Cul de Sacs on Kojo

On the Kojo Naamdi show right now, they’re discussing a new law in Virginia. The Commonwealth will apparently no longer maintain cul-de-sacs that are built after July 1st.

I think this is brilliant. Callers are upset about this, because their kids play in the streets, and they feel that they’d lose the play space. Well, frankly, if a cul-de-sac is your own private play space and not actually a public thoroughfare, it should be treated like a driveway. Once people are responsible for plowing and maintaining their own playspaces, they might think twice about it being the best place to live. Why should the rest of the community subsidize plowing what is essentially private space? Never mind that when I was a kid I was taught not to play in the street…

I wanted Kojo to ask these callers if their kids could walk to school, a library, a park, or to a store. I moved from a grid street to a cul de sac when I was 10 years old. When I was living on a grid street, I was walking all around town when I was seven years old. After we moved, I couldn't walk or ride anywhere, partially because it was too far, and partially because the connecter roads were too dangerous.

Now, I live in a town where kids who live within sight of schools have to be bussed, because the connector roads in between are too dangerous to walk on, they don’t even have sidewalks.

I wrote an email to the show, but of course it never got read. Alas!

Coletta, Italy

Sorry to have two "living" posts in one day, but hey, things come in bunches!

Watching House Hunters International tonight, and it's a British couple looking in Italy. (Hey, reabhecc, there was an Edinburgh episode on the DVR that we just watched!) My favorite episodes are the European ones, so I was excited to see Italy again. They've done this area before, Liguria, near the coast. Within Liguria, is a nifty little restored 13th century village called Coletta.

Coletta, at first glance, looks amazing. There's a public square, the flats are all appointed out perfectly, completely restored, and the entire town is wired for broadband. The entire village has been restored and converted to these high end flats, all with incredible views.

But... it's odd. Turns out it's like one big 13th century apartment building on a hillside. The public square is fronted by just one restaurant and coffee shop, it appears, but no shops, nothing else. This village has been in two episodes so far, and there hasn't been a single other person visible in any of the shots.

I'm a little surprised this second couple ended up going for it. It's stunning and gorgeous, but sterile, in an odd way that you'd never expect a 13th century town to be.