On further research, it turns that if one is trying to reach Wagner Pond (as the child reportedly was) there actually is a proper, efficient, and safe way to do it, which was first made clear on the Strava heatmap, and then confirmed on Streetview - a fact that is surely well known by anyone who lives there.
Specifically, one shouldn't be crossing Kings Mill where Gallant Knight tees into it at all, rather one should turn right on Kings Mill (or if using the sidewalk, turn right on that sidewalk) and proceed 202 feet east, to where there actually are a pair of curb cuts creating an unmarked crosswalk to legally cross Kings Mill with pedestrian right of way. That's not just a legal formality, it also matches where one can take the actual provided path into the pond between houses, rather than cut across somebody's lawn.
In that proper crossing position, there's still 568 feet of visibility to where a car would approach around the corner. That's ample time to make sure a car isn't too close to stop, as pedestrians are required to do before entering a crosswalk.
And if one uses the unmarked crosswalk at the pedestrian speed for which it is intended (rather than at the biking speed for which it is neither intended, nor even legally in effect) it's also ample time to be see by an approaching driver. For a cyclist on the road, it's also far more than ample time to determine if it's safe to make a left turn into the path entrance, or as is required of anyone making a left turn, if there is oncoming traffic too close.
The layout of the neighborhood isn't actually anywhere near as problematic as one might naviely think - but one does indeed have to follow the rules, which includes crossing at the proper, rather than improper place.
Reality is that bad things happen when people fail to follow the rules. Children who have not demonstrated a multi-year reliability in doing so so must not yet be out unsupervised.
Families that are serious about safety model this behavior, rehearse it hand in hand, verify it not holding hands, and only after the children prove they can reliably follow the rules do they begin to contemplate letting them venture into the world without an adult along.
Last edited by UniChris; 10-01-22 at 07:25 PM.