作者簡介: 　　Findlay A. Nicol,來自蘇格蘭,過去十余年,一直在山東經(jīng)濟學院教授英語并長期擔任本刊英語顧問。 　　 　　There has been a lot in the news recently about the moves that China is making to change into an urbanized society with half the population living in urban areas. When I read about this I think of one question and wonder where they are going to put all the people. I don’t mean where are they going to live ? I imagine that problem can be solved by the time they arrive ? but rather where are they going to walk? Being a pedestrian in the city is hard enough as it is without doubling the population. These new guys coming in from the countryside won’t be car owners (yet) and they will be so unskilled in the perils of urban life that they will fondly imagine that it is still possible to walk around this fine city. Well, I’m afraid that unless something remarkable happens in the next few years that will be not much more than a dream.
　　At one time there must have been some planning provision made in the cities for those who naively try to navigate the streets on foot. There are traces of such a system in the provision of crossings with little green and red men which are designed to tell you when it is safe to cross the street. Unfortunately the system has not been updated to take account of the volume of traffic in the streets today. There is still a ludicrous right turn on red rule which allows a stream of traffic to come pouring across the line of foot-passengers who foolishly think that they have some right of way. I understand from my Chinese friends that technically the rule does not actually allow the driver to mow down anybody who gets in his way but most motorists seem to be unaware of this. I sometimes feel that crossing the road at lights just gives the driver a target to aim at. I really don’t see how twice the number of pedestrians are ever going to get across at any of the busy junctions.
　　It will be even worse trying to negotiate the crowded pavements. It was a marvelous idea to incorporate a blind people’s strips in the sidewalks in cities. That, by the way, is what the yellow bit in the middle is intended for. The only trouble is it would be pretty well impossible for any blind person to walk along it. Have you ever tried it to see? I have. You will find that in places it is all uneven and broken ? usually because it has been lifted to get to the drains underneath and not properly replaced ? while you are also likely to crash into a tree planted handily in the middle, or an occasional carelessly parked car. Of course at night you would need some special sixth sense not to step on a street-vendor of some kind or even a whole portable barbecue restaurant. In the UK there is a wonderful catch-all law that the police randomly enforce against “obstructing the pavement”. I can’t imagine a situation in a Chinese city when the pavement is not obstructed. Double the number and what will happen.
　　However, it is worse than that really. Now so many customers come to the restaurants and shops in their spanking new private cars that all the shopkeepers and restaurant owners have taken over two thirds or more of OUR pavement for parking. It’s not just that cars are parked there but there is always one less than skillful driver trying to reverse in or out just when you want to go past. Then again every former pedestrian who now has a scooter or even a motorbike thinks that they can still ride on the sidewalk when the street gets blocked by the inevitable traffic jam and that all the people who are so poor as to be walking should step aside for their convenience. Especially dangerous are the silent killers ? the electric bicycles that creep up stealthily behind you with never a horn or a bell to be heard.
　　Once long ago ? well a few years ago anyway ? some cities experimented with the incredibly intelligent concept of a pedestrian shopping zone. It was at the time that the pedestrian avenues had just been rebuilt and there were all these lovely new stores to explore. For a few days (weeks maybe?) there were to be no cars on the streets. It was to be cities’ answer to Nanjing Nan Lu in Shanghai a genuine traffic free zone. It never had a chance. Go there now and you will find it full of cars ? on both pavements. True there are marked parking spaces and usually the drivers stick to them but they have to get into them by forcing their way through the shoppers on foot. The other day my heart filled with a wild Schadenfreude when I saw a policeman booking some arrogant burke who had decided to park right in the middle of the narrow passage left us outside the parking zone. I nearly went to shake his hand I was so happy!
　　There is no doubt that the cities desperately need traffic free zones which will allow pedestrians to breathe. The experience of every city in the world that has introduced these is that the number of shoppers increases exponentially and that car owners adapt to the new situation quickly. New profits are garnered by the city authorities by providing proper car-parking where drivers pay an economic fee for the privilege of getting close to the shops or decide to reduce their carbon footprint by taking a bus instead. These zones should not only be for shopping but could have small gardens with seating in them so that a trip to the downtown area becomes a pleasure rather than a dance with death. As for the crossings, well I strongly recommend the installation of new traffic lights with right filters as well as left, that allow drivers and pedestrians both to know how long they have to wait (as those in most Chinese cities do) and best of all have a complete traffic stop phase that allows pedestrians to cross two streets at once.
