Living Car Free - How "Walkable" Is Your House?

You can take this test (http://walkscore.com/) and find out.

I don't know my score yet, as they seem to have high traffic at their site right now. Not that I'm helping things any by posting a link to their site here... :D

80 out of 100. (70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.)

My current place is a 67, my last place was a 45, I was car free in both. Apparently your two choices are walking or driving, no biking allowed.

(seriously, if they find out your biking, they will find you and bring the pain)

Twp places I've lived worked and the third did not. Seems there are still some bugs in the system.

24 out of 100. Ahh Kansas City. All the major things I need are Bicycle accessible, if I really wanted to go to all the effort. I figure 3-4 days/week riding 18 mile round-trip is a good start.

dipy911

Hmm, cool idea, but it is missing a lot of local businesses and amenities which I would include. My sense of my home's walkability is rather higher than the 58 I scored.

82. But I really would like a closer grocery store. A new Safeway is to open 2 blocks from me next year :)

I'm the champ so far!!!!

I wonder how they are figuring this, since my house is a 24, where I was carfree for ten years. Within a mile of my front door, clearly marked on their map: six restaurants, a supermarket, two small grocers, two pharmacies, three parks, a pool, a beach, three schools, etc. Most of that is a half mile or less. As the bus stop is less than a block away, this is a very popular street for the non-drivers around here.

Denial! They don't have Costa Rica (and we don't have addresses anyway... ;) )

It gave me an 82 but some of the mileages are inaccurate. For example I'm
much much closer to the parks listed. The site has me .21 miles from grocery and .41 miles from the park but the park is actually closer than the grocery. It also doesn't list some of the nearby parks.

- hmm... dunno how 'walkability' is measured on the site, but using my bike and 5 minutes, i can:

1) get prescriptions filled at four different pharmacies
2) acquire fuel for generator
3) buy hard liquor (wine & beer only in grocery stores or gas stations)
4) shop at a large home-improvement store
5) get pizza
6) do grocery food shopping
7) go to a mom/pop diner restaurant
8) go to library
9) go to post office
10) get mower fixed
11) do banking (choice of three)
12) get lunch/dinner at a good vietnamese restaurant
13) barf out on bad fast food (KFC, Quiznos, A&W, Long John's, Pizza ****)
14) rent scuba diving equipment
15) buy a 40-ft+ sailboat (Catalina is around corner)
16) go to my doctor
17) go to my dentist
18) go to a Wed/Sat/Sun 40-acre+ Farmer's/Flea market
19) shop at a large 'box' store (Sams)
20) shop at a dollar store
21) buy greeting cards
22) ship packages via UPS/FedEx
23) etc., etc....

- crap! how much more 'walkable' can a 33-score be?

My score at my city house was 31. I can walk to anything from here.
My score at my country place that is not finished, 7 miles down a gravel road, 13 miles from the nearest state road, 17 miles from a town, got a 20.
Program needs some work I think.

Cool app, needs works though. I got a 58, but I bike everywhere so "walkability" specificity isn't that important. Parents house in the suburbs got a 9! Friends place in NYC got a 96.


My score at my city house was 31. I can walk to anything from here.
My score at my country place that is not finished, 7 miles down a gravel road, 13 miles from the nearest state road, 17 miles from a town, got a 20.
Program needs some work I think.

Depends on the data they have on the area, but still a really neat use of google maps...

I got a 40. "Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving is a must." And yet our household (2 adults, 2 children) is carfree. I guess the bike path a block over and the conveniently located bus transfer point don't count as transportation.

hehehe...:D:roflmao::roflmao::love: My main house scored a whopping ZERO:p and yes their map needs some major work, they missed 2 grocery stores and a bar;)

My approximate city address netted a 60:D...gee I wonder why? :rolleyes: the whole town is ONLY 3x4 miles square:p: What is really funny is that it listed the deli that is right next door as being .15 miles a way, but the public library that is 2 blocks away as being .12 miles....go figure...

