I Just Don’t Feel Safe in Suburbia
I was just going to have a simple lunch with a friend on a lovely late Spring day. The drive to and from the Whole Foods on Brentwood, however, was anything but pleasant.
The exit from Westbound 40 (highway 40, I-64) onto Brentwood is always a nightmare as traffic from Hanley is merging in as traffic is exiting for I-170. At the bottom of the ramp at Brentwood was a minor three car accident.
Leaving the sprawl mess and heading back to St. Louis Eastbound 40 was nearly sitting still. Up ahead near Hanley I could see an accident in far left line. Looked minor enough. Cars are merging on the right from I-170 and on the left to avoid the accident. Finally we get through.
Then I see the real problem. A more serious accident in the Westbound center lane. A car is turned over on its side. Ambulance is there. Several cars are stopped on the shoulder. Only one lane of traffic is getting by. I see someone on a stretcher going toward the ambulance.
Earlier today a major accident on I-270 a semi and car collided and caught fire. All this on a nice sunny day. No rain, no snow.
The suburban dream of life in the country is BS. Suburbia has neither the benefits of the city or country. It is an abysmal mess. As oil prices climb people will finally wake up and realize the auto centric sprawl of the last 50+ year was a costly experiment not worth living in. It makes me upset every time I go there.
As soon as I cross the city limits back into St. Louis I immediately begin to relax. I just feel so much safer in the city.
– Steve
Considering that most victims of homicide knew their murderer (roughly 3/4), it has been shown before that the most likely place statistically to be killed by a stanger is in a car along exurban roads.
Obviously, more accidents occur where there are more people. But fatality rates are actually highest on two-lane roads experiencing sprawl. These roads have higher speeds and more volume than their true rural cousins.
So, it’s a proven but rarely accepted fact — sprawl kills. Auto-oriented living may make some feel safe, but your likelihood of accidental death (on top of poorer physical health) is significantly higher.
And the largest victims (in share, though likely fatter) are youths. Vehicle fatalities remain the number one killer of individuals under 25. So, ironically, suburbia is not only less safe for your household than urban living, but especially your children.
Just a word of caution…don’t let your guard down, just because you’re in the city limits. I was nearly in a terrible accident on highway 40 in the city- with my 8 day old infant. It could have been tragic-luckily it was a near miss by a crazy man cutting over lanes. I do agree, the Brentwood area traffic is a total mess, but it can be just as dangerous in the city limits- I see accidents and remnants of accidents on the city highways all the time, as I too, live as a city girl!!!!!
Steve- I can relate. My wife and I moved to the city from the county two years ago for a variety of reasons. We wanted a neighborhood with character, we wanted to be near the area’s best dining, cultural, and recreational options, and yes, we were sick and tired of sitting in traffic.
We essentially added an extra 1-2 hours to our day by shortening our commute significantly (we now work in near South County). Instead of sitting in traffic, now we use that time of the evening to walk through our neighborhood and Carondelet Park. Since we have a 2-year old son, that time is more important to us than ever (I can’t imagine how people balance family life with monstrous commutes- that’s something I’ll never do).
My comfort zone in suburbia is a lot smaller than it used to be. Once I’m west of Clayton, University City, or Webster Groves, I become filled with dread. And 9 times out of 10, there’s no reason for me to go beyond those places.
I avoid Interstate 270 at all costs, and I take alternate routes to avoid other Interstates whenever it’s practical to do so. Also, I shop the city as much as possible. Not only do I save time and avoid stress, I’ve found that the city has many great independent merchants that most locals overlook on their way to the chain stores.
One chain I do rely on frequently is Target- and I can’t wait for their Hampton Village store to re-open (even if it isn’t as urban as I’d prefer). I get a lot of shopping done in their stores, and I hate driving to the locations in Brentwood, Kirkwood, and on Lindbergh.
To each his own, but for me at least, the suburban dream is a nightmare. The added stress, the wasted time, the higher fuel and social costs- none of this is worth it to me. I don’t begrudge those that choose to live there, but I’ve been there, done that, and I’ve no desire to do it again.
I’m sorry Steve but that arguement doesn’t work.
First of all, the example you chose to use was the Brentwood/I-64/Hanley/Big Bend/I-170/Laclede Station cluster*&$%. Everyone, including city and state officials know that the layout of that area is a mess. That is why they have been fighting for close to a decade to rework I-64.
Secondly, a large part of the problems that you and the other commenters have comes from being out of your “comfort zone”. We all have neighborhoods and areas that we are more comfortable because we are used to the trouble spots, high traffic intersections, traffic patterns etc.
I get the exact feeling you and the other posters have decribed myself. My pulse races, my senses alerts, and I feel incredibly unsafe. You know where? Grand Avenue and if not there then on Lindell in the Central West End.
I like both the county and the city and refuse to get in to this inane which is better conversation. However in years and years of living in the county I have only been in one accident and it was a minor fender bender. I rarely have “close calls”. In the past six months, I have been dating someone in the Central West End. In that time have had several “close calls” in my car and at least two as a sidewalk-bound pedestrian in the oh so safe CWE.
At 8AM ON A SUNDAY MORNING a year or two ago driving down Grand Avenue when I was nearly hit head on by two cars racing (on both sides of the street and running reds) at nearly 80mph.
There will always be a risk on the road and we will always feel more comfortable driving in our neighborhood than we will in other areas.
To link it to a city/county thing is just silly and proof that you are thinking with you heart but maybe not your head.
[REPLY – You missed the point entirely. It is NOT a city/county thing but an urban/suburbia thing. Parts of the county are urban – Webster & Ferguson to name a couple. Part of St. Louis county is thankfully still rural.
I feel unsafe in an area where I’m forced to drive a car and forced onto bigger and bigger roads. In the city and other urban-like places in the county I can take the grid if I like – avoiding major arterials and highways.
I too have had my share of near misses and the only accident I’ve had in the 15 years in St. Louis was on South Grand (a guy made a left turn right in front of me). But as others have commented, the death rates are higher in suburbia (not county) and it is directly related to how the environment is designed. I feel better in the city because for the most part it is designed differently than suburbia. – Steve]
The point was (as steve’s reply above confirmed) that in the city and other urban areas, there are many choices as far as routes. One doesn’t only have one highway to choose from to get from point A to point B. Grand isn’t the safest street for driving, but because there are many, many other alternatives, I rarely travel down Grand. In suburbia, those alternatives rarely exist.
(fortunately, the new medians down the middle of Grand seem to have worked to make it a more comfortable street to travel on, walk across)