“I’m 14, and I’ve lived my whole life in the neighborhood near Ketring Park. My family has always gone on walks in the neighborhood, but when I turned 11 my parents got me a phone and started letting me walk to Euclid Middle School on my own. It was really exciting — I met up with a group of my friends, and it just felt really freeing. I love walking to school, because I see so much more than in a car. I see a lot of wildlife, and sometimes even deer. My route to school includes some of the new crosswalks the city installed. Cars go a lot slower on Elati Street now. It’s what a lot of the neighbors wanted.
I just got back from a trip to New York City, which everybody thinks of as a big walking city, but it felt way less safe. A lot fewer cars follow the traffic laws. I nearly got hit by a van.
I can’t wait to get my driver’s license when I turn 16, because my friends and I will be able to go anywhere. But I think my experience walking will make me a much more careful driver. I’ll probably still walk a fair amount — it’s good exercise, and you don’t have to focus as much as when you’re driving. It gives me a lot of time to bond with my friends, and it keeps us from sitting inside playing with our phones.”