I want pedestrians to wander into the road at every opportunity. It may be faintly annoying having to avoid them, but it helps dilute the impression that the solitary purpose of roads is to provide a mechanism for car drivers (and cyclists) to get from A to B as quickly as possible. Roads should be communal, not Madmaxian motorized terror conduits or velodromes for the be-lycra'ed few. They are for pedestrians, cyclists slow and fast, and for cars, vans, etc. And there is no reason for this not to be so, with a bit of tolerance and respect. Railings etc. just reinforce that impression that roads have that one purpose and that pedestrians must be penned onto a narrow sections of pavement. Heaven forbid they delay anyone.
