Comments on: Car-Free, Bogota Style: Dia Sin Carro

By: Galls

Galls — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

He took Lexington, that is fine, now if she let him out of the boroughs…

By: Galls

Galls — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I meant out of Manhattan, south of 96th, not boroughs.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Can you expand on that comment for those of us not familiar with NY?

By: MarkR

MarkR — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’d think 9 is a good age to start teaching that type of self reliance. I was about 8 or 9 when I was first allowed to ride my bike by myself to the community swimming pool about 2 miles from my house. I had to cross and ride on the shoulder of a 5 lane highway for about a qtr mile. It was a great day for independence. Mom, followed me in the car the first day, to make sure I acted in a safe manner and knew the way. But from that day on I was on my own. I have 4 & 5 y.o. boys and over the past month when we go on bike rides, they lead. I let them do this because I want to make sure they know how to get back home one day when we decide to let them go on their own. I also want to make sure they stop at stop signs and street crossing without me telling them too.
And I’d agree I’m sure its safer during the day on a crowded subway car for a 9 y.o. than in a small town where its easy for a child to be independent and unseen because it’s not as densely populated.

Another thing I hate that you mentioned is the media and the fear mongering they cause with the “if it bleeds it leads” mentality. The first 15 min. of a news cast is constant bombardments of the “evils” of this world And this is exactly why we don’t watch local news anymore and rarely watch CNN, MSNBC, or Fox for other than political news.

But at the same time I’ve had the cops come to the door asking If we’ve seen so and so predator in the neighborhood, and its not like I live in the “hood” or anything like that. So I do understand the concerns.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bob,

Galls is referring to the Lexington (6) subway line (which is no doubt one of the safest). The subway trains run through all five of the boroughs of NYC, inc. Manhattan (of course, the hub). Outside of Manhattan, in other boroughs (esp. parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn,) some subway lines, in certain areas, can get dicey. Riding the subway in Manhattan, however, is usually pretty safe, especially during the day, and especially on the Lex.