[jon44]

I'm thinking of sidewalk where there's big gaps between bricks or cobblestones and it's easy to have the toe of a shoe go into a crack (causing a deep gash in the leather). I can't figure out a way to walk safely in these situations, especially in public where precautions can make you look like a disturbed paranoid schizophrenic.

 

[Mathematicus]

Your post made me laugh (but in a good way!).

I am affected by a retina disease thanks to which my vision field is extremely restricted (sort of tunnel vision). My sight acuity is also quite poor.

I seem to have developed a sort of "cautious walking style" for which I manage to minimise the number of times I stumble on some crack in the pavement. Looking down to the floor does not help much as these would be too small for me to notice (while this helps avoiding larger obstacles, including free-ranging kids).

I have never chipped my dress shoes because of pavement irregularities and, most importantly, I have never fallen.

The only pitfalls I still cannot avoid are slightly raised manholes. I keep a mental map of all of these bloody bastards in my usual route so that, even if I don't see them, I know which side I should lean and when.

Sorry about the off topic!

 

[fishertw]

I'm thinking of sidewalk where there's big gaps between bricks or cobblestones and it's easy to have the toe of a shoe go into a crack (causing a deep gash in the leather). I can't figure out a way to walk safely in these situations, especially in public where precautions can make you look like a disturbed paranoid schizophrenic.

My problem is going up steps when I inadvertently do not raise my foot to the level of the next step. I have several scratches on good shoes to prove the point. I guess just paying attention is about the best we can do unless we learn to levitate.

 

[Faust]

You might consider toe caps/plates (of course there are pros/cons ). They may offer a little more protection for the bottom of your shoe depending on the angle your shoe falls into the crack. I don't think there's any fool proof method or protection for this problem.

Maybe complain to your city council about the current state of the sidewalks

 

[Charles Dana]

I guess just paying attention is about the best we can do

This. It's always worked for me.

 

[Fading Fast]

My problem is going up steps when I inadvertently do not raise my foot to the level of the next step. I have several scratches on good shoes to prove the point. I guess just paying attention is about the best we can do unless we learn to levitate.

It's 1986, I'm out of college and in my new job for one year (with a tiny salary), I buy my first pair of well-made shoes, Florsheim Imperials, for $120 (till the day he died, I never told my father that I paid that much for a pair of shoes as I wanted to live) and on my first day wearing them to work, walking up a very crowded set of cement subway steps (which, to be fair, were uneven, high and crumbling in places), I put a nasty gash on the outside of the toe box. If you can be crestfallen over a pair of shoes, I was that day.

After a trip to a well-respected shoe repair guy, they looked somewhat better and, over time with many shinings, they looked okay, but despite wearing them for twenty-eight years and them proving to be incredibly well made and durable, that gash was always noticeable. That said, now, I only look back fondly on those shoes.

When I threw them away - there was no giving these to a charity as they were literally disintegrating as I used them for my "rain" shoes for their last ten years of their life - I almost felt like I should say a few words as I dropped them in the trash.

 

[mreams99]

Have you tried wearing larger shoes that better span the gaps?
I wear size 13 - 14, and usually avoid this problem.

 

[winghus]

My nemeses are shopping carts and steps where the tread sticks out past the riser.

 

[eagle2250]

My nemeses are shopping carts and steps where the tread sticks out past the riser.

Alas, my nemeses seem to be stepping high enough to clear curbs and scaring the outside edge of my soles, and in so doing, perhaps my soul in a somewhat smaller way! LOL.