Laughing City

How walkable is your neighborhood?
90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
10%
 10%  [ 5 ]
70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
6%
 6%  [ 3 ]
50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
30%
 30%  [ 14 ]
25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
32%
 32%  [ 15 ]
0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!
19%
 19%  [ 9 ]
Total Votes : 46

Author Message
DRMS_7888
Vintage Newbie


Find out approximately how walkable your neighborhood is here.

Some of the purported benefits of a walkable neighborhood:

Quote:
Why Walking Matters

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.1 Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15–45.

Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.

More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car!2

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.3

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It's easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don't need to drive between destinations.


My new apartment got 63. I'm not in the older part of my town anymore, and the suburban parts of my town are classically sprawly and extremely inefficient. I've been car free for about 6 months now, but I rely on my bicycles every day for transportation (normally 5-10 miles a day). I probably walk 1-2 miles a day, depending on whether or not I walk to the store to buy groceries.

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uncreative
Vintage Newbie


My location in Portland gets a 52. In the bottom 15% of Portland according to that site. Portland average is 71 and top 10% is 95. I must admit, I never walk anywhere from my house (honestly I'd be a little afraid to after dark, I live in a pretty shady area). But I often drive to a mall about 10 minutes away, park, and take light rail downtown and burn up those sidewalks.
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mikep0922
Lost at Forum


I've got 26 out of 100! Sad That's a cool web site! DRMS, thanks for the tip!
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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


I thought my 29 was bad... but they counted Quik Trip as a Grocery Store and Dominoes as a restaurant...

and this will be useful cause I am house hunting near my job site, cause it gives the values of the properties and age and last selling prices of properties, stuff some agents are shady about.

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Cendrillon
Golly, Poster


I got a 55. Pretty good, I like having the option of walking to the grocery store or little diner a half mile away. Everything else is pretty much within a 20 minute driving distance though.
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johnip
Vintage Newbie


6/100 ! Laughing I think it went down since the last thread. Let's see if anyone can beat that haha.

Also... why don't they add biking to it? Walk or drive only.

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Saellys
Vintage Newbie


My neighborhood gets a 65, which is in the 80th percentile for this town.

Thing is, while there are plenty of businesses and amenities under a mile and a half from my house, that's a mile and a half almost completely devoid of sidewalks, with busy four-lane streets in two directions and some unfriendly areas between me and what passes for a downtown here. Yes, you can walk it, but a contributing factor to an area's walkability is whether the experience is reasonably pleasant, something a cursory glance at Google Maps can't really tell you. Walking on the shoulder of one of the city's busiest streets with cars passing too close at 50 miles per hour is not conducive to frequent walking for me.

However, I did recently discover that there's an easy route to get on the greenway trail, which has led to many happy hours of biking and makes it possible for me to go all the way to Hobby Lobby when I get a crafting urge in the middle of a ride. Very Happy

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uncreative
Vintage Newbie


johnip wrote:
6/100 ! Laughing I think it went down since the last thread. Let's see if anyone can beat that haha.

Also... why don't they add biking to it? Walk or drive only.

George Bush has you beat.
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johnip
Vintage Newbie


uncreative wrote:
johnip wrote:
6/100 ! Laughing I think it went down since the last thread. Let's see if anyone can beat that haha.

Also... why don't they add biking to it? Walk or drive only.

George Bush has you beat.


haha

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DRMS_7888
Vintage Newbie


Saellys wrote:
My neighborhood gets a 65, which is in the 80th percentile for this town.

Thing is, while there are plenty of businesses and amenities under a mile and a half from my house, that's a mile and a half almost completely devoid of sidewalks, with busy four-lane streets in two directions and some unfriendly areas between me and what passes for a downtown here. Yes, you can walk it, but a contributing factor to an area's walkability is whether the experience is reasonably pleasant, something a cursory glance at Google Maps can't really tell you. Walking on the shoulder of one of the city's busiest streets with cars passing too close at 50 miles per hour is not conducive to frequent walking for me.

However, I did recently discover that there's an easy route to get on the greenway trail, which has led to many happy hours of biking and makes it possible for me to go all the way to Hobby Lobby when I get a crafting urge in the middle of a ride. Very Happy


The owner's of this site freely admit to the fact that their algorithms don't account for these circumstances (which are all too common plans from boneheaded city planners that value cars above people and communities).

It's certainly not a perfect system, but it can generally give a decent approximation. Adding in biking (which would mean somehow mapping bikability through lanes/paths unmarked on googlemaps, number of lanes, speed limit) or public transit (again unmarked on a lot of satellite map services) is just not possible at this point in the technology. And, sometimes the types of "stores" are dubious (like Wil said, Quik Trip isn't much of a grocery store).

I've got a few nasty arterial streets that run through my town, but I've found good parallel streets/places to cross over the years. It also helps that I've got thick enough skin to ride on busy 4 lane roads (generally 30-45mph in town) if there just isn't a parallel street. It used to really bother me when people would tell me to "get on the fcuking sidewalk!" (which may or may not exist depending on where I am), but you learn to tune out sheer ignorance and entitlement pretty quickly.

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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


I wonder if Bush needs anything on that compound? I'm sure it's got it's own power, water, a victory garden at the least, a giant freezer, live stock, wareheads, Dick Cheney's other bunker, Obama's real birth certificate, and Osama Bin Laden's teleconference center and in house studio.

And, if all you have to do is walk to the front door to get the stuff the Secret Service hand delivers at your whim that would affect the score too right??

Oddly enough, Urban planning and civil engineering may be at fault for sprawl, but also, the app is going to score well with Town centers or downtown areas where things are built up and not out. They should count elevator use and flights of steps against those city dwellers.

As for people living near the heart of there smaller communities, there should be deductions for Super Walmarts counting for every type of thing you can walk to. That's just not fair!

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Nightmare
Vintage Newbie


Man, I got a 77 somehow. Although I had never heard of this supposed "grocery store" that they listed. I think it's a corner store.
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golly_sandra
Vintage Newbie


Before I read your post, I was thinking Somewhat Walkable. Instead, I put my address in and got a 12. I live in a college town too. I guess I just live way too far off campus to really walk anywhere. Damn..
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guitargirl
Laughing Citizen


I got a 5, and I think that's too high. I live on a hill, so walking down would be fine, but it's exhausting walking back home. The only places that I would walk to from my house are a nearby park and my church building (the walk home, though, as I mentioned isn't the best).
Utah's culture is very car based. That probably sounds strange but people really like to have their own car. Not everybody, of course, but I think it's a general trend. We have good public transportation in the city but I would only use it if I really needed to.

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guitarfreak217
Vintage Newbie


My wife and I are moving to a neighborhood that is walkable to a degree. I'd prefer to bike just because it's faster, but I can do our grocery shopping by foot if necessary. Have a good coffeeshop, indie bookstore, 2 or 3 bike shops, cigar & pipe shop, grocery store, a few restaurants, and our church are all within biking distance. They'd be long walks, but not horrible on a nice day. Also, a bus that goes to a major shopping center. I'd be fine without a car.
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