Google sponsored links
A new site called "walk score" (http://www.walkscore.com/)allows you to enter your address and it will calculate your own walk score. It's a number from 0 to 100 which reflects how walkable your neighborhood is. It seems to tally the number of close-proximity restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, parks, etc.
But walking aside, this is an interesting tool to calculate how easily you could live "car free."
I was happy to see my hood got a score of 97% which sounds about right.
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content
here.
Ready to buy? Check out these two online bike stores:
-
http://www.nashbar.com (you can find the latest bike nashbar coupons in
this thread)
-
http://www.performancebike.com (you can find the latest performance bike coupons in
this thread)
Cya on the forums,
- The BikeForums Team
-
http://www.bikeforums.net
You sure they're not just trying to get yer address to send you junk mail???
My new place is:
Walk Score:http://www.walkscore.com/images/progress-spacer.gif 71 out of 100
Nice. My old place (Where I was carfree for more than a year) was like 21.
You sure they're not just trying to get yer address to send you junk mail???
If they are then everyone I know is gonna be bummed because I was comparing my score to everyone's address I could remember off the top of my head!
Mine is only a 38, but everything listed is less than a mile away, except for coffee shops? I don't even drink coffee. SO in my case it is not very good. Every category except coffee shop is less than 1 mile, most less than 1/2 mile. MAybe too much emphasis on coffee shops?
78 out of 100. I walk everywhere here including to work
Is mine broken? 0 out of 100... there are a couple of farms near me and the closest grocery store is 6 miles away and I'mnot going to count the cumberland farms gas station it's listing under grocery store
56 and I used a rich neighbors' address. he has someone who screens his mail e- and otherwise. Ruddy system did not show any of the local bike shops. Who is listed on this site? Only people who pay to advertise?
56 and I used a rich neighbors' address. he has someone who screens his mail e- and otherwise. Ruddy system did not show any of the local bike shops. Who is listed on this site? Only people who pay to advertise?
It comes from the google API... if they don't show up on google maps, they won't here, either.
It's far from perfect, but it does give a decent comparison between sites.
My old place scored like 21 or something.... nearest convenience store was two miles, nearest real store almost 3. The ONLY things that were close were the park I lived RIGHT next door to, and the local community college that was about a block further away.
That said, I lived there carfree for over a year... the bike was the only reason I could really do that... if I'd relied on walking I would have been hating life. :)
90/100 here in Philly
60/100 where I'm going to be living in September
Ick.
Also, it counts "cumberland farms" as a grocery store, isn't that more of a 7-11 kind of store? I'm not really familiar with the chain.
83! Wish they had a "bike score".
Is mine broken? 0 out of 100... there are a couple of farms near me and the closest grocery store is 6 miles away and I'mnot going to count the cumberland farms gas station it's listing under grocery store
I don't feel so bad... I got an 8 out of 100. But the site messed up. I don't really count the gas station that is a mile away as a grocery store, and the distances appear to be as the crow flies and not an actual route that I could walk.
The first time this site was posted my location got a 0.
The second time and this time I get a 03. They do have the local facilities right this time. Last time they were listing libraries and stores that were on opposite sides of the state.
Wish they had a "bike score".
I thought about that but how could they calculate it? It'd be some weirder calculation using average road incline, presence of bike lanes, number of LBS in the area, or some such criteria that google local couldn't provide.
This is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen this. My location used to score a 3 at best, now it scores a 25, which I don't understand. It lists a car dealership as a coffee shop and a church as a library.
Current house: 58/100
Last house: 26/100
My last apartment: 98/100
I got a 12. I don't count the corner beer/smoke shack as a grocery store, either, especially when I can see a real grocery store diagonally across the intersection...
I can't believe it, I only got a 95%.
I was sure I'd beat the OP. ;)
Is mine broken? 0 out of 100... there are a couple of farms near me and the closest grocery store is 6 miles away and I'mnot going to count the cumberland farms gas station it's listing under grocery store
Better than me. That site couldn't even find my address, so how accurate can it be?
Same old, same old.:innocent: Mine is a 2 for the country house and they still show a cash register repair place as a restaurant, as well as having the grocery store about 4 miles down the road from where it really is.
Aaron:)
I got a 52/100. Which is surprising because other than my old apartment in Manhattan this would be the most walkable place I've lived in the U.S.
Here's another thread that asks the same question.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=323186&highlight=score+walk
There we go. I entered my community instead of address. The community got a 0. Not surprising, even though I bike quite a bit. The site lists almost nothing within 2 miles. That's about right. At least the deli that the site listed before, that wasn't there when I did this before on the thread Domromer linked to, wasn't listed this time.
