One pass. Tuesday. 08:20 start from the bus stop. Dry roads. Light breeze. Twenty parents already hovering by the railings. I go as if I’ve got a five-year-old on my left and a half-awake coffee hand on my right.
00:00 to 01:10. Pavement fine until the bakery corner where three scooters have colonised the dropped kerb. With a buggy you dip two steps into the carriageway, then bump back up. Two drivers creep past. The second gives me that look that says the street was not drawn for both of us.
01:10 to 02:05. First crossing is not really a crossing. It is the line everyone takes. Phone shows cars at 22 to 28 km/h. I wait nine seconds for a clean gap. A kid sprints the last twenty metres. Mum calls him back. I start counting sprinters. Today it ends up at seven.
02:05 to 03:00. Shade vanishes. Full sun. Bench outside the ironmonger. No backrest. Slats polished to a shine. Two older neighbours are doing the unofficial traffic control from that seat. They flag a loose flagstone that spits water when pressed. I test it. It spits.
03:00 to 03:40. Second crossing is painted but tired. A delivery van noses onto the stripes to reach the loading bay. Two-finger apology. Keeps rolling. Thirteen seconds before I get a full stop.
03:40 to 04:30. Final funnel. Ninety centimetres between a tree pit and a bin. Two buggies meet there and reverse like boats. A teacher opens the side door to bleed the crowd. Bell at 08:25. I tag the gate at 04:28.
Counts worth keeping in your pocket. Five scooters on the pavement in 200 metres. Seven kids who ran the last bit. Waits of 9 seconds at the first crossing and 13 at the second. Shade at 08:20 in June covers about 35 percent of the route. It is gone by 08:27. Sheltered standing near the gate is zero unless a shop awning happens to be open.
What actually breaks the trip is not drama. It is friction. Scooters blocking dropped kerbs. A zebra that half exists. A bin placed so it pinches the path to a single file. No cover for sun or rain. If it pours, everyone crowds the canopies and the queue bows into the carriageway. If it is hot, you feel it in minute two and the short tempers start.
Fixes that do not need a committee. Paint a real zebra at the first crossing and drop a small centre island so the gap arrives sooner. Mark the loading bay so vans do not sit on the stripes. Two short bollards keep scooters off the kerb. Slide the bin half a metre to open the buggy pinch point. Hang a simple canopy over the gate for mornings only. Shade and drip line. Done.
Side note for new families choosing streets. Walk your exact route at 08:20 and again at 13:55. Do not just check square metres. Look at kerbs, crossing waits, and where the shade actually falls. If you want a quick feel for nearby stock before you visit, Cottage Properties is a useful first scan.
One place at a time. One fix if I can see it. Today I can see five. Start with paint and two bollards. The rest follows.