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What's Your Walk Score?

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Living Car Free Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

What's Your Walk Score?

Old 11-26-15, 06:38 AM
  #101  
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Originally Posted by Ekdog
95. Walker's paradise.
I guess it depends on what the walker wants out of a walk. A high-quality walking experience or a short trip to the store? From what I can tell the high score goes to the shortest walk. That's a "convenience" score IMO, not a score based on the quality of the experience.

To me "walkable" should not only include what's practical to do, but also include the ability to get out of the traffic, walk on sidewalks, 25 mph speed limits, offroad trails, parks, etc. But then the question of what's practical varies with the individual. I go for five mile walks at least a few times per week typically. Some people think walking five miles is an extraordinary effort. So I can't see much value in a simple number. The devil is in the details. A number can't sum it all up.

The walk score would be more meaningful if the user could define parameters in terms of what they're "walk goal" is.
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Old 11-26-15, 07:38 AM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by Walter S
I guess it depends on what the walker wants out of a walk. A high-quality walking experience or a short trip to the store? From what I can tell the high score goes to the shortest walk. That's a "convenience" score IMO, not a score based on the quality of the experience.

To me "walkable" should not only include what's practical to do, but also include the ability to get out of the traffic, walk on sidewalks, 25 mph speed limits, offroad trails, parks, etc. But then the question of what's practical varies with the individual. I go for five mile walks at least a few times per week typically. Some people think walking five miles is an extraordinary effort. So I can't see much value in a simple number. The devil is in the details. A number can't sum it all up.

The walk score would be more meaningful if the user could define parameters in terms of what they're "walk goal" is.
I can't think of a single street in my city that doesn't have sidewalks. I think that's more of an American phenomenon. Are sidewalkless streets common there in Decatur?
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Old 11-26-15, 07:47 AM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by Ekdog
I can't think of a single street in my city that doesn't have sidewalks. I think that's more of an American phenomenon. Are sidewalkless streets common there in Decatur?
There are many good roads for walking that have sidewalks. Many that have none too.
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Old 11-26-15, 10:12 AM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by Roody
WOW!!! I bet you will be the winner. I had read that Montreal is becoming extremely walkable and bikeable. IIRC, Mikael Colville-Andersen said it is the only bike city in North America.
Actually, he said that Minneapolis was ranked higher than Montreal in the last classification and that Montreal didn't achieve much in the last few years. I have been to Minneapolis and I agree that they have a better bike infrastructure than here. However, I think that there are more cyclists here ant that our bike sharing system BIXI is more convenient because the city is more dense and that the stations are closer. I believe that the bike sharing system was the biggest improvement related to bike in Montreal in the recent years. The number of cyclists increased significantly due to it. I started to bike because of it and now I have made 2255 BIXI rides. But it is a long story and there are a lot of factors that made Montreal very bikeable and walkable.
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Old 11-26-15, 03:25 PM
  #105  
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Originally Posted by denis123
Actually, he said that Minneapolis was ranked higher than Montreal in the last classification and that Montreal didn't achieve much in the last few years. I have been to Minneapolis and I agree that they have a better bike infrastructure than here. However, I think that there are more cyclists here ant that our bike sharing system BIXI is more convenient because the city is more dense and that the stations are closer. I believe that the bike sharing system was the biggest improvement related to bike in Montreal in the recent years. The number of cyclists increased significantly due to it. I started to bike because of it and now I have made 2255 BIXI rides. But it is a long story and there are a lot of factors that made Montreal very bikeable and walkable.
Vancouver ain't too shabby either, according to this report, and Montreal is the most dangerous for cycling.

Cyclists in Vancouver safest in the country due to infrastructure, says report - British Columbia - CBC News
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Old 11-26-15, 04:26 PM
  #106  
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I entered my work address and it has a walk score of 89. I do most of my errands walking from work at lunch, so 89 makes sense.
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Old 11-26-15, 05:50 PM
  #107  
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Home:
Walkscore 21, sounds about right
Transitscore 0. That because my city hasn't registered itr bus stops on Google Maps. Nearest stop is actually 400 foot away.
No bikescore. Why? I personally edited Google Maps to include all bike lanes and paths in the area.

Work:
Walkscore 98
Transitscore 100
Bikescore 77, way overrated.
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Old 11-26-15, 11:22 PM
  #108  
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Mine is a lousy "32". And it's quite accurate. Public transportation in my immediate area runs once-an-hour, between 6am and 6pm, and not on weekends or holidays. This is important, because the route runs East-West, linking-up with buses running every quarter-hour on major North-South roads. On a personal note, I have injuries which severely impact my ability to walk -- even the quarter-mile to the local bus stop; however, I can (and do) ride my bike quite easily and confidently. An example is getting to/from the VA Medical Center: it's 13.1 miles away by bike, which takes me an hour; by public transportation, it requires two buses, which take between an hour-and-a-half to two hours (there's that once-an-hour connecting route, biting me in the butt). I'm retired (63, almost 64) and poor, don't own a car, and content with biking for transport -- the only "gotcha" is securing my bike when I get to a store. But that's a different thread.