73, but it rated my closest supermarket at 1.3 km away when it is less than 100m (I guess they don't count independents).
The other thing that puzzled me is that they don't include schools, which should definitely be relevant and relatively easy to incorporate. Doctor's offices and dentists should be included too as well as hospitals with emergency rooms.
Mine is 46 out of 100. But I walk or bike 95% of the time.
You sure they're not just trying to get yer address to send you junk mail???
i was sorta thinking the same thing so i just entered my address with the number off by a little. really all they need is the block you're on
my area scored a 95, which i guess is about right
45 out of 100. A lot of the information was wrong or out of date. I will have to check on the sports bar and see if that is really there. That's the one thing on the list that was new to me.
Wow, the one hardware store it lists for me is 52km away... no wonder I get a 37. There is one less that 1km away. It also doesn't list the grocery store that is a block away.
Also have two gas bars under "bars" and the closest one isn't listed. Of course, the 8 parks listed are less than 3km.
Good lord, mine is a 3. I knew it would be bad but geeze.
83. We got dinged on Parks, but the tool doesn't count Dolores Park - which is several acres and less than 1/4 mile from our house. The closest school is .08 miles away, but it's a MARTIAL ARTS school! Heh. So clearly this isn't perfect.
My parents scored a 6 only because of the school in the neighborhood. My in-laws? A zero.
I got 48 out of 100, but I know that score is completely off, because I live in one of the most walk able places on earth. I have a comic book store right across the street for crying out loud. But the program probably isn't really compatible with my french town. For example all the grocery stores listed are hotels.... go figure!
Coffee shops, we don't have any! No Starbucks or anything like that, we have bars where you can get coffee anytime, or a beer if you like. And there are at least a dozen within 200 meters of my apartment. However, the few places listed on the site as coffee shops were indeed coffee bean resellers a few miles off.
Argh! You don't need a score to know how walkable your neighborhood is! Yeesh.
46 at my new apartment in Tumwater, WA
95 at my old apartment in Portland, OR
Ugh... my gut agrees.
Yes! A perfect zero! Considering how many people run from town out past our house, I wonder what the Running Score would be.
What a pile of excrement! I live in a small town where I can walk to any store in 20 minutes and it was 29 out of 100. What, you have to live in the store? Crawlable is more like it.
The site the OP posted is a mess, overall. For most of the things that were listed for my address, the distances were much shorter than I know them to be (both biking and walking them) - as the crow flies on some of them, maybe, but not if you were to either walk or bike to them. And for some of those things (like grocery shopping), I wouldn't want to make the investment of time or energy to try to walk to get to them.
-5 :thumbs-down
I only got 38 out of 100 and I think I can walk everywhere. That is hard to believe. My old address was 34 out of 100 and that just couldn’t be true. Yes the distances were close to the same but everything where I am now is located on a relatively flat surface. The old address was in the mountains and if you walked .75 miles to the store the return trip was .75 miles uphill. If you went the 2.1 miles to the sports club it was all uphill to the club and at least the return trip was down hill. I lived at that address for 19 years and if I wanted to take a walk I would drive the .5 miles to the lake to walk around the lake because the trail was relatively flat.
89 out of 100. Go Go Alamo Square!
73, but it rated my closest supermarket at 1.3 km away when it is less than 100m (I guess they don't count independents). Their database is just not that complete, especially for Canada. I have a Dominion 700 m away, and they just don't show it. They do list some tiny independent stores instead, so it's not a matter of chains vs. small businesses.
The other thing that puzzled me is that they don't include schools, which should definitely be relevant and relatively easy to incorporate. Doctor's offices and dentists should be included too as well as hospitals with emergency rooms. They include schools in the U.S., but they have no database of Canadian schools at all.
My walkscore now is 78, but they miss a grocery store and a hardware store close by, showing some pretty remote alternatives instead, so it really should be somewhere closer to 88, I think.
And for some of those things (like grocery shopping), I wouldn't want to make the investment of time or energy to try to walk to get to them. And most of your fellow countrymen wouldn't want to make the investment of time or energy to try to walk ANYWHERE. So what? How's that a valid reason to bash a site? (Before you say that no one walks to get groceries, I walk for my groceries around 95% of the time. And even people who stock up once a month still find it convenient to just pop by a grocery store and pick up one little ingredient they just ran out of...)
0% but it says that's "worst"? The walking here is great!
