yeah, right? thanks, Brian. hopefully, they read the whole thing through and after giving it a thumbs down, due to the preachy anti-car-culture tone, or maybe the rambling structure, will still keep the sentiment in their head for a while... and ride that bike. OOOH, Yeah, Ride that bike, sexy down-thumber.

re: streetlights. sadly, if there had to be a choice between having more dark areas of the world at night, and having a brightly lit night world that may or may not deter the occasional violent nimrod, I would most certainly choose a darker world. we can't see any stars in any city at this point, as it is. We all know the darkness is good for us: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/02/dimming-streetlights-makes-streets-safer

Davi, sounds like you're currently not living in Downtown. and this being when downtown needs you most! Yes, indeed, echoing Jessica's sentiment, the ONLY thing that will make a change for the better, aside from police getting lucky with catching the terrible people that good citizens must deal with, is for there to be a large and continual presence of downtown citizenry who keep their heads up, their community monitored and cherished, and stay optimistic that such actively engaging energy will proliferate and intimidate those who think that these uniquely quiet urban streets are accomodating to disrespectful behavior.

This lady has the best voice ever... and the swagger to go with it...