Aaron:)

56 for my house. Did you check some of the "famous" places. The White House scored a 98, with what appears to be a gaggle of coffee shops surrounding it. I don't remember there being a grocery store walking distance from the white house, but I haven't been there in a few years.

In my experience far and away the most important walking distance item is a grocery store and or liquor store (you gotta be able to get good beer), It wasn't clear to me if the program took this into account.

They should make a walking distance temperature map like zillow has for home sales.

Woo-HOOO!! I got a blazin' 7! :D

0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!
Pfft, the only walking I have to do is walk a bike out of the livingroom. Okay, if I'm taking the road bike I have to walk out to the paved road. Whoop-ee, a few hundred yards.

They list a deli 0.26 miles away that I know for a fact isn't there.

The thing they really miss the boat on is not taking into account my lifestyle. I've got several places to go hunting and fresh and in-shore saltwater fishing, work, golf, etc., all within 10 miles. Easy bicycle distance, even towing a canoe.:)

You guys all saw this page (http://walkscore.com/how-it-doesnt-work.shtml), right? I think the way this page can work for people who use a bike as their primary or even secondary means of transportation is that they can use that score as a minimum. A distance that isn't so much fun to walk can be perfectly reasonable by bike.

It has a spa listed as a grocer near me, must have pulled everything out of a phonebook, and if a little party store decides to call itself a grocer than it counts as one. I think they should have a feature to pull the stuff off that is miss marked. I like this though because it made me realize how close stuff is north of me, which I rarely travel to.

I especially like their explanation of distance calculations
"We are currently using "as the crow flies" distances rather than walking directions. This means if you live across the lake from a destination, we are assuming you will swim."

My current house is a 30.. my parents was a 20 or so. In reality both should be a 0 but google don't know about lack of sidewalks or safe walking paths.

My location has me at 76...in chicago. However, as many are saying, w/ a bike, I really don't need a car, outside of needing to get somewhere far away faster in the evening, having to carry something large, or needing go out of town.

BTW, this map does not show the fact that I have major bus and rail lines under .5 mi away. Or, any of the major chain grocery stores (Jewel). Makes me think that walkscore.com only shows results for people who replied to their phone calls or something.

I went back an played with that thing some more. It is GROSSLY inaccurate. The town we are moving to has at least 5 grocery stores including a Super Walmart that aren't listed. And it lists a Mobile Home park as a coffee shop??? Strange...and at my house it is missing 2 full service grocery stores that are within 2 miles. I also love their little quip about narrow lane roads being good for walking because traffic travels slower....HELLO???? have they ever visited a narrow two lane road in the deep south:o I think not. It is a neat concept but needs major work to be truly useful. The best way to find out if a place is walkable or bikable is to get out there and try it.

Aaron:)

As MarlonBain said, "You should use the Web 3.0 app called going outside and investigating the world for yourself" before deciding whether a neighborhood is walkable!
An excellent quote.:)

24

Hmm, my house only scored a 60 even though everything I need is less than a mile away, most things on the list less than half a mile. We walk to them all. Not sure why my score was so low. Maybe half a mile is considered a long walk.

Open-air and vendor markets that don't have business addresses aren't listed, either, even though the one by me is open six days a week. There are at least four bars and one coffee shop closer than the ones they listed, too.

Other than that, it was accurate with locations/distances, and pretty much came up with a list of the places I shop.

Edit: okay, I entered in my old Brooklyn NY address, and everything came up less than two tenths of a mile from the house, most things less than one tenth. The score is only 89. Just where do you have to live to score in the 90's?

4

Can't get much worse than that. :(

Just where do you have to live to score in the 90's?

My friends place in the UES got a 96

And the apartment that was on NBC's Friends got a 100! http://walkscore.com/get-score.shtml?street=Friends%20Apartment%20Building&loc=New%20York,%20NY&lat=40.732067&lng=-74.005226

87 here. We had fun looking up old addresses, as well as the addresses of friends and family. Remember that this doesn't consider how desirable a place is for walking, merely how close various amenities are. We know people who scored a '2', but live on a gorgeous section of coastline. Yes, it's a chore to get things, but the walking is wonderful.

