Study says sidewalks should have lanes for fast walkers

LIVERPOOL, England, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A survey in Liverpool found 45 percent of people favor adding fast lanes to sidewalks to get around dawdlers or people staring at their smartphones.

The Sun says a lane for fast walkers has already been opened along one of Liverpool's main thoroughfares.

The survey was carried out by UK digital retailer Argos. It found that 69 percent of people aged 16 to 24 support of fast walking lanes. However, only 37 percent of the population over the age of 55 supported the idea.

Additionally, 31 percent of shoppers didn't like people who block the sidewalk and 18 percent of them also didn't enjoy people who stop to check their smartphones.

The survey said supporters of the express lanes generally wanted to save time.

Sky News says the Chinese city of Chongqing introduced a similar system last year, making one lane an exclusively cellphone-free zone. However, the city's plan still failed as walkers using their phones were too distracted to even notice the split lanes.