Cast Your Vote for the Best Picture of Car-Free Kiddies in Cities

Are cities good places for children?

The hundreds of beautiful photos you all sent in to our Kiddies + Cities Photo Contest, co-sponsored by the Alliance for Biking & Walking, testify that the answer to that question is “yes.” The vibrancy and diversity in cities make them fertile ground for children’s sponge-like minds and boundless energy. And what better way is there to model healthy, active living for your kids than to walk, bike, and explore the city with them outside the confines of a car?

Now we need your help. We couldn’t pick just two winners, so please help us out by voting for your favorite picture. The top two vote-getters will win free Breezer bikes! (Click any photo to enlarge.)

Polls close at 5:00 p.m. next Monday, October 7 and our winners will be announced the next day.

Fountains at Millennium Park, Chicago. Photo by Andrew Nothstine
Getting ready, Atlanta. Photo by Steve Rushing

Kidical Mass, San Luis Obispo, California. Photo by Barry Lewis
Onderwater Tandem to School, New York City. Photo by Doug Gordon
New rider, 3-year-old Isabelle Cowan, intensely focused on rippin' up some puddles in Washington Park, Denver, Colorado. Photo by Dave Cowan
Conversations, New York City. Photo by Liz Patek
Kristin, Aurora, and Embry ride their bikes to and from work every day, as seen here coming home for the evening along the W&OD trail in Herndon, Virginia. Photo by Brian W. Knight
Waiting for taxi near Union Square, Manhattan. Photo by Andrew Nothstine
Mother and child crossing the street at Orenco Station in Hillsboro, Oregon, during an American Planning Association tour of the award-winning mixed-use development. Photo by Derek Severson

Cast your vote!

  • Isabelle. Photo by Dave Cowan (41%, 259 Votes)
  • Onderwater Tandem to School, New York City. Photo by Doug Gordon (26%, 165 Votes)
  • Conversations, New York City. Photo by Liz Patek (15%, 93 Votes)
  • Kristin, Aurora, and Embry riding the W&OD trail in Herndon, VA. Photo by Brian W. Knight (5%, 33 Votes)
  • Fountains at Millennium Park, Chicago. Photo by Andrew Nothstine (5%, 30 Votes)
  • Kidical Mass. Photo by Barry Lewis (4%, 23 Votes)
  • Getting ready, Atlanta. Photo by Michelle J. Marcus Rushing (3%, 17 Votes)
  • Mother and child crossing the street at Orenco Station in Hillsboro, Oregon. Photo by Derek Severson (2%, 15 Votes)
  • Waiting for taxi, near Union Square, Manhattan. Photo by Andrew Nothstine (1%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 639

  • Guest

    how are votes cast? is there a secondary link?

  • Raymond

    There seems to be an issue with the website where it shows that you have already voted when you haven’t. Ideas for how to resolve?

  • This should only occur if you share the same IP with someone who has already voted. Can you access the poll on a mobile device? I think it should be a clean slate for everyone the first time they open this URL on a mobile browser.

  • Raymond

    I shared the link on facebook (after I voted) and everyone with the link said it came up as though they had voted. (different IPs, if that isn’t obvious)

  • Eric Bunch

    Yep, getting the same issue here. Someone shared the link via email and it’s telling me I already voted.

  • Eric Bunch

    And just tried on my phone by going directly to this page and it just shows the results and not the actual poll. So weird. I hadn’t even opened it via shared link on my mobile.

  • Okay the poll was tracking cookies in addition to IPs. Now it’s only logging IPs. If you clear the cache can you vote?

  • Kevin Love

    I have the same issue. I do not seem to be able to vote.

  • Anonymous

    By process-of-elimination, the only photo that (maybe) qualifies is the Millennium park scene.

    In 5 of the 9 photos, the kids are wearing crash helmets. One photo shows kids riding on the sidewalk (presumably because the road is too dangerous and there is no bike path). In the Union Square scene, the father is clutching his kid’s hand to keep him out of traffic. In several photos, the parents are keeping close to their kids, or serving as chauffeurs.

    So that leaves the fountain scene. Too bad kids in Chicago don’t have access to proper pool facilities. And I wonder how many of those kids were chauffeured to the park by their parents.

  • r

    http://ibikelondon.blogspot.nl/2013/10/i-bike-netherlands.html

    Parents chauffeur their kids in lots of bike-friendly cities.

  • Patrick Smyth

    The one I voted for had the third highest votes. What’s your vote?

  • Anonymous

    Confused how kids on bikes wearing helmets disqualify them? While kids at a fountain not on a street (and thus not related to a car-free environment) is the one left standing?

  • hello

    No proper pool facilities in Chicago?! I don’t know how many there are per capita, but we love our neighborhood pool (Chase Park). About 1 mile away is Welles Park (indoor pool).

  • Miles Bader

    Hmmm, that “award-winning mixed-use development” certainly looks very car-focused…

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