有個國家的人行道，允許貨車停20分鐘

One would think this would be obvious, that sidewalks are for people, not cars.

你可能會覺得人行道上不準停車是理所當然的，人行道是給行人走的，而不是停車用的。

In Japan, you are not allowed to buy a car unless you can prove that you have a place to park it off-street. In New York City, 140,000 cars have placards and park wherever they want. When I was in Scotland last year, I took particular note of how many people parked their cars on sidewalks, or this even more egregious half-in-sidewalk, half-in-bike lane. It was everywhere. As Living Streets Scotland notes, this is a serious problem: "Pavement parking is a pain for everyone, but it’s particularly an issue for those with mobility problems, parents with pushchairs and older people, who may fear leaving their homes as they feel unsafe."

在日本，除非你能證明自己在街道以外有停車的地方，否則不許你買車。在紐約市，14萬輛有牌照的汽車隨地停車。去年在蘇格蘭時，我特別注意了有多少人把汽車停在人行道上，或者更可惡的是，一半在人行道上，一半在自行車道上。這種情況到處都是。蘇格蘭生活街道組織指出，這是一個嚴重的問題：“把車停在人行道上給大家都造成了困擾，尤其是那些行動不便者、推嬰兒車的父母和老年人，這些人可能會因為擔心不安全而不敢出門。”

But at least they are trying to do something about it. The Scottish Parliament just passed a bill banning parking on the sidewalk, or as they call it, the footway.

但是至少蘇格蘭試圖采取行動來改變這一現(xiàn)狀。蘇格蘭議會剛剛通過了一項法案，禁止在人行道上停車(蘇格蘭人把人行道稱為footway)。

Stuart Hay, director of Living Streets Scotland, is happy: "People in wheelchairs, parents with pushchairs and older adults who are currently forced into oncoming traffic when faced with vehicles blocking their path will now be able to enjoy a new freedom. It also stands to offer huge savings to cash-strapped councils currently charged with fixing footways damaged by vehicles parking on them."

蘇格蘭生活街道組織的負責人斯圖亞特·海伊對此感到高興：“被人行道上停的車堵住路而不得不走到擁擠馬路上的坐輪椅的人、推嬰兒車的父母和老年人現(xiàn)在可以享受到一種新的自由了。這也可以為資金緊缺的地方議會省下一大筆錢，此前由于停車對人行道造成了損害，他們必須承擔修理費。”

There is an exemption that will be a problem; delivery vehicles are allowed to stop for up to 20 minutes, which is a very long time.

不過這項禁令有一個例外：允許送貨車在人行道上停留20分鐘，這是相當長的一段時間，而這也會成為一個問題。

Hay complains: "Our concern around the blanket 20-minute exemption for delivery vehicles remains. This clause undermines the goals of preventing obstruction and pavement damage, whilst the enforcement of a waiting time is incredibly impractical."

海伊抱怨說：“送貨車獲準在人行道上停留20分鐘，這仍然讓我們感到擔憂。這一條款破壞了預防人行道堵塞和受損的目標，規(guī)定的等待時間也非常不切實際。”

He's right; trucks and delivery vehicles are often the worst sidewalk and bike lane blockers. The police aren't going to stand around with a stopwatch for 20 minutes. Besides, the drivers all say, "I'll just be a minute," and meanwhile, cyclists and parents with strollers are forced out into traffic. There shouldn't be any exceptions.

他說的沒錯;卡車和送貨車通常是堵住人行道和自行車道的“重犯”。警察不會拿著計時器等上20分鐘。此外，所有的司機都會說：“我一會兒就走。”與此同時，騎車的人、推嬰兒車的父母被迫走到車來車往的馬路上。這一禁令就不該有任何例外。