Greenacres, FL
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Old 11-28-15, 11:02 PM
  #109  
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Home: Walkscore = 70
Work: Walkscore = 54
Other scores not available because I'm in the middle of nowhere.

I took a look at the methodology, and it suggested that the most points were awarded for amenities within .25 miles of a location. I think my house is in an extremely walkable location: about a half mile to the downtown business district and 1 1/2 miles to a supermarket, with sidewalks and well-marked, updated pedestrian crossings the whole way. Then again, I hear people refer to my neighborhood as a "food desert" because it's a mile and a half to a supermarket. *sigh*
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Old 12-11-15, 11:39 AM
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Walkscore is biased towards certain kind of amenities.
Restaurants, Bar, Caffes and Entertainment are 4 separate categories out of 9.
Al the rest is lumped in either parks, schools, errands, shopping or groceries.

When you look into subcategories, you see things like 'health' is subdivided into Fitness, Yoga, and Hospitals/Clinics. In that order. So a full blown hospital, with ER, hundreds of beds, advanced scan, maternity, outpatient services and dozens of doctors offices weights like ... a hot yoga saloon.
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Old 12-11-15, 12:23 PM
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[h=5]Car-Dependent[/h] Almost all errands require a car.

[h=5]Somewhat Bikeable[/h] Flat as a pancake, minimal bike lanes.



Sounds about right. People love telling me "just take another route" when I complain about cycling in my area. They don't understand I'm completely encircled by 45mph two lane roads with no shoulder or bike lane.
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Old 12-16-15, 09:18 PM
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Walk score: 100
Transit score: 100
Bike score: 91

So, yeah, as a Manhattanite, I always feel a little churlish posting on LCF.

This is probably right by US standards, but by New York standards, this neighborhood is very good, but not the best. It's on the edge of Manhattan, so we're not quite in the thick of things, and there's only one convenient subway station. The first time I tried, I misentered an address three blocks to the east, and the walk and transit scores drop a few points.

I entered my childhood home in the suburbs, which got a walk score of 12. The don't bother to give a transit (nonexistent) or bike score (biking actually isn't terrible). However, I actually walked to school and the library when I was in junior high (I lived too close, so there wasn't a school bus), and biked around quite a lot, though there weren't a lot of places to go.

Last edited by wilfried; 12-16-15 at 09:26 PM.
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Old 12-16-15, 10:14 PM
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My walk score is 56; my bike score is 53. Strangely enough, my transit score is only 31, despite that fact that I live just up the street from a major bus park-and-ride.
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Old 12-17-15, 03:40 AM
  #114  
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Not very accurate. It gives a score of 30 and states that most errands require a car, whereas in fact I do almost all of them on foot.
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Old 12-29-15, 04:29 PM
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*SIGH*


I want to be car free so bad, but my commute is 22 miles (one way). There is only one bus line that runs near my house, and taking a bus (even with biking portions of my commute) would be longer than just biking the entire 22 miles. Unfortunately, I tried it, and my body can't take that distance (44 miles) every day.
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Old 12-30-15, 11:16 AM
  #116  
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Originally Posted by Alligator
*SIGH*


I want to be car free so bad, but my commute is 22 miles (one way). There is only one bus line that runs near my house, and taking a bus (even with biking portions of my commute) would be longer than just biking the entire 22 miles. Unfortunately, I tried it, and my body can't take that distance (44 miles) every day.
Unfortunately, many parts of America are poorly suited for LCF.

You might be able to work up to a daily 44 mile ride. Remember, you don't have to go real fast. The real problem might be time constraints rather than physical stamina, for many people.

But I think if you badly want to be carfree, a relocation might be necessary. I've heard that some parts of Minneapolis are ideal for carfree living. You might need a location that's not only more walkable, but also has better transit, and/or is a lot closer to work.

Sometimes, the best areas for LCF don't even show up on these websites. For example, one of my old houses had bad walk scores, but I found it ideal for LCF because it was close to work (4 miles) and groceries (0.5 miles), and had good cycling as long as I was willing to ride on some streets without bike facilities. (I think the bike scores only reflect nearby bike lanes and such, not street riding--which is very safe and easy in some locations.)

Good Luck!

[hr][/hr]

(Before I get a lot of flames--I realize that relocating is not a good alternative for everybody. I'm sure that Alligator can use his own brain to figure out what will work best for him!)
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Old 01-02-16, 09:24 PM
  #117  
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[h=5]Somewhat Walkable[/h] Some errands can be accomplished on foot.

[h=5]Bikeable[/h] Some hills, good bike lanes.

Heck of it is, the only bike lanes I know of, are outside of the little 20 min. walkable area. Unless it means the bike trail.
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Old 01-03-16, 02:13 AM
  #118  
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Originally Posted by mr geeker

Heck of it is, the only bike lanes I know of, are outside of the little 20 min. walkable area. Unless it means the bike trail.
I think they use a wider radius for the bikeable are than for the walkable area.
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Old 08-30-16, 09:13 AM
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30 out of 100
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