such a shame

What do you first think when you look at these pictures?







My first impression was, "wow, that's gorgeous, I can't wait to take walks there when we move to Cleveland!" This reflection pool is on the campus at Case Western and was a pretty close walk to our first apartment here in Cleveland. Unfortunately, it's a very unsafe place to walk (especially alone), even in the middle of the day. Mark often gets security alerts about attempted rapes/hold-ups/robberies/etc that happen while people are at the lagoon.


Here's another example. We have this awesome stretch of park called the Cultural Gardens at Rockefellar Park. It is absolutely gorgeous right now. But I wouldn't walk there by myself--even in the middle of the day.



I drive by these places and drool. It's such a shame that people can't feel safe in areas that are obviously meant for the public to come and enjoy!