Oh-if my wife and I had moved into a house we liked (but couldn't afford) in NW Portland, that would have netted us a 92. Still, here in the 'inner SE' past of PDX, we do all our errands on foot or by bike.

60. Restaurants and coffee houses that I never go to are close by. Groceries less than one mile. But the hardware store is more than 2 miles. :(

60

A freaking zero.

I hate Georgia.

110 out of 100. I can see a bike shop from my living room window. :p

;)

But the hardware store is more than 2 miles. :(

But that's doable by bike, yes?

45 Phhbbt.:p It said the closest theater was a porno theater 7 1/3 miles away. There's actually the theaters at Baywalk which is about 3 ish. It's right about one thing though, I'd rather ride to all of those places.

A freaking zero.

I hate Georgia.

I'm in Walton county, I got a 5 out of 100.

Georgia hates us back, I'm sure.

Denial! They don't have Costa Rica (and we don't have addresses anyway... ;) )

They only have US locations, so I'm out as well......

2 out of 100. I'm about 95% car free without much trouble, but of course that score doesn't take into account my incredible cleverness. :D:rolleyes: Tennessee doth suck.

It gets better, my parents house in a super small town in MN got a 53 :rolleyes:

Well that site is a JOKE!!

I typed in the address for where I used to live in Winnipeg, and ended up with a score of 29.

"25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving is a must."

Yeah ... right. I lived there for 6 years without a vehicle! Driving is a must. Hah! Not true.

Not only that, but I clicked on a few of the symbols that come up ... and the addresses they list for those symbols aren't even in Winnipeg ... they are in other towns around Manitoba! Really accurate!

Ah ... but I see it is Google technology. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... Google should have stayed in web browsing and should never have gone into mapping. Most of the time their maps are wrong, or completely useless.

49

I clicked on the link and it said Not Available.

So I guess I can make up my own score.

Within walking distance of my apt: (all with a 1/2 mile radius, that I use)
College that I go to
Library at college (with free daily newspapers)
Albertsons grocery store
Rite Aid store
Hardware store
Subway shop
Pizza joint
Convenience store/gas station
Brewpub
Hair cut place my SO goes to

in the other direction...

2 Hospitals
Medical Clinic for uninsured folks
Post office
Bank
Video rental store
Another brewpub
Liquor store
Bakery thrift store

Further out, still walkable:

REI store
Insurance company I use
More banks
Safeway grocery
County library

Sometimes we walk to downtown about a mile away, takes 30 min to get there. Sept 1 at a historic theatre downtown we will be going to see a concert by Weird Al Yankovic. We will walk there of course!

We bike all over town for other errands as well.

I'd give it a pretty high score. I try to make a point of driving my car once a week so it doesn't die of neglect.

51/100 not bad. My last place scored a 35.

Someone here should create an online quiz to determine "walkability".

The quiz would ask questions like:

1) What would you consider a reasonable walking distance? (Multiple choice answer)

Then based on that answer ...

2) How far away is your place of employment? Your school?
3) Your grocery store?
4) Your department/clothing/hardware (whatever type of shopping is next most important to you after groceries)?
5) Your medical facility (i.e. Doctor's office)?
6) Your alternate medical facility (i.e Physiotherapist/Chiropractor)?
etc.
And then ...
1) What alternate methods of transportation do you have available to you? (i.e. transit bus, bicycle)
2) Are the above mentioned places within reasonable transit/cycling/etc. distance from your home.

Etc.

Something about your SO and kids could be incorporated into it. Something about the weather might be important (i.e. some parts of the world are covered in snow and ice 8 months of the year).

And when all the scores are totalled from the quiz, then a percentage would be produced telling us how "walkable" our homes are. :)

Just an idea.

But that's doable by bike, yes?
Bikeable, but I thought this was walkable. Where I live is great for cycling - not too much traffic, mostly grid layout, flat, some strategically placed bike trails. However, distances are a little lengthy for walking.... especially work.

