Reply to The death of Allie Hart and the need for safer streets

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Kids do dart out into the street though. When I walk with my young kids, I hold their hand. I don't let them bike or scooter because of this very scenario.

I feel very bad for her parents but I believe it was a tragic accident and that the driver didn't do anything wrong. You need to hold your young child's hand at all times on busy roads and intersections.[/quote]

People don't "dart".

Also, as you say, kids are kids. They predictably behave in unpredictable ways.[b] Why should we have to hold our young children's hands at all times, lest they be killed? [/b]Why shouldn't it be safe for kids to bike or scooter in their own neighborhoods? Why is it acceptable for streets to be unsafe - deadly - for children? [/quote]

When you’re near a busy street? Is this a serious question? Wow.

This is the father’s fault. Hold her damn hand.[/quote]

You don't mean "busy street", you mean "street with lots of cars where drivers drive at dangerous speeds". Why should there be any of those, in a city?[/quote]

NO, a busy street is a street with a lot of lanes, maybe turning lanes. Or maybe a street with a lot of cars on it, perhaps also with tight residential parking on one or both sides that makes it hard for drivers to see.  There are plenty of streets on Capitol Hill where people are driving slowly but there are a ton of cars and a lot of pedestrians, bikes, strollers and scooters. I am always amazed at how many clueless and entitled drivers AND pedestrians are just bopping along without situational awareness. [/quote]

Yes, it's a completely unrealistic expectation for people to be non-stop high alert whenever they go anywhere, whether they're driving, walking, scooting, or bicycling. It's not going to happen. The traffic engineers like to tell us that their road designs are safe if everyone behaves perfectly at all times, but we know people aren't going to do that. So maybe the traffic engineers should start having road designs that are safe even when people don't behave perfectly. Or we can just keep accepting crashes, injuries, and deaths on the road.[/quote]

I dont think anyone here is saying we shouldn't try to implement more safety features. I used to live near Lincoln park and it is much much safer for pedestrians now. I think those bump outs should be standard around all schools, playgrounds, parks, etc at the very least. My kids went to Mary McLeod Bethune 12 years ago and the traffic, speeding and parking all over the place was a nightmare then, too.

People are pushing back on the idea that kids should expect to run out between cars without risk. [/quote]

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