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That's great as far as HOA's fining people for having them. But here in Raleigh if people want something done about it all they have to do is complain and the problem can go away since it is against the law.
When I was a kid in the 80's my friends and I never played in the street other than riding our bikes in it. Streets are for vehicle/bicycle/pedestrian use only, not for playing games. I played basketball almost everyday as a kid and I'd ride my bike to the park to play. If it was cold outside my parents or friend's parents would take us to a school/gym/ymca to play.
Playing in the street is not family-friendly. Sure, kids do it everywhere and parents allow them to do it all over but that doesn't make it correct. Playing in the street is showing disregard for you own personal safety and putting yourself at risk. Unless otherwise posted the speed limit is 35 mph. If your kid gets hit while playing in the street the driver of the vehicle won't be at fault. Your child will be at fault and you will be paying the owner of the vehicle to get his car fixed in addition to other charges.
A kid playing in the street is no different from a dog running around off leash or people throwing their cigarette butts out into the street. For many people the above mentioned activities are common practice however you have to think about your fellow citizens and stop selfishly thinking only about your own happiness/convenience.
A child using the street is a pedestrian, not a dog or a cigarette butt.
Not every child has access to a park or a ymca. I'm not saying it's the best thing to do, only that one needs to have grace towards the children around us.
The problem is that you have smaller lots here. Smaller lots mean less driveway and yard area to play and that sends kids into the cul-de-sacs to play. It is something that is done as there is not always time to pack kids up into a car and shuttle them off to a park or a playground. When I have driven into a cul-de-sac, I slow down only because you have to do so.
Streets are for cars, not kids. Are you really saying that you think children should play in the street?
Yes I am saying that I believe it is ok for children to play in the street. It depends if the street has heavy traffic though. I live on a street that runs parallel to a busy thoroughfare. If I lived on that street, I would not allow my child to play in the street for safety reasons. But since I live on "quiet" street that maybe 10 cars a day drive down, I make a judgement as a parent that I think my child is relatively safe playing in the street with some of the neighborhood children.
Isn't that what parents do Desdemona? They assess situations and make intelligent, informed decisions that they hope are the best decisions they can make for their children. Parenting isn't so easy as citing a rule book for every situation. Life isn't that way either. I know I didn't get a parenting handbook at the hospital when my son was born. How about you?
Obivously you had some negative experience where neighborhood kids didn't move out of your way. Well, I'm sorry to point this out, but don't pedestrians have the right of way? And even if you don't want to focus on legal definitions, we are talking about children right? Don't they make mistakes sometimes? Did you try talking to them? Did you yell at them? Did you simply blow your horn and expect them to move? What kind of relationship do you normally have with the "neighborhood kids"? Do they respect you? Like you?
Maybe you should find out why the kids didn't move out of your way?
It's against city ordinance for people to put those portable basketball goals up in the street even on a cul-de-sac. You can't put anything on the street that has the potential to impede cars or obtructs/blocks any part of the road. I don't enforce that often but when citizens complain enough about a specific problem area I end up verbally warning the owner's of the goal. If they still don't take it down I cite the owner's of the goal. In one case they still didn't get the message and I had the city sanitation department pick it up and take it away.
I agree with Desdemona123. Anybody playing in the street gets no sympathy from me. Streets are for cars or other forms of transportation and if you want to play build a backyard court or go to a local playground/gym.
Are you a police officer? By the way, there is also a town ordinance where I live that prohibits the basketball goals in the street. But I have spoken with several of our town police officers. And they are good people. They understand that the goals are for children to use. And they have told me, "We try to overlook the hoops in the street and we try not to enforce that law since it benefits kids."
Life's issues are not so simple as to be black and white. Even laws that exist on the books that are broken and result in citations(indictments etc.) don't mean an automatic conviction do they? That is why we have courtrooms, juries, and judges. So please don't simply quote laws and think that is the "period, end of story". As adults we all know that life doesn't work that way. It is a little more complex than that.
A child using the street is a pedestrian, not a dog or a cigarette butt.
Not every child has access to a park or a ymca. I'm not saying it's the best thing to do, only that one needs to have grace towards the children around us.
AMEN!! By the way, I would love to have you as a neighbor!!
I am speaking for my neighborhood in what I see...but I am speaking in general that children should not play in the streets. Streets are for cars, not kids. Are you really saying that you think children should play in the street?
Also, a cul de sac involves many homes that need access to it...isn't it just a tad presumptious to block it off for your personal use?
A child using the street is a pedestrian, not a dog or a cigarette butt.
Not every child has access to a park or a ymca. I'm not saying it's the best thing to do, only that one needs to have grace towards the children around us.
No, Children In the Street are a public Nuisance and an accident waiting to happen
Unless otherwise posted the speed limit is 35 mph. If your kid gets hit while playing in the street the driver of the vehicle won't be at fault. Your child will be at fault and you will be paying the owner of the vehicle to get his car fixed in addition to other charges.
A kid playing in the street is no different from a dog running around off leash or people throwing their cigarette butts out into the street. For many people the above mentioned activities are common practice however you have to think about your fellow citizens and stop selfishly thinking only about your own happiness/convenience.
Hmmm. I guess I could make the same argument about you only thinking of your own selfishness??
By the way, in my opinion, bad move comparing children to dogs and cigarette butts!!
I would have to disagree with you about a car hitting a child in the street being a "cut and dried" case where the child would automatically be at fault!
Somehow I think most parents whose child was struck by a car(even if the child was at fault) would secure an attorney who would do a a very good job in a courtroom convincing a jury that the driver was at fault.
I wasn't going to tell you this, but, I feel like listening to a John Phillip Sousa march and saluting after reading your posts!
I have yet to drive through a neighborhood that is solely inhabited by single childless people who abhor families.
Hah...neither have I, but let me know if you ever do. j/k!
Seriously though, you're right...every neighborhood in the Triangle as far as I know is "family-friendly" to some degree or another. An apartment complex that caters to college students is probably the only exception I can think of. But then, anyone old enough to have a family probably wouldn't wanna live there anyways!
I suppose some could say some of the downtown condo buildings in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill that are increasingly popular these days, aren't exactly aimed to a family lifestyle...but I would never say that they're family "unfriendly". I've actually met a family with 2 kids that lived in one and they all seemed very happy even there. So there you go.
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By the way, I would love to have you as a neighbor!!
j/k!
