Catherine Woodgold wrote:
My attitude is that streets are for people.

I like seeing kids playing in the streets. It contributes
to a healthy society: the kind of neighbourhood where
neighbours are likely to know each other and to happen
to see each other and spontaneously start friendly
chats. It slows down cars, discouraging environmentally-
unfriendly transportation.

We live at the end of a dead end, so it's pretty easy
to play in the street here. We keep an eye out for
cars and call out "Car!" if we see one coming, and
get out of the way.


My street ends in a dead-end, where kids do play,
but in my block, it's part of a short-cut, so there
are lots of cars. It's also on a slope -- playing
with a ball would quickly evolve into chasing
a ball downhill

Having said that, streets with lots of cars traversing
them are no place a kid, no matter how careful, to
play. It is unsafe and rude.

When my kids are tired of playing in our
little yard, they walk to the park that's a block
away. Perhaps the OP's neighbors should have been
petitioning the county -- or the developer -- to
put more parkland in near their house, along with
a safe way to get there.

Scott DD 11 and DS 9