　　
　　最近,很多新聞都在報道,說中國正在向城鎮(zhèn)人口占總人口數(shù)過半的城市化社會過渡。聽到這個消息,我想到了一個問題:他們打算怎么安置這些涌進城市的人?我的意思不是說這些人將要住到哪里――我只是在想,也許這些人到了城里,住房問題自然會馬上解決――可是今后他們到哪兒去散步?在城市,就算人口不增加一半,做一個步行者都是比較困難的事情。這些從鄉(xiāng)下來到城市的人們,應該沒有私家車(至少現(xiàn)在沒有)。他們應該也不擅長應對城市中的各種危險,還天真地以為在這個美麗的城市到處散散步仍然是可行的。我擔心在未來的幾年里,除非有不尋常的事情發(fā)生,不然這種美好的愿望就只是一個夢而已。
　　在過去,城市確實為那些想要步行穿越馬路的人們制定過規(guī)矩。在一些十字路口就可以看到這樣一種裝置,上面有一紅一綠兩個小人交替亮起,提醒行人什么時候穿越馬路是安全的。不過,遺憾的是,這些裝置并沒有根據(jù)現(xiàn)在馬路上交通流量的增加而隨之進行改進。而且,現(xiàn)在仍然存在一個荒唐的行為,就是允許一連串的車輛在紅燈時右拐并駛向正在步行過馬路的人群。這些行人還傻乎乎地認為他們有一定的通行權呢。我從我的中國朋友們那里了解到,從法律意義上來講,那些規(guī)章制度并沒有真的允許司機可以任意地沖向擋他們路的行人。不過我想,大部分的司機還沒認識到這一點。有時候,我甚至覺得我在綠燈亮起穿越馬路時,變成了一個司機們瞄準的靶子。我實在無法想象當穿越交通繁忙的路口的行人數(shù)量增加一倍時是什么情景。
　　如果你想嘗試通過擁擠的人行道,那情況更糟。在城市的人行道上加上盲人行進區(qū)域是一個非常不可思議的想法。順便說一句,盲人行進區(qū)域就是人行道中間那條黃色的路磚鋪成的路。這條路惟一的毛病就是,對于任何一個盲人來說,在這上面行走幾乎是不可能的。你們試過在上面走的感覺嗎?我還真試過。你會發(fā)現(xiàn)某些地方根本就是凹凸不平甚至是被損壞的――通常是因為修下水道時被挖開,然后沒有被恢復原位。有時候你還可能撞上路中間的一棵樹,或者一輛隨隨便便停在路中間的汽車。當然,到了晚上,估計你得發(fā)揮特殊的第六感,才能避免走到廣告牌之類的東西上,甚至有時還會撞上臨時搭起的燒烤攤。在英國,有一項非常好而且很全面的法律政策,就是警察會不定時地檢查并處理妨礙人行道通行的行為。在濟南,我沒法想象出人行道不被妨礙的情景,更想象不到人口增倍后會發(fā)生什么事情。
　　然而,還有比這更糟的。如今,很多人都會開著他們嶄新的私家車去餐廳吃飯或者逛商店。所有的店主都會在屬于“我們”的人行道上劃出三分之二或者更多的地盤用來停車。還不單單是車停在那里的問題,有時候還會有技術不太熟練的司機在行人想經(jīng)過的時候倒車進去或出來。還有,原來是行人,現(xiàn)在擁有一輛小踏板或者一輛摩托車的人,也會在馬路上塞車的時候移動到人行道上來行駛。這樣的話,在人行道上行走的可憐的人們就要退到一邊為他們讓路。尤其危險的是那些無聲殺手們――那些不知不覺行駛到你的身后,并且聽不到一聲喇叭響的電動車。
　　很久之前,反正就是幾年前,有些城市曾經(jīng)嘗試過一個非常明智的想法,就是建成步行商業(yè)街。那時候商業(yè)街剛剛擴建完,所有新建的商店都等著人們的光顧。在幾天的時間里(或許是幾個星期?),路上沒有任何的車輛行駛。那時候的商業(yè)街將可以與上海的南京路媲美,那可是名副其實的步行街。但是它們現(xiàn)在應該沒這個機會了�，F(xiàn)在去那里,你會看到兩旁的人行道上擠滿了車。沒錯,那里是有劃好的停車區(qū)域,司機們也會按規(guī)矩停車,可是他們要先穿過正在步行中的買東西的人們,再停進停車位。前幾天,一股強烈的幸災樂禍的感覺充斥著我的內心。我在街上看到一個警察正在給那些強行停在停車區(qū)外本來是留給行人的很窄通道的中間的汽車貼罰單。我當時真想過去跟他握握手,我實在太開心了!
　　毫無疑問的是,城市急需增加一些步行的區(qū)域,讓行人們可以好好地喘口氣。世界上任何一個采用這種方法的城市都會有這樣的經(jīng)歷:購物的人的數(shù)量成指數(shù)增加,車主們也會很快適應這種新的環(huán)境。城市當局應該提供一部分正規(guī)的停車區(qū)域,車主們若想得到可以離商場更近一點的特權,就要繳納相應的費用。這樣的話,政府就會有一部分新的收入來源,沒準還能讓那些車主們改變主意,決定減少他們的碳足跡,改乘公交車出行。這些步行區(qū)域應該不只針對購物,還應該有一些提供座位的小公園。這樣的話,在市區(qū)游覽就成為一種樂趣,而不是與死神共舞了。至于十字路口,我建議城市安裝新的交通燈裝置,增加右轉和左轉分流指示燈。這樣可以讓車主和行人都知道他們需要等待多長時間(就像大部分中國城市的信號燈裝置一樣)。信號燈要留充足的時間給行人,最好設置讓行人可以一次穿越兩條街的時間。

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