Bike safety box, if you're six

Six-year-old Princess NS&S and I rode to camp yesterday morning. Turning left from Rachel Road onto Winchester, I gave her the option to ride in the street or on the sidewalk. She chose the street.

I like riding in the white line. It's like a bike safety box.

From the lips of a child, the appeal of on-street bike accommodations, in this case Winchester's fairly wide striped shoulders.

I suspect I'll be spending the next several years explaining that striped shoulders and bike lanes are not, in fact, bike safety boxes. They create their own set of hazards, not the least of which is false confidence. She (and I) need to be vigilant.

But, with those three words, she captured perfectly why we need to create bike accommodations: they bring people onto the street. And, ultimately, safety is going to come from numbers.