Dear Editor:
Flipping through the North Shore News, I was dismayed to read about the tragic loss of a 16-year-old girl, struck by a driver.
Just two pages later, I saw another article: two seniors hit near the Spirit Trail in West Vancouver, left in serious condition. Sigh.
While I hear many lament that kids spend too much time indoors on their phones, the truth is right in front of us: cars make our communities a dangerous place.
Taking my 5-year-old for a bike ride is easily the scariest thing I do. Every intersection crossing on Lonsdale Avenue raises my heart rate.
Kids inherently want to run and play, balancing on curbs and chasing their friends. But I only find myself constantly yelling “No!” “Stop!”
For too long, drivers have been entitled to roads designed entirely for their convenience and uninterrupted fast movement. This comes at the expense of everyone else – children, seniors, cyclists, and pedestrians – who are left to worry about their lives, breathe in their fumes, endure their noise, and lose valuable space that could otherwise foster community.
This car-centric design doesn’t just rob kids of freedom in the short term; it sends them a long-term message that streets aren’t for them, that their neighbourhoods are dangerous, and that they don’t belong outside.
At a minimum, drivers need to understand driving is a privilege not a right. But better yet, we need to tell elected officials to prioritize communities designed for everyone – not just cars.
If we act, maybe we’ll read fewer heartbreaking headlines about lives cut short.
Brady Faught
North Vancouver
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