I use half toe clips. I could get out of them really easily from the first time I tried them. No straps and shorter than cages. It's not a problem at stop lights. It took a few weeks to learn to get into the second side easily, but you can even ride with it upside down on the second foot while crossing an intersection at start up and put your foot in when you are in a safer spot. I do get some upstroke pulling with the toe clips. It's probably more with clipless, but I just don't want the falling down during learning curve to happen as I had an ACL repair (knee ligament) a few years ago, and that put me out of commission for a long time.

I use this with a pair of Adidas athletic shoes that close with velcro. I would not recommend using a shoe with laces as they can come undone and get stuck somewhere that they should not. Also, the shoe should not be as bulky as running shoes or Keens.