No doubt the unseasonably warm weather helped in making last night’s trick or treat in Lancaster a success, but passing out $40 of candy in 90 minutes must be attributed to something more than an Indian summer. When it comes to obtaining candy, kids are brilliant. They will seek the street that give them the best chance to get the most candy in the shortest period of time.
A person can tell a lot about their neighborhood by the number of trick or treaters they receive. A good trick or treat destination must have sidewalks, that rules out some subdivisions. The street can’t have too much car traffic obviously for safety reasons. Minimal setbacks are a must, if kids have to walk more than a couple of steps up to each door they are losing precious candy gathering time. Lack of a side yard also makes for a much speedier trip between homes too.(I noticed on another nearby street that had all the right elements, but poor lighting. The street was much quieter and did not seem as welcoming or safe.) Most of the houses on my street have front porches which allows for some great decorating space and a nice place for people to sit and hand out candy.
All of these qualities that make it a great place for trick or treat, make it a great place to live. All of my neighbors know each other look out for one another, the sidewalks and front porches facilitate that sort of relationship. The street is fairly calm when it comes to traffic and we all feel safe with our kids. Detached garages are behind the house so we don’t have to look at a series of blank walls. Most people have their garages full of kids toys and tools so neighbors run into each other more often going from car to house. Our houses sit very close to one another so one can’t help but be a bit involved with the neighbors and their lives.
My neighbors have grown to feel like an extended family and while I attribute much of that to living next to great people, I must also give credit to the people that designed this street for creating an environment that facilitates such a situation. I forget how fortunate I am from time to time to live on such a street, but more than four hundred kids helped to remind me last night what makes it so great.
