Eden Prairie News - Cul-de-sac smackdown - Comments

Cul-de-sacs might make small

mittens — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:16:55 -0500

Cul-de-sacs might make small areas of a neighborhood feel more like a community but ultimately isolate residents from even nearby neighbors. In a community full of cul-de-sacs they seem to serve as ways to divide areas rather than towns with actual through-streets which serve to unite neighborhoods.

Here is an LA Times article

Leah Shaffer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:11:02 -0500

Here is an LA Times article on the subject. The article brings up the issue of how, for little kids, cul-de-sacs are safe but, as they get older, cul-de-sac life can be isolating.

I know someone who grew up on a cul-de-sac and faced this same issue. He couldn’t just walk or bike over to friends’ homes because, beyond his little dead-end street, it wasn’t a very walkable suburb.

I grew up in small town, so I never even ran across many cul-de-sacs unless I ventured into the newer parts of town. However, with small town life, there was never anything to do but just walk around. I suppose I would have flipped out for joy at the sight of a mall the size of EP Center in my town.

I can only speak to our

markaweber — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:37:45 -0500

I can only speak to our miniature cul-de-sac, bordered by just four homes, where we have lived for the past 13 years. Kids can make this tiny turn-around their playground with reasonable assurance of safety. They ride their bikes on it; play ball on it; dress it up with their chalk drawings.

It's a plus.

The flip side of our Land of Cul-de-Sacs, obviously, is that more traffic is funneled onto the relatively few "through" streets. If you live along one of those, look out; you are likely to find a lot of traffic.

(Mark A. Weber is publisher of the Eden Prairie News. He can be reached at mweber@swpub.com.)

Cul-de-sac smackdown

Leah Shaffer — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:40:07 -0500

Cul-de-sacs: love them or hate them?