Why is it more 'comfortable'? From my perspective as a free range kid in the 2000s, by far the most dangerous was crossing the 40 mph streets into other neighb

Why is it more 'comfortable'? From my perspective as a free range kid in the 2000s, by far the most dangerous was crossing the 40 mph streets into other neighbourhood and getting a threat to call the police just because I briefly cycled in the neighbor's backyard. In that era, I would want less dangerous streets to cross and actual interconnected bike trails.