SEATTLE - Public streets turned into private enclaves?

Is that what we really want to see happening in our neighborhoods?

Well, that's exactly what the people who live in Federal Way's "Campus Estates" development want.

The homeowners association there has gone to the Federal Way city council with a proposal to buy back the streets in their neighborhood so they can then turn around and put up gates at the only two ways in and out.

The people who live there say they've had it with their homes being broken into; their cars stolen and their yards being vandalized.

They figure a gated community made from once public streets is the way to go.

Hey, know what else might work? How about some guard towers and checkpoints?

And I'm thinking a mine field that can be activated after a 10pm curfew sure would go a long way to keep the riff-raff out.

Look, I can understand how fed up these people are with crime in their neighborhood, but the idea of turning public streets into a private sanctuary isn't the answer.

Organize a better block watch program.

Increase taxes and pay for more police.

Hire a private security patrol.

But unless we're ready to see a moat go up around one neighborhood, or ramparts built around another, face the fact that being part of a community doesn't work if you're trying to shut yourself off from it.