5 ms·
I live close (<2 miles) to work/downtown and could technically walk, except for about two blocks in the middle of the commute that I would not feel safe walking
by cowpewter 15y ago
I live close (<2 miles) to work/downtown and could technically walk, except for about two blocks in the middle of the commute that I would not feel safe walking in the dark alone. (I am female, maybe a man wouldn't feel this way)
Sometimes I ride my bike, which feels safer, if for no other reason than those two blocks go by awfully fast and an assailant on foot could not easily catch up to me, but biking feels like a lot more work than walking. I have to gear up, and carry my bike down the stairs from my apartment, and bike three stories up the parking garage for our office once I get there (the building manager hates bicycles, and so you cannot take them up the stairs/elevator). I also feel like one of these days I'm going to be hit and killed in that garage. I feel that way even in my car (well, at least in my car I probably wouldn't die. On my bike? Maybe). The visibility around the corners is terrible and people seem to drive through that garage like maniacs.
Unfortunately, I have night owl tendencies and even if I didn't, I work for a startup and often need to work late nights, so I can't just arrange my schedule to know I can walk home before it's dark.
- RyanMcGreal 15y agoYou raise a very important issue: a community is not walkable if a person walking in public doesn't feel reasonably safe doing so. I'm not specifically aware of gender-specific data related to walking (though now I'm going to see what's out there), but I've looked at the issue with respect to cycling and there's a strong correlation between the gender balance of cyclists in a city and the city's material commitment to being bikeable.
- civilian 15y agoThat sucks :( My former office (in Pioneer Square, Seattle) has a pretty large homeless & drug-dealing population, but I rarely don't feel safe. Even when I leave work at 1am on a friday night, I just dodge a few intersections that are especially bad and I get home safe. But I'm also a guy-- I know that some of my female coworkers didn't like it, to the extent that we'd sometimes walk them to the parking garage. Have you considered getting mace?
- cowpewter 15y agoWell, 1 am I might still feel okay. Downtown Gainesville is full of nightclubs, and they don't close until 2 am, so there's a large number of (drunk) pedestrians milling around up until about 2:30 am. It's 3-4am that I don't feel safe. I can't change my route, any detours I could take would only take me through even less safe areas. I've considered mace/pepper spray but quite honestly I'd rather just avoid the possibility altogether. About a year ago there was homeless woman killed in that area.
- civilian 15y agoOh yeah, 3-4am is pretty serious night-owlage. And you're totally right about the drunks giving relative protection. I also am a bit of a runner... my plan, if I get in trouble, is to just book it. Or, throw my wallet at them and run.
- moylan 15y agoperhaps a folding bike? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brompton_Bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brompton_Bicycle not cheap but easily transportable indoors and out. you can store it by your desk in a bag. i see them all over dublin as it's cheaper ultimately to keep your bike by your side than lock them in a public place. and also been brought on public transport.