Hey Niskayuna, You’re Going The Wrong Way!

Hey Niskayuna and all other towns in the area!! What happened to the safety measures using arrows in grocery stores? More specifically what happened to people following the guidelines of one way traffic in Hannaford, Walmart, Market 32 and more around the Capital Region?

Listen, I'm not "Mr. By the Book" and when the one way aisle policy started last April I was suspect. How is going one way supposed to save our lives? At the same time, who am I to question it? There must be some panel of traffic flow and air circulation experts somewhere that arrived at this decision right?

Get our free mobile app

Sure, I have gone the wrong way from time to time but generally speaking I go with the flow. What is frustrating is that I would estimate approximately 50% of the customers I am shopping with in Niskayuna seem to have forgotten that the arrows were placed there to help us.

This is proper cart technique

Generally speaking I keep my cool when I see a violation but I do recall one woman telling my girlfriend that it was alright for her to walk down the aisle the wrong way because she left her cart at the end of the aisle. Clearly she had done some research and found it has been the carts spreading the virus all this time.

Let's put the health reasons aside for a moment. What I like best about the directional shopping is that, if used properly, it eliminates a lot of the congestion in the aisles. It makes me nuts when I have an open aisle and I get the cart up to a solid 5mph and someone rounds the corner and parks their cart in the middle while trying to decide, "do I want the Oreos with double stuff or just regular"?

I have noticed that many stores have removed the arrows altogether. Have we given up? Was there no benefit at all? I will keep following the arrows and I might even mutter something under my breath if you breeze by me going the WRONG WAY and yet somehow we will manage.