The reason Homewood streets are worth fighting for
Look closely at the red-outlined in the satellite image and you’ll see that it is densely covered with roads with a sparse covering of trees. What you won’t see is massive sets of woods. Homewood is truly a sub-urban neighborhood. Houses are bordered closely by roads on all four sides, which means: for Homewood residents to enjoy their neighborhoods, they must cross roads.
In comparison, Pelham’s Ballantrae is a end-of-node neighborhood. By “end-of-node”, I mean people do not go through the neighborhood to get to other neighborhoods — it is at the end. In Alabama, end-of-node neighborhoods are surrounded by forests and lacks the population density of Homewood.
End-of-node kids
I grew up in an end-of-node neighborhood. For enjoyment, as a kid, I could walk out my backdoor into a set of woods. Those woods were around 40 acres and included a significant hollow with a creek at the bottom. At first, my parents worried about us falling off hills or getting turned around a being out there all night. But, gradually, they knew that I knew those woods and understood how to get home.
Homewood kids
Kids in Homewood must cross streets to get to their recreation areas: parks, recreation centers, friends houses, or schools. Thus, parents aren’t worried about kids at the facilities, but are worried about kids traveling to the facilities. Unlike the woods, which are generally the same throughout childhood, risks of cars and traffic changes instantly with the behavior of the drivers. Some drivers are cautious, some aren’t. Some drivers pay attention, and some aren’t. The trust of the parents in their child don’t overcome the lack of trust in drivers.
It’s not just about the kids
Adults move to Homewood to enjoy going to parks, the recreation center pool, the shops of downtown, and all the other facilities accessible by foot. When asked to complete their profile on Nextdoor.com, most folks list “sidewalks” as their favorite thing about Homewood. Residents want to be a pedestrian on their neighborhood streets. But, they don’t. Their intentions are different than their actions. Adults are afraid to ride bicycles in their own neighborhoods. Adults are afraid to walk through their city because of risky drivers.
Call to Action
“It’s not safe” should be a call to action to fight for the safety of our streets rather than a reason to worry. Demand a safe pedestrian system.