For groceries I'm looking out the window right now at my orchard, grape vines, berry bushes, strawberry patch (just came in - they're fantastic), and vegetable garden. I was out by the garden last night and there were a couple of tasty looking deer looking back at me from my hayfield. Squirrel, rabbit, turkey, and pheasant are everywhere. Nice time of year for fishing in the pond just a short walk down the hill.
Coffee shops and bars - don't drink coffee, no interest in wasting my time sitting in a bar.
Movie theaters - got a tv.
Schools - we home school.
Parks - we have ponds, woods, wetlands, a beautiful shaded yard, a nice swing-set, sandbox (that's the most popular spot), and playhouse.
Libraries - 5 miles to the nearest, 10 miles to the better one (Carnegie). Both bike-able in fair whether but a trivial ride in the car. Library gets visited once a week.
bookstore - Who needs a bookstore?
fitness - see above
drug store, hardware, etc. - same town as the library. The hardware store is small, family owned, ancient, and has everything I've needed so far. Call them on the phone before you leave and they'll have it waiting for you. Tell them when you get there and they'll not only find it but also load it in the truck for you. If you don't know what you need, tell them what you're doing and they'll figure out what you need and have it waiting for you. Prices and quality are better than the chain stores too.
The wife takes the kids for a one to two hour walk everyday, year round. They walk through the meadow and back through the woods. They learn about plants, animals, insects by observing and investigating. We have microscopes they use to study what they find.
At night we sometimes stay up late to study the wonders of our dark sky with our telescopes. At least when the moon isn't too bright and it's not clouded over.
So I guess we should move to the middle of some overcrowded polluted city and get our "score" up?
Is mine broken? 0 out of 100... there are a couple of farms near me and the closest grocery store is 6 miles away and I'mnot going to count the cumberland farms gas station it's listing under grocery store
The calculator definitely favors city locations. A lot of people would rather walk 6 miles on a country road than 6 blocks in a polluted city.
My address (in the city) got a 55, which is pretty accurate for walking. For cycling, I'd give it at least an 80. If I had to walk everywhere, I'd probably move.
I got 48 out of 100, but I know that score is completely off, because I live in one of the most walk able places on earth. I have a comic book store right across the street for crying out loud. But the program probably isn't really compatible with my french town. For example all the grocery stores listed are hotels.... go figure!
Coffee shops, we don't have any! No Starbucks or anything like that, we have bars where you can get coffee anytime, or a beer if you like. And there are at least a dozen within 200 meters of my apartment. However, the few places listed on the site as coffee shops were indeed coffee bean resellers a few miles off.
Argh! You don't need a score to know how walkable your neighborhood is! Yeesh.
Gosh, one thing I loved about France was the neighborhood cafes located every couple blocks. People would stop in every morning on the walk to work to get a cafe au lait (or even a wake-up glass of vin ;)). They'd usually come back at lunch time, and a third time on the way home from work.
This was 35 years ago. I guess things have changed a lot? Back then, France--the towns and cities--was a walker's paradise.
The walking here is great!
...
Libraries - 5 miles to the nearest, 10 miles to the better one (Carnegie). Both bike-able in fair whether but a trivial ride in the car. Library gets visited once a week.
...
drug store, hardware, etc. - same town as the library. The hardware store is small, family owned, ancient, and has everything I've needed so far. Call them on the phone before you leave and they'll have it waiting for you. Tell them when you get there and they'll not only find it but also load it in the truck for you. :rolleyes:
So I guess we should move to the middle of some overcrowded polluted city and get our "score" up? If a "score" is important to you, then yeah I guess...
It's just an amusing little tool, but peoplo seem to be getting all worked up about it. You know it's flawed, and is designed primarily for urban and suburban locations.
:rolleyes:
If a "score" is important to you, then yeah I guess...
It's just an amusing little tool, but peoplo seem to be getting all worked up about it. You know it's flawed, and is designed primarily for urban and suburban locations.
Yeah, and also I think it's more for learning about a neighborhood other than your own, especially if you're thinking about relocating. Presumably you already have some idea about the walkability of your own area.
(Although from the sounds of it, some of the posters here only know about the drivability of their neighborhoods. :rolleyes:)
(Although from the sounds of it, some of the posters here only know about the drivability of their neighborhoods. :rolleyes:) Yeah, that was pretty hilarious. "My neighbourhood should have a higher walk score because it's so easy to drive everywhere." :lol:
Previous -
Top -
Next
Copyright 1999 - 2007
BikeForums.Net - All rights reserved.
Common bike forum topics in clue bicycles, cycling, mountain biking,
cycling jerseys, shorts, socks, shoes and bike equiptment selection.