 'cyclists' nor is it an overreaction from a more frail elderly person who has had one or two inconsiderate people blast past at a silly rate. But I had no problem believing her...
Cyclists, dog walkers, pedestrians... all victims of a system where motorised traffic and the storage of empty vehicles is prioritised over life itself.
Divide and rule... works every time. Get those you've disadvantaged to argue with each other over the remaining space/power. This distracts them from noticing the real problem. And you've won the battle.
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