Someone here should create an online quiz to determine "walkability".

The quiz would ask questions like:

1) What would you consider a reasonable walking distance? (Multiple choice answer)

Then based on that answer ...

2) How far away is your place of employment? Your school?
3) Your grocery store?
4) Your department/clothing/hardware (whatever type of shopping is next most important to you after groceries)?
5) Your medical facility (i.e. Doctor's office)?
6) Your alternate medical facility (i.e Physiotherapist/Chiropractor)?
etc.
And then ...
1) What alternate methods of transportation do you have available to you? (i.e. transit bus, bicycle)
2) Are the above mentioned places within reasonable transit/cycling/etc. distance from your home.

Etc.

Something about your SO and kids could be incorporated into it. Something about the weather might be important (i.e. some parts of the world are covered in snow and ice 8 months of the year).

And when all the scores are totalled from the quiz, then a percentage would be produced telling us how "walkable" our homes are. :)

Just an idea.
I don't know why we need to be even this "scientific". A simple description of the layout of a neighbourhood -- proximity to groceries, entertainment, work, along with street layout and geographic highlights like hills... that would give me a good idea of the walkability or bikeability of any town.

Another factor is the mindset of the car drivers. For instance, I've heard several people say that Winnipeg drivers were more polite than most US cities of the same size (like Omaha...) That's certainly a factor too.

Hmm, my house only scored a 60 even though everything I need is less than a mile away, most things on the list less than half a mile. We walk to them all. Not sure why my score was so low. Maybe half a mile is considered a long walk.

Open-air and vendor markets that don't have business addresses aren't listed, either, even though the one by me is open six days a week. There are at least four bars and one coffee shop closer than the ones they listed, too.

Other than that, it was accurate with locations/distances, and pretty much came up with a list of the places I shop.

Edit: okay, I entered in my old Brooklyn NY address, and everything came up less than two tenths of a mile from the house, most things less than one tenth. The score is only 89. Just where do you have to live to score in the 90's? in the middle of walmart(what don't they sell)

I don't know why we need to be even this "scientific". A simple description of the layout of a neighbourhood -- proximity to groceries, entertainment, work, along with street layout and geographic highlights like hills... that would give me a good idea of the walkability or bikeability of any town.

Another factor is the mindset of the car drivers. For instance, I've heard several people say that Winnipeg drivers were more polite than most US cities of the same size (like Omaha...) That's certainly a factor too.

I PITY cyclists in US cities then!!! :eek: I found Winnipeg drivers to be a nasty bunch ... it's well known there that the drivers hate the cyclists. Alberta drivers, on the other hand, are almost too nice!

Bikeable, but I thought this was walkable. Where I live is great for cycling - not too much traffic, mostly grid layout, flat, some strategically placed bike trails. However, distances are a little lengthy for walking.... especially work.
True, but I figured that everyone here could mentally up their score since we do use our bikes for those distances that are just a bit too long to walk in a short amount of time. For us, being car-free or car-light isn't as limiting. :)

One problem with a program like this, is that it assumes that everyone considers a reasonable walking distance to be the same thing ... and from the look of it, that distance is pretty short, like maybe 1-2 kms.

In my quiz suggestion, the very first thing that would be established is what an individual person considers to be a reasonable walking distance.

For me, anything within about a 4-5 km radius is a reasonable walking distance, although when it gets to about that point, I start thinking about cycling rather than walking. But for others the distance might be longer or shorter.

In most cities there are enough stores, medical facilities, schools, daycares, vets. etc. etc. within a 4-5 km radius of residential sections to keep a person/family reasonably well fed and healthy ... so really, most cities should score fairly high on the walkable scale ... but for some reason they are not.

Machka, if they're assuming a reasonable distance for the "average" American, 2 km would be pushing it. That's another thing - spend enough time riding a bike (even for short distances like me), and one doesn't consider longer walking distances to be as onerous.