Nah’msayin?
Summer in Montreal means festivals, picnics, parties, street sales, and… an influx of tourists. Our city is fabulous in the summertime, and others should totally come take part in the fun. That said, as a local there is the occasional downside to sharing your city with copious amounts of foreign visitors.
Coming from all corners of the globe, tourists often are obliged to use public trans- portation to get from touristic site A to touristic site B in order to avoid the hefty cost of renting a car. The thing is, most of them are unfamiliar with some of the basic courtesies involved in riding our system.
Case in point: metro escalators. If you are from around here, you are more than familiar with the etiquette that accompanies these moving staircases. Standing, chatting, or not moving means you are on the right, and hauling ass, walking, or moving in the direction of traffic flow means you are on the left. Simple system, works brilliantly. That is, until you encounter a human roadblock.
Whether you choose to walk up the escalators because you have to pee, are late for work, or simply want to burn off the granola bar you just consumed, it is incredibly frustrating to find oneself barricaded sedentarily behind a couple who are casually chatting about how delicious the “poo-teen” they just tried was.
People, please come visit, just remember that one of the most important part of traveling is observing your surroundings and understanding the customs of a new place. If you want to use the escalator ride as a time to ogle at the multi-coloured floor at Lionel-Groulx, go for it—just keep to the right. Or else.
This article originally appeared in Volume 32, Issue 01, published August 30, 2011.
