I grew up in Chicago and we pretty much only played in the streets and alleys. The alley is where I learned to ride a bike, with garbage cans to cushion the cra

I grew up in Chicago and we pretty much only played in the streets and alleys. The alley is where I learned to ride a bike, with garbage cans to cushion the crash when I lost control. The key is you still need quiet residential streets. That’s what many Chicago neighbors did and still do have. Now I live in the suburbs in another state with two kids. Our street is a cul-de-sac but even on the neighborhood streets that lead out to the main road people speed through the neighborhood. It’s no better or worse than Chicago was. Except here you can’t safely leave the neighborhood but by car.