A Wren Says

I was told that we had to see it. It was a now bonified landmark. The windiest road in the world: Lombard Street. That was a possible exaggeration, but the fact remained that it was a must-see I needed to add to my San Francisco trip. And therein lay the problem.

When we got there, the place was packed. A constant line of cars winding their way down and a constant stream of tourists heading up and down the steps.  And let’s not forget all those pausing to take their selfies with the street as the backdrop. Or rather, it would be more appropriate to say rushing to take a selfie because they had to contend with everyone else vying for a prime spot and the danger of the cars who needed to come their way into the street.

I stood with them, fighting to get a picture myself, but I became self-aware. What are we doing?

What is it like to live in a area like that? To have a constant stream of tourists walking past your door? Or to have to factor in to your commute time dodging the tourists unaware that they are blocking your path to work? I can imagine that on the more benign end of the spectrum the answer is annoying. But in the extreme it becomes downright dangerous.

Steps are being removed in Hawaii because of the many people who insist on traveling that way despite the safety hazard. Restrictions are coming in Venice to try and maintain a semblance of society with the rise of tourists. And in way too many places, people are complaining about poorly behaved tourists, taking their selfies, destroying historic landmarks, and generally becoming a nuisance. We tourists are becoming a problem.

There seems to be a rising tension between tourists and locals in the areas they visit. The tension is really between the need for outsiders to add to the economy and a desire to keep them from mucking things up. As so many of us choose to travel more and see the world, we need to find ways to do so that are respectful. Is there a way that we can enjoy seeing landmarks without causing trouble?